Search - Joe Doe :: Freedom Is

Post-rock open heart surgery

Jeanne Lightly | 07/25/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"John Doe is still burnt, miserable and imperfect. Freedom Is, Doe's second release with The John Doe Thing and first with X-mate DJ Bonebrake on drums, is brilliantly messy Doe business as usual. It's full of songs about messing up your life, making it better, then messing it up again, always gaining and losing faith as you crawl back home on your hands and knees, searching for redemption in a bedside telephone or a decent kiss. Doe always lets you hear it in his been-there-drank-that voice, too, in the way he can sing with a cracked, angelic grace over waves of fuzzed-out guitar electricity, then slide into the kind of life-torn howl that's as close to freedom as a beat-up punk heart can ever expect to get."

Good, but...

Richard R. Johnson | Houston, TX United States | 01/11/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The John Doe Thing is the solo project of John Doe, the co-leader of X. X, an LA-based band that fuses punk, rockabilly, and country, began playing in the late 70s and have released a long line of mind-blowing fantastic albums. By comparison, John Doe's solo work tends to be more straight-up pop and rock and less edgy than X. That's certainly true with this album, though it features less roots and more indie-pop stylings than his previous solo records. While Doe's voice remains one of the best in the biz, the songwriting on this album falls a bit short of his previous solo work. This album certainly has its moments, and many of the lesser songs will sound great live, but knowing what John Doe is capable of producing, this album is an ever so slight letdown."

"freedom is just the end of the longest downhill climb"

R. Hutchinson | a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds | 09/06/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Isn't that just another way of saying "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"? Probably. But then most of what songwriters do is rework preexisting materials, including classic Kris Kristofferson songs. John Doe is an excellent songwriter. If there was any justice this album would be getting airplay, all the critics would be praising it, and it would be nominated for a Grammy, that's how good it is. But no, it languishes in obscurity, shoved aside by marketing machines and talentless drones. I just saw Doe with his still punky trio in Salt Lake City, and they kick posterior live!



FREEDOM IS... has great dynamics, moving from acoustic introspection to powerful electricity. It took a little while for the production to grow on me -- at first it sounded overproduced and murky, with too many layers of sound. But the foreground grabs you right away, and now I can hear what the use of a top-flight studio adds to the songs. Doe specializes in romantic anguish. If you haven't ever experienced that, you perhaps won't appreciate what he's doing. For the rest of us, he's tapped into it in a way that reminds you your pain is definitely not yours alone. Don't miss John Doe if he turns up at a club in your town, he is one of the best.

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