Neil Young Opens ‘Freedom’ Soft and Ends It Loud — a 9/10 Return to Form

Neil Young opens “Freedom” with a soft version of “Rockin’ in the Free World” and closes it with a loud one. That choice tells you what the record is about.

After a run of 1980s albums that pleased almost no one, Young spends “Freedom” proving he can still hold every side of his sound together. The record moves from soft turns to full electric noise and back again.

Track by Track

1. Rockin’ in the Free World (soft version) opens the record low and pointed, setting up the noise to come at the end.
2. Crime in the City (Sixty to Zero, Part I), at 8:45, is the album’s main piece. It tells a full story and holds attention the whole way through.
3. Don’t Cry turns hard and loud fast, a sudden turn after the long story before it.
4. Hangin’ on a Limb and The Ways of Love ease the pace without losing the thread of the record.

5. Eldorado stands out, six minutes that hold firm from start to finish.

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6. Someday and On Broadway keep the middle of the record moving. The latter, a cover, gets turned into something rougher and harder.

7. Wrecking Ball takes its time, patient where “Don’t Cry” was quick and rough.
8. No More brings back the noise and the drive of the record’s best moments.
9. Too Far Gone is short and plain, a quick breath before the close.
10. Rockin’ in the Free World (loud version) ends the album, turning the quiet opener into a full statement.

The order does real work here. Young holds back early and saves the loudest playing for the end.

That means the final “Rockin’ in the Free World” lands as a payoff, not a repeat.

What Was Said About It

One writer described the record as bringing together the songs and hard rock that made Young famous with the Nashville touches and brass parts that once turned people against him.

That mix is the whole record in one line: Young refusing to settle on one sound, and making the mix work.

By The Numbers

• Artist: Neil Young
• Album: “Freedom” (1989)
• Tracks: 12
• Running time: 61 minutes
• Score from one music guide: 4.5 out of 5

“Freedom” is the sound of an artist finding his footing again in real time. Nothing here feels like a step down; it feels like Young building his strength back up song by song, from the long story of “Crime in the City” to the quick close of “Too Far Gone.”

After a decade of records that fell short of him, this one gives listeners exactly what they had been waiting for.

1989 albums · album review · classic rock · Freedom · Neil Young