Reviewed by James Howard-Smith

Fabian was born in Switzerland, raised in the Netherlands and on the Caribbean Island Curaçao and studied music technology at university. After releasing two independent albums, Willems takes the role of producer and sole lyricist on this, his first major release. His voice has some power, and the music backing it is either retro or dated, depending on your taste for a fusing of gospel and funk with pop-rock from the '80s and early '90s. Lyrically, the albums gets somewhat lost in generalities as it goes on (even though we're given chapter and verse Biblical inspiration for each song in the booklet), which might have something to do with a few of the cuts trying for too much emotion. It's strongest right at the beginning. In a delightfully electric intro, "Live Again", Willems sings of Ezekiel's dry bones coming to life; often used a metaphor for a person being born again, here it also illustrates a musician cracking his knuckles, trying to awaken all his skills to make the best of his first album. Following fast is the title track, which is based around the words of Isaiah 61:1-3 that were quoted by Jesus as the perfect start to his ministry. Later on the disco and funk sounds become quite tired, and sometimes you feel as if these are songs you've heard before, but for now the heat fizzes onto the very synthy third track, "Lion Of Judah", and however bad things get later it all feels right at this end of the record, where the music soars, so full energy it seems jet-powered. Someone meeting Willems for the first time here probably wouldn't expect the old-fashioned sounds 'Freedom' offers, and where the retro styles are strong is in surprising the audience. "I Have A Father" brings in the brass to herald God's glory, saving the song from the bland, general pop it would have otherwise been. (Perhaps almost as an apology for that juxtaposition, an R&B version of "I Have A Father" is offered as a bonus track - a more cohesive arrangement better suited to expectations.) And "Let It Rain" incorporates a rock guitar, whilst Willems sings the verse like an '80s power ballad. Considering the dips in quality, Fabian Willems is overfeeding us with the album's 74 minute running time.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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