We Insist! Max Roach's Freedom Now Suite

Critic Score
Based on 3 reviews
1960 Ratings: #16 / 51
User Score
Based on 605 ratings
1960 Ratings: #6
December 1960 / Release Date
LP / Format
Candid / Label
Oscar Brown Jr.Writer
Full Credits
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Critic Reviews

100
AllMusic

Despite its rather rudimentary recording quality, the music on We Insist! remains urgent, relevant, and provocative. Its assertion that freedom and equality are necessary for society to function and thrive resonates as poignantly and intensely amid the global civil rights struggles of the 21st century as it did in the 20th.

100
Rolling Stone

The stage was then set for the historic political/musical statement We Insist! Freedom Now Suite, with Oscar Brown Jr. joining Lincoln on the vocals and Olatunji's percussion added to the mix.

80
The Guardian
A landmark jazz album.
Doublez
95

The History of the Albums - n° 160

Although there are nuances between yesterday and today, we still live in a climate of anger, which pushes people to revolt in order to acquire equality among all humans. It is inadmissible to still be in "similar conditions",, when it has been going on for decades and even centuries. We Insist! being one of the first albums to protest against injustice and crime through the Civil Rights movement. That was almost 60 years ago.

Here's a year 1961 ... read more

JustSomeGuy
100

When I was first getting into jazz, it was albums like these that I was gravitating more to. More avant-garde albums, with more unique instrumentation giving it that extra edge to make it an album that I would genuinely love to return to more. I only really discovered Max Roach's We Insist a couple of weeks ago, and have only really been listening to it for the past few days, but goddamn, I really wish this was an album that I discovered much earlier. This album leaves me absolutely floored ... read more

zachthesnack
100

“Rumors flyin', must be lyin'. Can it really be?
Can't conceive it, can't believe it. But that's what they say.
Slave no longer, slave no longer, this is Freedom Day.”

Let’s take a trip back to 1961. A segregated America.

Racism has been a huge problem in America ever since the beginning. The only difference between now and then is that back in the early 60s there were extremely public laws that would ostracize you from the rest of society if you were an ethnic person of ... read more

More popular reviews
hardcorecaveman
92

Probably the most hypnotic jazz album i've ever listened to.

fleco
70

Hacía mucho tiempo que no escuchaba este disco. Lo recordaba muchísimo mejor, siendo sincero. Ningún tema destaca mucho y todos se me hacen medio vacíos. Eso sí, combina bien distintos conceptos, ya sea con el uso del canto de Abbey Lincoln o la percusión africana en varios temas, pero que destaca en "All Africa".

bittersweetidal
90

1. Driva Man - 88
2. Freedom Day - 93
3. Triptych: Prayer / Protest / Peace - 86
4. All Africa - 92
5. Tears for Johannesburg - 90

This was a pretty good record, the avant garde jazz fusion with such a strong political message for liberation made this album so interesting ando listen to. The different homages made to the African diaspora, and the calls to end white supremacy and promote black liberation make it one of the most unique, powerful and interesting forms of political messaging.

More recent reviews
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