Freedom (Neil Young album)

Freedom
Studio album by Neil Young
Released October 2, 1989 (October 2, 1989)
Recorded July 25, 1988 (1988-07-25)–July 10, 1989 (1989-07-10)
The Barn-Redwood Digital, Arrow Ranch, Woodside, California; Jones Beach, New York (track 1); The Hit Factory, New York City (tracks 3 5 8)
Genre Heartland rock, hard rock
Length 61:11
Label Reprise
Producer Neil Young, Niko Bolas
Neil Young chronology
Eldorado
(1989)		 Freedom
(1989)		 Ragged Glory
(1990)

Freedom is the eighteenth studio album by Canadian rock musician Neil Young, released on October 2, 1989. Freedom effectively relaunched Young's career after a largely unsuccessful decade. After many arguments (and a lawsuit), Young left Geffen Records in 1988 and returned to his original label, Reprise, with This Note's for You. Freedom, however, brought about a new, critical and commercially successful album. This album was released in the United States as an LP record and a CD in 1989.

Content

Stylistically, the album was one of Young's most diverse records, ranging from acoustic love songs to raging rockers. Three of the songs on Freedom ("Don't Cry," "Eldorado" and "On Broadway") had previously been released on the Japan and Australia-only EP Eldorado, and featured heavy waves of thundering distortion and feedback, juxtaposed with quieter sections.

Freedom contains one song, "Rockin' in the Free World", that bookends the album in acoustic and electric variants, a stylistic choice previously featured on Rust Never Sleeps. The song, despite lyrics critical of the then-new George H. W. Bush administration ("we got a thousand points of light"; "kinder, gentler machine gun hand"), became the de facto anthem of the collapse of Communism. An edited cut of the electric version of the song was used over the final credits of Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11, and the song was re-released as a single at the time of the film's release.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauA[2]
Rolling Stone[3]

Freedom has received mainly positive reviews, especially in comparison to the rest of his '80s work. AllMusic's William Ruhlmann rated the album four-and-a-half out of five stars, explaining that it "was the album Neil Young fans knew he was capable of making, but feared he would never make again." He also stated that "there were tracks that harked back to [his] acoustic-based, country-tinged albums."[1] Robert Christgau, writing for The Village Voice, rated it an A. He declared that it contains a combination of "the folk ditties and rock galumph that made him famous" and "the Nashvillisms and horn charts that made him infamous." He also stated that "it features a bunch of good stuff about a subject almost no rocker white or black has done much with--crack".[2] David Fricke of Rolling Stone rated it five out of five stars. He called it "the sound of Neil Young, another decade on, looking back again in anger and dread." He also explained that it is about "the illusion of freedom" and "Young's refusal to accept that as the last word on the subject." He summed up the review by calling it "a harsh reminder that everything still comes with a price."[3]

AllMusic reviewer Matthew Greenwald offered strong praise for the second track, "Crime in the City", calling it "undoubtedly the centerpiece of the album", "cinematic in scope", and "one of Neil Young's most accomplished works".[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Neil Young, except as noted.[5]

No. Title Length
1. "Rockin' in the Free World" (Live Acoustic) 3:38
2. "Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero Part I)"   8:45
3. "Don't Cry"   4:14
4. "Hangin' on a Limb"   4:18
5. "Eldorado"   6:03
6. "The Ways of Love"   4:29
7. "Someday"   5:40
8. "On Broadway" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller) 4:57
9. "Wrecking Ball"   5:08
10. "No More"   6:03
11. "Too Far Gone"   2:47
12. "Rockin' in the Free World" (Electric) 4:41

Personnel

Additional personnel

Technical personnel

Charts

Album

Year Chart Position
1989 The Billboard 200 (U.S.) 35

Single

Year Single Chart Position
1989 "No More" Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 7
"Rockin' in the Free World" (Electric) Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 2
1990 "Crime in the City" (Electric version) Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks 34

Certifications

Organization Level Date
BPI – UK Silver December 2, 1989
CRIA – Canada Gold February 19, 1990
RIAA – U.S. Gold February 21, 1990

References

  1. 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. Freedom - Neil Young at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 July 2004.
  2. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (October 31, 1989). "Consumer Guide: Neil Young: Freedom". The Village Voice. Retrieved 4 January 2012. Relevant portion also posted at "Neil Young: Freedom > Consumer Guide Album". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 10 March 2006.
  3. 1 2 Fricke, David (November 2, 1989). "Neil Young Lets 'Freedom' Ring". Rolling Stone (564): 91. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2007.
  4. ↑ Matthew Greenwald. "Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero, Pt. 1) – Neil Young". AllMusic. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  5. ↑ Neil Young. Freedom. Reprise Records, 1989.
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