Freedom Track From 'The Boss' (1988)

Well it's Fourth of July weekend coming up. I'm not really sure how we got to July since in my mind 2009 just barely started. Independence Day is a great holiday for food, fireworks, and freedom.

When I think of freedom, I often think of America and Americana. In the music world, one of the most iconic American artists is 'The Boss' himself, Bruce Springsteen (By the way, the answer to the question, 'Who's the boss?' Is always Springsteen. Never Tony Danza).

Springsteen is iconic American because he was both "Born In The USA" AND "Born To Run".



Only in America can a birthright like that give rise to the nickname 'The Boss'. He is not the first artist to have a nickname. Elvis was 'The King' and Frank Sinatra was 'Old Blue-Eyes'. But there is something about being 'The Boss' that is just beyond cool.

Todays track comes from a 1988 four song EP that Springsteen put out to both promote and raise money for Amnesty International. In the opening banter on this live track he talks about freedom being more than just an American ideal, it is a right for all people across the world.

The song is 'Chimes of Freedom' from the Springsteen record of the same name.

The song was originally written and performed by Bob Dylan on his 1964 album "Another Side Of Bob Dylan." That album lived up to its name as it was the first time that Dylan's sound started to shift away from pure folk music. His well-known song 'It Ain't Me Babe' comes off of this album as well.

So happy 4th of July everyone. And click the link to listen to "Chimes of Freedom".

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?klyzmmnezma

P.S. The back of the album says this live track was recorded on July 3, 1988. How's that for almost being 4th of July related?