John Doe hasn’t completely shed his past. No matter how rootsy or burly he makes his records, the erstwhile X frontman is followed around by remnants of his former band. Whether it’s enlisting familiar-sounding female backing singers to do the job once filled by Exene Cervenka or occasionally letting his punk susceptibility show, Doe carries around a lot of baggage. On his third solo album, Freedom Is … (which is credited to the John Doe Thing), he unloads some of the weight, freeing himself somewhat from the shackles.
Too bad, then, that Freedom Is … isn’t nearly as grand as anything X recorded on its first four albums. It’s often stifling, frequently tedious, and just not very interesting. The songs are sharper here than they were on 1995’s hulking Kissingsohard; they’re also less adventurous. This is about as close to the mainstream Doe is probably ever going to get. It’s a slickly produced work, expertly executed by L.A.-based hired hands, yet it feels depressingly detached. And it’s the very solid nature of Freedom Is … that’s to blame. Part of X’s allure was the ragged glory it applied to its music. The professionalism that anchors this album also disables it from really taking off. When Doe actually makes a connection — “Catch Me” and “Sueltame,” particularly — it’s because his songwriting is at its smartest, even if the songs themselves aren’t really that captivating.
This article appears in Jul 13-19, 2000.