Freedom's Child

1	Hold on to Yours (And I'll Hold on to Mine) 3:25
2	Freedom's Child 3:47
3	That's Why the Man in Black Sings the Blues 2:34
4	Honey Chile 3:16
5	Good Ol' U.S.A. 3:04
6	Day By Day 4:03
7	Corsicana Daily Sun 3:40
8	That's What She Said Last Night 3:51
9	Drinkin' Back 3:30
10	We 2:31
11	Wild Cow Gravy 2:36
12	Déjà Blues / Todd Snider 3:17
13	Magnolia Mother's Love 2:10
14	Merry Christmas to You Bonus Track 4:18
15	Necessary Evil Bonus Track 7:21

Barnes & Noble

If anyone has a right to sing the blues, it's Billy Joe Shaver. In the past couple of years, the songwriter's songwriter has lost his wife and his mother to cancer, and a son, gifted guitarist Eddy, to a drug overdose. The miracle of Freedom's Child is that Shaver, while acknowledging the dark side of life, finds a reason to believe. Produced by the estimable R. S. Field, and backed by a top-notch band well versed in hard country and roots rock, Shaver employs his weathered voice and novelist's eye for detail to have some fun even as he offers some pointed observations on the way of the world. On "That's Why the Man In Black Sings the Blues," Shaver not only cops Johnny Cash's familiar sound (and links the verses with an instrumental quote from "I Still Miss Someone") but also mimics Cash's voice as he catalogues a litany of societal ills that explain the raison d'etre of the Man in Black, which is Shaver's way of pointing out how little has changed since Cash did the same in "The Man in Black" in 1971. That's followed immediately by its philosophical opposite, "Good Ol' U.S.A.," in which Shaver lauds the freedoms our citizens cherish, but in a song animated by a frolicsome western swing arrangement, Shaver sounds less jingoistic than just happy to be here. "That's What She Said Last Night" is a wild, rocking, Joe Ely-like romp inspired by the reality of the morning after. Drinkin' songs don't get any better than the honky tonk tearjerker, "Drinkin' Back," and breakup songs don't get any bluer than the eerie "Wild Cow Crazy." Shaver's gift for the left-field observation that upends the narrative, transforming the quotidian into revelation, is on ample display here, making Freedom's Child a rich experience, as much for its humanity as for its stirring music. David McGee

All Music Guide

Billy Joe Shaver is a man who has long known more than a little about hard times, and he was certainly put to the test between 1999 and 2001 -- his wife and mother succumbed to cancer; his son and musical collaborator, Eddy Shaver, died of a drug overdose; and he came face to face with his own mortality after suffering a heart attack on-stage while touring behind his final album with Eddy, The Earth Rolls On. Combine all this with the national malaise which struck America in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and it seems appropriate that Freedom's Child, Billy Joe Shaver's 13th album, released in the fall of 2002, eases back on the flinty country-rock he crafted with his son and aims for a quieter, more traditional approach and a contemplative tone. On Freedom's Child, Shaver's thoughts often turn to family, relationships, and home, and whether he's thinking back on a rugged but happy childhood ("Wild Cow Gravy"), the hometown he left behind ("Corsicana Daily Sun"), relationships that didn't quite work out ("We"), and one that might just pan out yet ("Hold on to Yours [And I'll Hold on to Mine]"), he sounds sentimental without being cloying, with just enough grit to make it clear it's the hard-won little victories that often make the difference. The less-explicitly self-referential songs, most notably "Honey Chile" and "Day by Day," prove that Shaver is still a master storyteller, and if the playful patriotism of "Good Ol' U.S.A." is just a mite overplayed, the blunt realities of "That's Why the Man in Black Sings the Blues" serve as a balance. (And "That's What She Said Last Night" is on hand to prove that Shaver still has plenty of rowdy roadhouse stomp left in him.) The primarily acoustic arrangements of Freedom's Child put the emphasis squarely on Billy Joe Shaver and his songs, and the gruff warmth of his delivery and the honest emotional heft of his lyrics are more than strong enough to carry the burden; it's a fine and moving album from one of country's least-appreciated major talents. [The CD version of Freedom's Child also includes as a bonus an unreleased performance from the late Eddy Shaver, a solo blues workout called "Neccessary Evil."] Mark Deming