Word: mclachlan
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...McLachlan always intended to release the songs featured on Fumbling as two albums and had initially titled it Fumbling Towards Ecstasy: The Freedom Sessions, which was much too long to sell. With the nine track The Freedom Sessions, Sarah McLachlan revisits many of the songs from Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. The addition of a CD-ROM multimedia track makes this presentation of different versions of seven of the twelve songs on Fumbling something more than just an Unplugged session...
...Freedom Sessions' first track, "Elsewhere," leads off the album with a much more bluesy feel than McLachlan's other work. The twanging guitars lend to this effect, and some of the words are almost spoken, and much more broken than Fumbling's version of the same...
...organ proves itself a perfect accompaniment for McLachlan's voice on "Good Enough," giving the song a solemn tone that fits its subject matter. About some from of domestic abuse ("It's not the wind that cracked your shoulder/And threw you to the ground"), "Good Enough" places McLachlan in the strong, supporting role of a friend...
Inspired by a documentary about a woman who discovers that her fiancee has AIDS, "Hold On" is a simple and heart-felt song, and one of the album's gems. The Freedom Sessions actually contains two versions of what seems to be one of McLachlan's favorites--she includes an untitled addition to the final track of the album. Having originally written the song for guitar, McLachlan's first version of "Hold On" is her attempt to transpose it to piano. The track is also the only one on the album to feature Sarah alone, with only her own keyboards...
With "Ice Cream," McLachlan switches to a more upbeat, happier mode, with a bouncy guitar line. This style suits the song's uncharacteristically silly refrain that "Your love/Is better than ice cream," and the insertion of a "lollipop" popping noise is perfect for the song's mood. With a sound that befits Hole's Courtney Love more than McLachlan, "Ice" is her unsuccessful attempt to work an electric guitar with high amp into her music. The bass of McLachlan's confidante Pierre Marchand is present, to good effect, but McLachlan's electric guitar proves distracting and overpowers Sarah at points...