New York Rock Ensemble
Freedomburger
Rare & Collectible Vinyl Records

1972 US original. Tiny corner rubs. "The group's fifth album is a pleasant surprise, especially to those who only know Freedomburger for its ubiquitous presence as a $2.99 cut-out later in the decade. The band's efforts at assimilating classical influences are gone here, replaced by efforts at intermixing folk, country, funk, and soul sounds around a hard rock core. A lot of the music is pretty, some of it -- especially the opening track, "More Like the Master" -- is catchy, but relatively little of it is memorable. The musicianship is more impressive than the songs, apart from a pair of covers of "A Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Goodnight Irene." Rocking up the Leadbelly tune doesn't achieve much, but "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is particularly good, a rendition dominated by oboe and featuring beautiful vocals by Michael Kamen, Cliff Nivison, and Dorian Rudnytsky. "Willow Tree" is a very pretty original by Kamen, not only a great country-bluegrass-style tune by offering gorgeous fiddle playing by Michael Dreyfuss. The songs aren't as consistently good as that, but the playing is generally fine enough to invite interest and also to entertain." All Music Guide - Bruce Eder.