2:39 p.m. - January 05, 2008
Is That Freedom Rock, Man? Well, Turn It UP!
If you are a person of a certain age (my age, maybe a five year swing or so) and watched a lot of cable TV in the late 80�s, you certainly remember this commercial.
Well, turn it up indeed!
So after my man Moose sent me that link, I decided to see how much of Freedom Rock I had in my collection. It turns out that I had 32 of the 40 songs, and going on iTunes I was able to buy six of the remaining eight. One of them came album only, and the other is just not available digitally. I�ve tried on eMusic too, and it�s not there. Hey, Mr. Rights Holder, it was on FREEDOM ROCK! Let us turn that song UP!
I never bought the actual collection, though. Ah, well.
So, I thought, why not give everyone a nostalgia trip and tell them what was on Freedom Rock in what running order, and determine whether it indeed fit the concept of Freedom Rock, or was it merely freedom or rock, or just a charade in entirety. This is based on the 2CD set running order. I think the 4LP and 3 tape running order was different, and I�m disappointed it�s not in 8-track. Ah, well.
Since most everyone knows these songs, I think, then I won�t link to clips, etc.
Disc 1
1. Turn! Turn! Turn! � The Byrds. Ah, a solid choice to begin any collection. The chiming 12-string Rickenbacker and strong bass line announces this song with authority, and the ethereal vocals of the Byrds make it an instant classic. It�s a socially conscious tune as well, coming from Pete Seeger and Ecclisiastes. It definitely fits the bill of Freedom Rock. Solid!
2. I�d Love To Change The World � Ten Years After. The name of this band always struck me as funny. Ten years after WHAT, pray tell? Some of you remember their great performance in Woodstock where Alvin Lee just shreds his guitar during �I�m Going Home.� I always loved the way the Woodstock announcer said �Ten Years After� as well. This is their only big Top 40 hit in the USA, and it is definitely Freedom Rock.
3. Locomotive Breath � Jethro Tull. I have had a jones for Tull lately, especially the more rockin� cuts. This is definitely a rockin� cut from Aqualung, and the radio edit scrubbed out the line �got him by the balls� and replaced it with �fun�. Heh. However, as much of Rock as it is, I don�t really see much freedom here, just a lot of Ian Anderson�s semi-nonsensical symbolic babbling.
4. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down � Joan Baez. The Band did the original, but Baez made it a radio fave. It was her arrangement that we sang in fifth grade, in an introduction to symbolism. I really can�t get around her vibrato, though. My weakness, I guess. And while this is definitely Freedom, there�s not much rock. It�s definitely more adult folk.
5. War � Edwin Starr. I guess this fits in the running order. Actually, Jethro Tull is a little out of place here. War! HUUUUH! What is it good for? Absolutely NOTHIN�! Good God, Y�all! An outstanding song that�s definitely about Freedom but is all soul, all the time. That still doesn�t mean you shouldn�t crank it!
6. Black Magic Woman � Santana. Early Santana is the best, with cohesive ideas and tasteful playing from the entire ensemble. Carlos makes this Peter Green song his own. It�s definitely Rock, but is it freedom? I dunno. Unless it�s freedom to have a black magic woman on retainer.
7. Jump Into The Fire � Harry Nilsson. I�ll have to admit, I�m not that familiar with this at all. In fact, I never heard it before acquiring the songs to complete this collection. On listening to it, it is definitely Freedom Rock, but it�s kind of obscure. Of course, �Coconut� wouldn�t have fit (and actually, neither would �You�re Breaking My Heart�, but that�s for totally different reasons).
8. Smoke On The Water � Deep Purple. Oh, man. Now we�re talkin�! I think I just caused the room to vibrate because I did, indeed, TURN IT UP! It�s all Rock, but I can�t hear freedom. What I hear is them talking about some stupid with a flare gun.
9. United We Stand �Brotherhood Of Man. Oh, wow. Now there�s a transition! From Deep Purple to this weenie, wimpy, hippy-dippy song that you know from commercials for the United Way or something or other. Yick. Freedom, yes, but in no way shape or form is it rock. Fail.
10. One Tin Soldier (The Legend Of Billy Jack) � Coven. I think we all need a group singalong for this one. Ready? �Go and hate your neighbor�� It�s Freedom for sure, but this ain�t rock � not even talc.
11. Somebody To Love � Jefferson Airplane. Everyone can sing along to this to, and do the frug, or watusi, or whatever. This is a killer tune, of course, and it�s definitely Rock. I can�t give it total freedom, though, though the era was all about freedom, the song itself isn�t, per se.
12. Going Up The Country � Canned Heat. Now everyone can whistle along to the flute part. This song is a lot better than people give it credit for, but if it pains me to sing the falsetto all the time. I�m calling this Freedom Rock because it�s all about going where you wanna go, man. Far out.
13. Reach Out Of The Darkness � Friend And Lover. I had this 45 (inherited from my sister) but it�s not available anywhere except on the Friend And Lover CD. So you can experience the thrill of playing the record, just like I did back in the day. I can�t really call this rock � it�s more slick pop with a great hook. I�m calling it Freedom, barely. It�s telling you all to reach out and find friends. So yeah, it kinda fits.
14. A Horse With No Name � America. You know this song, but you don�t know what the HELL it means, do ya? What I do know is that it�s the best Neil Young (in the CSNY era) ever. I can�t call it rock, and I guess it�s Freedom only because I don�t know what it really means but it may be deep and they�re in the desert and all.
15. Free Bird � Lynyrd Skynyrd. This is the dictionary definition of Freedom Rock. Nuff said. Now excuse me while I play air guitar�
16. Ramblin� Man � The Allman Brothers. Moose said that the commercial for Freedom Rock is so ingrained that he knew exactly what song snippets fit where. I always thought this should have begun the collection, anyway. Freedom Rock! He�s a ramblin� man.
17. Share The Land � The Guess Who. This is post-Randy Bachman, when they kind of softened up a bit but still squeezed out some hits in this hippy-dippy mode. I�m almost of a mind to karaoke this. It�s still a good example of Freedom Rock.
18. Friends � Elton John. This was created for a movie soundtrack, and it never really was on a proper Elton John album. It was a hit, but people have forgotten about it. It�s not really rock (it�s in the Elton John softer ballad motif) but if I called Friend and Lover freedom, I have to call this Freedom too, since if your friends are there everything�s all right.
19. Put Your Hand In The Hand � Ocean. Yet another sing-along for everyone, and I think I can call it Freedom, but rock? Nope. Not as such.
20. Black And White � Three Dog Night. The ink is black, the page is white. Etc. etc. My mom liked Three Dog Night so I can�t call it really rock, but this can be called Freedom. As a kid, I liked this, but now I much prefer Sly Stone�s �Don�t Call Me Nigger, Whitey� but I doubt if that could be released nowadays.
Disc 2
21. Layla � Derek And The Dominoes. Actually, I suppose that the commercial starts with the recognizable guitar riff from this song. However, I don�t associate the commercial with it, whilst with �Ramblin� Man� the first thing I think of is Freedom Rock. This, of course, is Rock, but as far as freedom goes, I can�t call it freedom. Even in the 60�s, baggin� your best friends� wife was pretty much a no-no.
22. The Story In Your Eyes � The Moody Blues. The Moody�s had some good tunes, and some absolute dreck. I think the drugs turned off their editor, because they really piled it on when developing inane concept albums. Still, everyone once in a while they�d pull off a great tune like this one. It�s Rock, but I don�t think it falls into the freedom category, but it�s definitely of that time.
23. Signs � Five Man Electrical Band. Another sing-a-long, of course. They were a pretty decent bunch of Canadians that really deserved more hits, but alas, that didn�t happen. And now, most people know this from a third-rate hair band. For me, the electric piano sells this one. It�s all Freedom Rock, baby!
24. Sunshine � Jonathan Edwards. �He can�t even run his own life; I�ll be damned if he�ll run mine,� is one of the best lines ever. Edwards was more of a folkie, but for attitude alone, I qualify this as Freedom Rock!
25. Love Train � O�Jays. People all over the world, join in! You can�t help but move to the O�Jays! This has the social conscious, for sure, so it�s Freedom but again, like Edwin Starr, this is soul (proto-disco, in fact) and not rock. Still, you gotta boogie!
26. White Room � Cream. Now, pardon me for being me, but I think they really cribbed this song from their own �Tales Of Brave Ulysses�, really. Take a close listen to both of them. It doesn�t make it bad, because it does Rock! As far as freedom � no dice. I can�t make head or tails out of tired starlings, and stations, and black curtains, and I don�t want to take the acid to try and find out what it meant.
27. White Rabbit � Jefferson Airplane. This is the part of the program where we just take a trip and mellow out. Rock, yes, but an allegory using Alice In Wonderland isn�t freedom � it�s seventh grade English. Still, it�s a cool arrangement, ya know�
28. Both Sides Now � Judi Collins. And now, we�re coming DOWN from the trip. Oh, this isn�t CLOSE to rock, but I�ll give it some Freedom points, since Judi is looking at clouds, etc. from both sides now, as you know.
29. We May Never Pass This Way Again � Seals And Crofts. This song makes me weepy at times. Yeah, it�s sappy, but it�s heartfelt. It�s not rock at all, but I�ll give it Freedom because it�s two people going where they wanna go, I�m assuming.
30. In The Year 2525 � Zager And Evans. Many wags have said this is one of the worst songs ever to hit #1, and yeah, it�s pretty darn cheesy and predictable and I can definitely see how people got snowed under and bought it in enough quantity for it to be a hit. It�s Freedom, and as far as rock goes, I know rock, and you, Zager and Evans, are no rock.
31. Eighteen � Alice Cooper. OK, now, take a look at the last three songs, and now we move to ALICE COOPER? Holy paradigm shift without a clutch! I think it made more sense on the album, but the CD transition would be jarring. One of the classic songs about youth in rock-and-roll history, this is definitely Freedom Rock.
32. Hush � Deep Purple. I don�t understand why Deep Purple�s not in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, but what do I know, I�m just a music geek fanboy. Jon Lord�s organ is powerful because he puts it through a Marshall instead of a Leslie. The more you know. Rock for sure, it�s not really freedom.
33. Get Together � The Youngbloods. Yet another campfire sing-a-long for us all. It�s not the hardest song in the world, and is in fact more of a country song than anything, but because of the tasteful guitar I�m calling it Freedom Rock and you can�t change my mind.
34. The Beat Goes On � Sonny & Cher. Sonny without a moustache. Cher with her real face. A bass line that�s to die for. But it�s not rock � it�s pretty slick adult pop. And freedom? No, I can�t say that it is. It�s about how the more things change, the more they stay the same. La-de-da-de-de.
35. Abraham, Martin, and John � Dion. Nope, I don�t have this in my collection. You can only buy it via album only. So, here�s the song and a video. Out of respect for Dion�s past accomplishments, I�m calling this Freedom Rock.
36. Lay Down (Candles In The Rain) � Melanie. This was one of the hits that came on the heels of Woodstock, though I really think the appeal was more from the forceful chorus by the Edwin Hawkins Singers than Melanie. The only other thing of note was �Brand New Key�, which could be a song about roller skating, and could be a song about SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY. Because of the Woodstock thing, it�s Freedom but it�s more gospel than anything.
37. I Got A Line On You � Spirit. Spirit is one of those underrated bands from the 60�s that released a lot of great stuff but modern rock radio only focuses on one or two songs, if that. They also were pretty long-lived, as Jay Ferguson had some hits, and two other guys were in the first incarnation of Heart. This is Rock, but not so much freedom. Still, crank it!
38. Fire And Rain � James Taylor. Oh, James, you put me to sleep with your manly, mellow drone. So it ain�t rock, and I don�t think I can call it freedom, really. Sorry, James. Say hi to Kate and Livingston.
39. Me And You And A Dog Named Boo � Lobo. Ok, this is Freedom, since he�s travelin� and livin� off the land and love bein� a free man. But rock? Surely you jest. Living up here now, I have yet to see a wheat field IN St. Paul. Not even during the State Fair.
40. (Sittin� On) The Dock Of The Bay � Otis Redding. One of the best songs in the history of recorded music, I am calling this Freedom Rock even though it�s soul. But it�s Otis Redding, people. He can sing the phone book and make it sound great.
So, are you ready to TURN IT UP? I�m sure you are!!! I am. Rock and roll, hoochie Koo!
Oh, wait, that�s not on this�
