“Freebird (Live)” – Built to Spill
(Words/music: Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant, undated live recording) 

After Conan O’Brien’s send off episode ended with an absurd performance of “Freebird” (which speaks for itself, so I won’t add anything new), I’ve had “Freebird” in the back of my mind.  It led me back to this recording of Built to Spill playing the song.  Situated somewhere between an unfunny joke and a guilty pleasure, “Freebird” probably yields the lowest request-to-performance ration of songs requested at rock shows.  However, Built to Spill have played the song for years (part of the reason I can’t identify the date of this recording – if you know, let me know and I’ll update the post).  They don’t just tease the song, either; they play the whole thing, solos and all.  Whether intended as a thumbing of the nose to those annoying requests from the crowd or a sincere take (and their 20+ minute version of “Cortez the Killer” from the band’s official live album leads me to think it’s intentional), Built to Spill take the opportunity to wail on the song for a solid eight minutes.

I’m inclined to think that the band isn’t being tongue-in-cheek with their version because it gives the band a chance to wail for a while.  Their “Freebird” doesn’t delve into the same distorted psychedelia that their “Cortez the Killer” features.  Instead, it gives the band an excuse to cut loose.  Looking back at it years later, their “Freebird” foreshadowed the guitar-heavy (and song-extending) tendencies on some of their more recent output.  In short, I’ve kept this version of “Freebird” for the same reason that the version on Conan worked – it’s played sincerely and comes across as a band having fun.

More on Built to Spill: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm