Hard rock band SOiL have released their cover of Neil Young‘s 1989 protest anthem “Rockin’ In The Free World‘ online to leading digital service providers, including Spotify. The band’s decision to release their version of the track on that particular service follows Young‘s recent decision to pull his music from Spotify.
The aforementioned tenured rock/folk artist removed his songs from the Swedish streaming company after issuing an ultimatum to them, allowing them to host his music on the service or the ‘COVID-19 misinformation’ he feels is being spread by their flagship exclusive podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience‘. The company backed Rogan, causing a number of other artists to follow suit in pulling their music from the service in protest.
SOiL said of their decision to release this cover now:
“Over the years, SOiL has considered covering Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World‘ many times. It was a song that really struck a nerve with us individually in our younger days before SOiL was even a band. The song still stands the test of time and is as powerful today as it was back then. This version we recorded was scheduled to be released as part of a special upcoming album due out later this year, but we decided that now would be a good time to let everyone hear our take on the Neil Young classic with the SOiL twist. We hope you all enjoy it!”
While the cover arriving on Spotify may be seen as being opportunistic given the nature of Young‘s protest against the service, an official press release asserts that SOiL‘s intentions are pure, offering:
‘Now that Young’s music has fallen silent on the world’s most prominent musical platform, Spotify, another band has stepped forward to make sure that Young’s rebellious spirit continues to live on with a powerful new version of “Rockin’ In The Free World.” Chicago alternative metal kings SOiL have released their own version of the song to all digital platforms, keeping the fire lit for future generations of rebels and iconoclasts.’
