 Sarah McLachlan The Freedom Sessions was a bit confusing to the mainstream in 1995 – was it a CD-ROM? Was it a regular album? Why are all the songs the same as on the album I already have? What do you mean by "EP" anyway? Okay, I'm probably exaggerating the confusion with which the disc was greeted, but as one of the first audio CDs to feature CD-ROM multimedia content as well, it was about two or three years ahead of its time. Nowadays, "enhanced CDs" are familiar, and are usually advertised as standard CDs with "bonus" interactive material … Freedom was marketed as "breakthrough technology," which I think probably scared more than a few fans off from what is some good goddamn music. Fumbling Towards Ecstasy is still held up as Sarah McLachlan's masterpiece (personally I think Surfacing is by far a better album), and its success inspired the release of this 8-song EP of alternate versions and one cover ("Ol' 55" by Tom Waits). It's one of those albums you listen to and think "Hey, these versions are better than the ones that made the original album!" But of course, Fumbling wouldn't have been as huge a success if it had the loose feel of The Freedom Sessions. The looseness is what I like about it, as Fumbling strikes me as a bit overproduced and in places, too glossy. Really, like the Beatles Anthology releases, this one is striking and enjoyable mainly in relief to the "official" versions it provides alternates for. In other words, as good as these versions are, they are more insightful with the knowledge of how they ended up. Here, we get works-in-progress ("Plenty"), studio experiments ("Ice"), slightly-more-than-demos ("Mary"), and plain old goofing around ("Ol' 55"). It all comes off well, and although I wouldn't say it's a better album than Fumbling, I do listen to The Freedom Sessions more. "Good Enough" and "Mary" are the high points here for me, in stripped-down versions that reveal the emotions of the songs, in contrast to the too-perfect studio versions. "Ol' 55" is a perfect closer … an ideal choice for a cover, and it demonstrates a side of the artist that isn't really seen on her albums: loose and light, and there's even some noticeable mistakes from the band. All of the tracks are good, only "Ice Cream" is a lesser favorite – mainly because I've heard it about 40,000 times and never liked it all that much to begin with. I certainly don't see why it's such a fan favorite, except that it's so cutesy. There is a second alternate version of "Hold On" that crops up as a bonus track – a bit bluesier than the one featured earlier in the album. The multimedia presentation (awkwardly tracked as Track 1, meaning you have to start the disc at Track 2 for audio, or else you get a hideous noise) is decent – surprisingly, not that technologically dated, even now. Highlights include quicktime video of Sarah playing accordion, eating an apple, and playing hacky sack, and there are also several of her videos from the earlier albums, band bios, and an odd section documenting a trip she made to Thailand to sing for "the children." Honestly, I can't see myself ever playing the multimedia section again, though a diehard will love it. The Freedom Sessions is also available in a newly remastered audiophile-marketed 2-disc set that includes it as a companion to Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (also remastered). Although this version doesn't include the multimedia content, it does add "I Will Remember You" as a bonus track – thereby fulfilling Sarah's desire to have that song included on every CD that is ever released from now on. If you have neither album, I'd recommend the 2-disc, it's more efficient and more attractively packaged. Come on, man, it's all about the packaging!
Review by John Square |