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FREEMAN: FREEMAN

Music Reviews
FREEMAN: FREEMAN

The man formerly known as Gene Ween has released his first album under his own name, Aaron Freeman. The 44-year-old singer’s self-titled solo album, FREEMAN, holds a lot of weight. Just the name of the record could easily stand for Freeman’s sense of self. Or it could represent his relatively new status as a free man—emancipated of the dope and the booze that marked so much of Ween and its eventual demise.

And so FREEMAN appropriately begins with “Covert Discretion,” a public acknowledgement of the infamous 2011 burnout show in Vancouver. Although the track begins mildly, with Freeman singing soft confessionals over an acoustic guitar, it lurches into a squealing deposition culminating with, “Fuck you all, I got a reason to live and I’m never gonna die.” Later, though, Freeman explores elements of spirituality— Kabbalah readings inspired “All the Way to China” and James A. Michener’s The Source guided “El Shaddai.” The Beatles too, have left a mark on Freeman, musically in the White Album-esque “(For A While) I Couldn’t Play My Guitar Like A Man,” but also in how the biggest band in the world broke free of itself.

FREEMAN is a little wacky. It’s inconsistent and probably strange for anyone who didn’t grow up in the cult of Ween. But the beauty of FREEMAN is that none of that matters. FREEMAN won’t be remembered for its individual tracks or even for its lack of musical cohesion. It’s a recovery record that serves as an profound artistic statement of individuality, redemption and freedom.

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