A performance of Keep On Rockin’ in the Free World from Jack White and Pearl Jam has been hailed as a “wonderful” cover.
The Neil Young classic is still part of the veteran rocker’s setlist, but other artists have featured it in their own shows over the years. As part of a 2018 tour, Pearl Jam and Jack White performed the song at the NOS Alive Festival in Portugal. The performance has been praised by members of the public who, hailed White and the band for bringing a bold interpretation of the track to the stage. An upload of the song to Pearl Jam’s official YouTube account has racked up hundreds of thousands of views since it was first uploaded in 2018. Members of the public are thrilled by the performance even now, with many comments praising the interpretation White and Pearl Jam give to Rockin’ in the Free World.
One person wrote: “Out of all the covers that you guys could have picked to do, I love this selection! Neil Young’s Keep on Rocking in the Free World still sounds contemporary!” Another added: “Wonderful stuff. Jack White and Pearl Jam on the same stage – magnificent!”
A third fan wrote: “Two iconic artists coming together. What an amazing moment; to whomever watched this, experienced something amazing. Others wished the band would work together with Jack White again in future. One listener wrote: “This is awesome! They should work together more often.”
A second fan agreed, adding: “Love seeing this combo! And Jack on a Les Paul, my heart bleeds! Dominic Davis kickin’ it on tambourine! Fantastic!!!”
Another viewer pointed out a slight change in the lyrics to pay tribute to Portugal. One fan wrote: “Love how Eddie changes the ‘there’s colours on the street, red, white and blue’ to ‘red, yellow and green’ to match the Portuguese flag.”
Young ended up writing the song after he and his band were told a planned performance in the Soviet Union had been pulled. Longtime collaborator Frank Sampedro suggested the group would have to “keep on rockin’ in the free world,” and from there the song was written.
The song features frequently in Young’s live shows, but when he makes TV appearances to perform the song, he needs to amp himself up so he can perform it properly. He said: “I developed a whole new technique for television. I had my trainer, and we just lifted weights and I did callisthenics to get my blood to the level it would be at after performing for an hour and twenty-five minutes, which is usually how long I’d be onstage by the time I did that song.
“To perform that song the way it’s supposed to be performed, you have to be at peak blood level. Everything has to be up, your machine has to be stoked. You can’t walk on cold and do that or you’re gonna look like a fuckin’ idiot. So that’s what I did.”
A performance of Pearl Jam and White’s Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World cover can be found below.
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