More Love is FreeWorld’s eighth album and showcases the band at a creative high point in musical breadth and originality. There are whiffs of Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Steely Dan, Chicago, The Meters, John Coltrane and Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, and Bob Marley, but the unique music they weave from this eclectic tapestry belongs only to FreeWorld. The More Love core members are a band of brothers and sisters from many grooves: Cushing, Climie, Walter Hughes on guitar, Matt Sweatt on drums, Cedric Taylor on keyboards, Freedman Steorts on trombone, Alex Schuetrumpf on trumpet, Frank Paladino on bari sax, and Courtney Reid on lead and backing vocals. There are cameo turns by more than a dozen special guests and FreeWorld alumni – including the Tennessee Mass Choir on the title track.

The band roars out of the gate with “Outta Sight,” horns soaring and B3 organ pulsing, copping an attitude for everything that follows: “So get the message / Just catch the vibe / Take the journey and enjoy the ride.” Expressive songwriting makes a statement on the horn-fed, second line feel of “Give Until You Live”: “Sometimes you’re sure you’ll win / Sometimes you’re full of doubt / If you don’t go within / Then you will go without.” The title song, “More Love,” with Jerome Chism as lead vocalist, offers a spiritual and musical hint of FreeWorld’s Memphis gospel roots with its rich emotional appeal: “Every time you get a chance / Don’t leave it to happenstance / Spread your Love to those around you / What’ll happen will astound you.” For the eloquent instrumental “Red Moon,” Cushing brought together five of the six original FreeWorld members from 1987 as a tribute to its composer and band founding father Dr. Green, with his spoken words bringing it to a solemn close.

Joyful music highlights the somber plea of “To Arise” — “It’s time for justice to arise / We’ve got to open up our eyes / And start listening to the wise,” and “Rush Hour” is a heart-pounding instrumental musical rush. (Don’t miss the Atmos surround sound mix of this song available online – it’s truly a must-hear sonic experience!) “Heart On The Table” highlights their reggae influences and bids for an open heart: “Lay your heart out on the table / Seek the truth / Stop chasing those fables.”

“11:11 On Beale” conjures the spirit of Beale Street and its musical heritage with a slow burning musical intro that leads to a spoken word ode to its late-night mysteries by the poet laureate of FreeWorld, “IQ” Sanders: “We be Bobby “Blue” Bland’s moan / Aretha’s gospel home / We are home of the blues / Birthplace of rock & roll.” The heartfelt “Life For Tomorrow” offers sage advice: “So don’t live your life for tomorrow / Live it today.” The instrumental “Who Knew?” soars on a magnificent horn section, then “Nothin’ Wrong” adds a little funkified whimsy: “In our world here we belong / We just dance and sing our songs / Ain’t nothin’ wrong with bein’ strong.” The jazzy instrumental “Color Trip” takes flight, and you can almost see the colors on this effervescent seven-minute trip.

As if all that glorious music isn’t enough, the first of two bonus tracks offers an alternate take on the title track featuring Walter White and Courtney Reid joining Chism on lead vocals, with the second showcasing the audio track from their award-winning music video “D-Up (Here’s To Diversity)” featuring soulful contributions from over three dozen Memphis music legacy artists and talented newcomers – “Sink or swim, we’re all in this together / And there’ll be times when it’s more than we can weather / With communication, respect, and harmony / Here’s to Diversity.” FreeWorld members are definitely “all in this together,” effortlessly creating the emotional richness of More Love with smartly vivid lyricism framed by their joyous music.

Jim White (a former music writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette & now writes the Blues Roadhouse)

BIOGRAPHY

FreeWorld is an independent, ever-evolving, Memphis-based musical ensemble that draws from influences as broad-based as Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Steely Dan, Chicago, John Coltrane and Miles Davis, Frank Zappa, The Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, and The Meters. These brothers under one multicultural groove have remained a consistently entertaining and informed voice on the Memphis music scene since the group’s inception in 1987.

FreeWorld’s new album also includes the audio track from their recent, award-winning music video, “D-Up (Here’s To Diversity)”, which took multiple 1^st place awards in various international film festivals and global music video award contests in 2022, and also features the four-surviving original FreeWorld band members from 1987 on a song entitled “Red Moon”, composed by their founding father, Dr. Herman Green. FreeWorld is also proud to once again feature an amazing piece of custom art by Memphis painter/muralist David Lynch on the cover of More Love.

FreeWorld was honored to receive a coveted Brass Note on the Beale Street Walk of Fame in 2012, and they’ve also had the honor and privilege of sharing the stage with a wide variety of musical legends over the years, including Levon Helm, The Memphis Horns, Billy Preston, Bootsy Collins, Richie Havens, Blues Traveler, Derek Trucks, Hot Tuna, Los Lobos, Dr. John, Timothy Leary, The Bar-Kays, Ann Peebles, Steve Cropper, James Cotton, Mojo Buford, Jimmie Vaughan & Double Trouble, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang, Jim Belushi, and Widespread Panic just to name a few.

Keep your eyes & ears tuned to FreeWorld throughout 2024 and beyond, as their latest studio album, More Love, marks yet another proud milestone in the band’s musical odyssey that now spans more than a third of a century.