| Freedom's Child | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2002 | |||
| Label | Compadre [1] | |||
| Producer | R.S. Field | |||
| Billy Joe Shaver chronology | ||||
| ||||
Freedom's Child is an album by the American musician Billy Joe Shaver, released in 2002. [2] [3] Shaver supported the album with a North American tour. [4] It was a hit on Americana radio stations. [5]
Kinky Friedman mentions "Freedom's Child" in his novel Ten Little New Yorkers. [6] Robert Duvall appeared in the video for the song. [7]
Recorded over three days in Nashville, Freedom's Child was produced by R.S. Field. [8] [9] Shaver chose from around 24 songs he had written. [10] Jamie Hartford and Will Kimbrough played guitar on the album. [11] The sound mixed country with blues and rock. [12]
Some versions include an unlisted track, "Necessary Evil", by Shaver's late son, Eddy; it was Shaver's first album without his son since 1987. [13] [14] "Corsicana Daily Sun" and "Day by Day" are autobiographical songs. [15] [16] "That's Why the Man in Black Sings the Blues" is a tribute to Johnny Cash. [17] "Déja Blues" is a duet with Todd Snider. [18] "Magnolia Mother's Love" contains just Shaver's voice and a mandolin. [19] A version of "Good Ol' U.S.A." appeared on Shaver's album Tramp on Your Street. [20]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [13] |
| Robert Christgau |  [21] |
| Detroit Free Press | [12] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [17] |
| Ottawa Citizen |  [22] |
| Philadelphia Daily News | B [23] |
| Regina Leader-Post | [24] |
| Uncut | [25] |
| USA Today | [26] |
Uncut wrote that Shaver "mixes up gritty, almost Stones-like house-rockers with honky-tonk drinking songs, raw rockabilly romps and loss-tinged acoustic ballads." [25] Robert Christgau praised "That's What She Said Last Night". [21] USA Today concluded that Shaver "writes of patriotism, his heroes and a mother's love without resorting once to a cliche or a rhyme that sounds as if it were used simply to finish a line." [26]
No Depression noted that Shaver "most often delivers his songs in the high and spiritual southeastern tones of Roy Acuff and the Acuff-influenced part of Hank Williams, if in a less dramatic, more laconic way." [27] The Orlando Sentinel stated that the songs "reject glossy studio production to embrace a rambunctious, roadhouse feel." [17] The Washington Post deemed the album "a reflection on a lifetime of hardship and reward, struggle and sweet victory, it is country music clean to the bone at its gritty, thoughtful best." [16]
AllMusic called the album "a fine and moving album from one of country's least-appreciated major talents." [13] The Reno Gazette-Journal listed it as the third best album of 2002. [28]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hold on to Yours (And I'll Hold on to Mine)" | |
| 2. | "Freedom's Child" | |
| 3. | "That's Why the Man in Black Sings the Blues" | |
| 4. | "Honey Chile" | |
| 5. | "Good Ol' U.S.A." | |
| 6. | "Day by Day" | |
| 7. | "Corsicana Daily Sun" | |
| 8. | "That's What She Said Last Night" | |
| 9. | "Drinkin' Back" | |
| 10. | "We" | |
| 11. | "Wild Cow Gravy" | |
| 12. | "Déja Blues" | |
| 13. | "Magnolia Mother's Love" | |
| 14. | "Merry Christmas to You" (Bonus Track) |
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