Musical conscience.
Since Freebo concentrated on his own music in 1999 instead of playing bass and tuba with Bonnie Raitt, Crosby, Stills & Nash, John Mayall or Maria Muldaur, he paradoxically disappeared from sight slowly.
Still, he has written good personal songs starting from his debut The End Of The Beginning, full of blues, rock and folk. On his second, Dog People, he sang about his love for the dogs in his life. Now the singer/guitarist/bassist takes position against the war in Irak, the way enemies are created in the U.S. media, greed and the loss of freedom and individuality. He himself still audibly believes in these ideals, which he gets across in a committed way.
He plays his harmonious, often co-written songs with old friends: guitarists Mark Goldenberg and CPR’s Jeff Pevar, drummers Peter Bunetta and Jay Bellarose and David Woodford and Lee Thornberg on horns. Strongly present are folk and rootsy acoustic ballads, including a sometimes defining fretless bass. Still he and his companions rock infectiously in Stand Up and The Beauty of Life is classic swinging soul music. In a clear production Freebo deals more than playful blows this way to these other patriots, who do believe in reaching freedom by curbing it.
The subtle music and the outspoken lyrics blend naturally in the process: Freebo does not preach, but sings in a convincing combination of melancholy and idealism. He may not hit the others knock-out, but clearly wins this ten-round fight on points.
***1/2
A review of Freebo’s CD Dog People can be found elsewehere on this site.