Notes

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Size: 83.7 MB
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwotk Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

Freedom's final outing in 1972, Is More Than a Word, is a study in contrasts. It still rocks hard as all get out, á la Humble Pie, but it also points in an interesting direction in places: toward more textured and acoustic-flavored material that echoes country music, thanks to an electric violin -- uncredited -- on the opening track "Together." Elsewhere, there is scathing blues-rock in the funky, raucous, rave-up vein on cuts like "Sweaty Feet," the elongated "Brainbox Jam," that goes off the funk nut, and a smoking cover of Don Nix's "Going Down." The shimmering, jazzy pastoralism of "&Direction" provides a glorious, smoky, spiritual vibe with killer guitar solos. The final track, "Ladybird," is full of outlandish arrangements, horns, with a complex melodic frame that makes the band sound Marc Almondish. While it is not an altogether successful outing, it nonetheless offers some great tracks, and a view of the band that would have been interesting, to say the least, had they continued.

You'd think an album like this could live up to the incendiary words on its cover, but alas, the only freedom touted by the musicians here is the freedom to answer that clarion call of mediocrity. The first song, Together starts out promisingly enough, as most first songs on albums usually do. A hint of some very hard, no-nonsense rock is offered. They even wear the funk hat comfortably on the next song, "Miss Little Louise"; arguably (and very ironically) this song anticipates some of what would be Little Feat's finest work in the later seventies. All too quickly, the band loses its way on "Sweaty Feet", a boring fuzz guitar Chuck Berry clone. "Brainbox Jam" is a grim parable of why you should never mix a wah-wah pedal, with distortion and funk. Suffice it to say, this song does not jam. "Direction" tries to return things back from the never never land of the previous song; it is a great echo of Bobby Harrison's previous band, Procol Harum. "Going Down" is what this album should have been: everything works here; it's heavy and hard hitting with a killer guitar solo and vocal to boot. After that, things get really weird as you enter balladland with "Dream" and "Ladybird". The former tries to show off the band's sensitive side and the latter exhibits the bands jazz sense. Both songs are out of place, because the orchestral/horn dubs completely drown out the band's playing and muddy up what was already a shakey musical identity. Freedom's album isn't a total loss to the ear, but it could have used a stronger musical direction.

01. Together
02. Miss Little Louise
03. Sweaty Feet
04. Brainbox Jam
05. Direction
06. Going Down
07. Dream
08. Ladybird