Skott Freedman
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Pop
Status:
Most recent release, The Cottage Sessions (2009)
See also:
Wikipedia's entry on Skott Freedman
Comparisons:
I don't know of any male performers doing the kind of confessional pop that he does—it's more a folk or women's music tradition. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)Marc Cohn (not just because he covers a song of Cohn's but because their styles are similar to me). (stjarnell@yahoo.com)
Covers/own material:
Own
General comments:
Extremely earnest soft "alternative acoustic" pop backed by some pretty piano work. His lyrics seem very true-to-life—I wouldn't be surprised if they're pretty much songs from his journal. Honesty and his piano work are the most distinctive features of his stripped-down sound. You could possibly describe him as a very young, male, queer, pop, more lyrically and musically straightforward pop Tori Amos. All of his press talks about his vocal range, but with his slow melancholy sound he needs to work on his ability to hold those notes without going off-key—so I would say the greater draw would be the piano and the out-front, here's-my-heart lyrics. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)Skott Freedman has a soft, piano-based sound. He's hardly original but pretty good. (stjarnell@yahoo.com)
Recommended first album:
Any
Recordings:
- Swimming After Dark (1991)
- Best Little Boy in the World (ep, 2000)
- Anything Worth Mentioning (c. 2002)
- Some Company (2003)
- judge a book (2005)
- The Cottage Sessions (2009)
Swimming After Dark
Release info:
1999—Rel#SF-001
Availability:
Unknown
Ecto priority:
Recommended for fans of emotional pop
Group members:
Skott Freedman—piano, vocals
Comments:
Melancholy songs on which Freedman displays his emotive vocal style and piano stylings. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Best Little Boy in the World ep
Release info:
2000—self-released CD-R
Availability:
Unknown
Ecto priority:
Recommended for fans of emotional pop
Group members:
Skott Freedman—piano, vocals
Comments:
An ep of his more recent work showing some growth in vocal technique and in songwriting. (sophiagurley@hotmail.com)
Some Company
Release info:
2003—Violent Yodel Music
Availability:
Unknown
Ecto priority:
Recommended for fans of alternative pop
Group members:
Skott Freedman—piano, vocals
Produced by:
Deane Delli-Bovi
Comments:
It's a pretty bare-bones record, just Skott Freedman and his trusty piano. His own songs are special. The cover of Marc Cohn's "Walking in Memphis" is nice, but not more. It stays too close to the original to really succeed.
His voice is sweet and supple and suits the music. "Tug o'war" is a good song about a lover's quarrel. "Treehouse" has some nifty instrumental work and a touching lyric. "In November" demonstrates Freedman's skill with the piano.
It's a very nice record, but a few more uptempo numbers wouldn't have hurt it. (stjarnell@yahoo.com)
Thanks to Sophia Gurley and Anna Maria Stjärnell for work on this entry.
