Freedom Highway

by Rhiannon Giddens

Overview

Rhiannon Giddens has always been keenly aware of the arc of American history -- the Carolina Chocolate Drops, the 2000s band she once led, was designed as a critique of the darker moments of Americana -- but Freedom Highway, her second solo album, puts her intent into perspective. Where her 2015 solo debut, Tomorrow Is My Turn, was essentially a covers album, gaining its importance through context, Freedom Highway relies on originals, but the past is never far behind. This should be expected from Giddens, who is at her core a folk artist building upon -- and expanding -- tradition, but it's still startling to realize how she establishes a vernacular at the outset of Freedom Highway, then explores all of the possibilities of African-American folk music on the album. "At the Purchaser's Option," the song that inaugurates Freedom Highway, explicitly evokes slavery, and it's spare and haunting, standing in contrast to the title-track closer, a funky number that illustrates how far African-Americans have traveled during the course of the history of the United States. Throughout Freedom Highway, Giddens plays with this idea -- how oppression gave way to freedom -- and it's not just through her lyrics, but how the music expands as the album reaches its conclusion: at the outset, it seems austere, but by its conclusion it's a robust celebration of all the weird, wonderful parts of America. This isn't an accident. Freedom Highway draws upon deep American traditions, and while its form may be a throwback, it speaks to a time when the phrase "Black Lives Matter" can be seen as controversial and, in doing so, it illustrates how these issues are deeply ingrained in American life and cannot be forgotten. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/24/2017
Label:	Nonesuch
UPC:	0075597939613

Tracks

1. At the Purchaser's Option
2. The Angels Laid Him Away
3. Julie
4. Birmingham Sunday
5. Better Get It Right the First Time
6. We Could Fly
7. Hey B¿¿b¿¿
8. Come Love Come
9. The Love We Almost Had
10. Baby Boy
11. Following the North Star
12. Freedom Highway

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Rhiannon Giddens   Primary Artist,Banjo,Vocals,Choir/Chorus,Handclapping,Vocal Harmony
Patrick Bartley   Sax (Tenor)
Corey Wilcox   Trombone
Malcolm Parson   Cello
Rowan Corbett   Percussion,Choir/Chorus,Vocal Harmony
Desiree Champagne   Rubboard
Ina Powell   Handclapping
Justin Harrington   Vocals
Lalenja Harrington   Choir/Chorus,Vocal Harmony,Featured Artist,Vocals
Hubby Jenkins   Banjo,Mandolin,Choir/Chorus
Dirk Powell   Bass,Bells,Piano,Fiddle,Guitar,Mandolin,Choir/Chorus,Vocal Harmony,Bass (Electric),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
Leyla McCalla   Cello,Vocals,Featured Artist
Alphonso Horne   Trumpet
Jamie Dick   Drums,Percussion,Choir/Chorus
Eric Adcock   Organ,Wurlitzer
Nolan Thies   Horn Engineer
Bhi Bhiman   Vocals,Featured Artist,Guitar (Electric)
Jason "Number One" Sypher   Bass,Choir/Chorus
Amelia Powell   Choir/Chorus,Handclapping
Sophie Powell   Choir/Chorus,Handclapping

Technical Credits

Robert C. Ludwig   Mastering
Justin Harrington   Lyricist
Lalenja Harrington   Composer,Lyricist
Traditional   Composer
Richard Farina   Composer
Mississippi John Hurt   Composer
Rhiannon Giddens   Arranger,Composer,Lyricist,Producer
Dirk Powell   Mixing,Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Lyricist,Producer
Joey Ryan   Composer,Lyricist
Roebuck "Pops" Staples   Composer
David Bither   Executive Producer
Jeri Heiden   Design
Eric Adcock   Engineer
John Peets   Photography
Bhi Bhiman   Composer