Freedom Suite - THE RASCALS***

America The Beautiful/Me & My Friends/Any Dance’ll Do/Look Around/Ray Of Hope/Island Of Love/Of Course/ Love Was So Easy To Give/People Got To Be Free/Baby I’m Blue/Heaven/Adrian’s Birthday/Boom/Cute

For the latter part of their sixties heyday The Rascals dropped the prefix Young from their name. The change didn't appear to help their longevity as Freedom Suite would be their last US album top twenty entry. It includes the US chart topping People Got To Be Free. In the UK they are remembered as a one hit wonder. (US:17)

"Though I consider the side-long track Cute to be solidly good, the rest of this double LP is painfully mediocre to my ears."

"Released as a double album in 1969 (one record of normal songs, one of all instrumentals). Its not one of the best Rascals albums, but it is above average. One major hit song is present People Got To Be Free. A couple of minor singles are here as well. If you're new to The Rascals, you best not start here."

"Almost all of the double albums from the 60s and 70s are flawed with filler and Freedom Suite is no exception; the third side is taken up by Adrian's Birthday, a jam composed and performed by the band for their engineer. At under five minutes it works pretty well. Boom an extended drum solo by drummer Danelli might have worked at a couple of minutes but overstays its welcome at nearly 14 minutes. Danelli certainly had the talent to perform it. Cute is another jam would have been more interesting if it were under three minutes, rather than an overlong 15 minutes."

"Excellent late 60s white soul double album. First LP is the normal short tracks, the second is extended jams. With the exception of Boom, a painful 13 minute drum solo, there are some great tracks here. Even the long 15 minute jazz jam track Cute works here."

"A double album, the first half is pop-soul and the second jazz. The first part is amazing, with the music absolutely cooking with an intensity that it had not before. People Got To Be Free, for example, is an amazing romp, with the melody, horns, rhythm and backup vocals absolutely burning."

"A lot of this is fun to listen to, but never really gets beyond basic solos, bluesy jams and riffing that is beautifully played, but never really leads anywhere."