Rockin' In The Free World

Neil Young's legendary song "Rockin' In The Free World" has been one of "mine" for a long time now. I've heard so many different versions of the tune over the years, and spent countless hours on youtube watching covers and live performances. I thought i'd share a few of my favorites.

Facebookers - again, the notes app is going to kill the embedded video when it imports this; please go to my original post.

First, of course, the original - studio recording from Neil Young's 1989 album "Freedom":



Next, Pearl Jam & Neil Young playing the song together at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards. Incredible performance! An encore airing several years later is what first drew my attention to the song (and to Neil Young):



Pearl Jam again - i burned myself a Pearl Jam mix cd when i was in college, leading with a live version of Free World i'd downloaded from somewhere. That recording, i think, had the heaviest influence on the way i sing the song myself. I used to blast it in the car *all the time*, belting out the vocals at the top of my lungs; wonderful feeling. This isn't the same recording, but one of the better ones on youtube:



While working on my own cover, i studied many home recordings on youtube. This one is by far my favorite; i wish i could sing like this guy:



An acoustic performance by Neil Young himself (song starts at ~0:30):



And last, but the opposite of least, Neil Young's performance on Saturday Night Live in 1989. Considered by many to be one of his best performances of the song, and one of the most intense live tv performances ever. (Even now, watching the video makes me want to smash something.)

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