"Freedom Ride," released in September 2002 on Compass Records (7 4337-2), is the solo debut of Drew Emmitt — mandolinist and co-founder of the jam-grass band Leftover Salmon. Recorded at Sound Emporium in Nashville with a cast that includes John Cowan (bass, vocals), Sam Bush (mandolin, fiddle), Peter Rowan (guitar, vocals), Randy Scruggs (guitar), Vassar Clements (fiddle), Ronnie McCoury, and Stuart Duncan, the album functions as a full-scale collaboration with progressive bluegrass royalty outside the Salmon context. Critics praised Emmitt's command of acoustic roots music and the record's high-energy assembly of peers, establishing that Leftover Salmon's mandolinist had both the musicianship and the relationships to operate at the highest level of acoustic music as a solo artist.
Tracklist
- 1 Freedom Ride 3:28
- 2 Bend in the River 4:10
- 3 Solid Ground 4:11
- 4 Valley of the Full Moon 4:30
- 5 Paving Eisenhower 3:51
- 6 If You’re Ever in Oklahoma alt version 3:42
- 7 Tangled Up in Blue 6:48
- 8 Look Up Look Down That Lonesome Road alt version 4:23
- 9 Rainmaker 4:42
- 10 One Step at a Time 4:09
- 11 Memories of Mother and Dad alt version 2:30