Sweet Freedom (Michael McDonald album)

Sweet Freedom
Compilation album by Michael McDonald
Released	1986 (1986)
Genre	Pop
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Michael McDonald Rod Temperton Dick Rudolph Bruce Swedien Ted Templeman Quincy Jones Lenny Waronker Burt Bacharach Carole Bayer Sager
Michael McDonald chronology
No Lookin' Back (1985) Sweet Freedom (1986) Take It to Heart (1990)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Sweet Freedom (also known as Sweet Freedom – The Best of Michael McDonald in some countries) is a compilation album by American singer and songwriter Michael McDonald, released in 1986 on the Warner Bros. label.

Content

The compilation includes singles and album tracks from Michael McDonald's first two solo studio albums, If That's What It Takes (1982) and No Lookin' Back (1985), along with duets with James Ingram ("Yah Mo B There"), Patti LaBelle ("On My Own") and one song from when McDonald was lead singer of the rock band The Doobie Brothers ("What a Fool Believes"). The album's title track, "Sweet Freedom", was a newly recorded song and featured on the soundtrack to the 1986 film Running Scared.

Commercial performance

Sweet Freedom reached No. 6 in the UK Albums Chart and is McDonald's most successful album in that country.^[2]

Track listing

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sweet Freedom"	Rod Temperton	4:04
2.	"(I'll Be Your) Angel"	Michael McDonald Chuck Sabatino	3:48
3.	"Yah Mo B There" (with James Ingram)	McDonald Temperton Ingram Quincy Jones	4:29
4.	"I Gotta Try"	McDonald Kenny Loggins	3:49
5.	"I Keep Forgettin'"	McDonald Ed Sanford Jerry Leiber Mike Stoller	3:39
6.	"Our Love" (Remix)	McDonald David Pack	4:18

Side B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"On My Own" (with Patti LaBelle)	Burt Bacharach Carole Bayer Sager	4:39
8.	"No Looking Back"	McDonald Loggins Sanford	3:54
9.	"Any Foolish Thing"	McDonald Sabatino	4:22
10.	"That's Why"	McDonald Randy Goodrum	4:22
11.	"What a Fool Believes" (with The Doobie Brothers)	McDonald Kenny Loggins	3:40
12.	"I Can Let Go Now"	McDonald	2:53

Production

• Track 1 produced by Rod Temperton, Dick Rudolph and Bruce Swedien
• Tracks 2, 6, 8 & 9 produced by Michael McDonald and Ted Templeman; engineered and mixed by Ross Pallone
• Track 3 produced by Quincy Jones for Quincy Jones Productions
• Tracks 4, 5, 10 & 12 produced by Ted Templeman and Lenny Waronker
• Track 6 remixed by Humberto Gatica
• Track 7 produced and arranged by Burt Bacharach and Carole Bayer Sager; executive producer – Patti LaBelle
• Track 11 produced by Ted Templeman; engineered by Donn Landee
• Album remastered by Lee Herschberg

Charts

Chart performance for Sweet Freedom

Chart (1986)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)[3]	6

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[4]	Platinum	300,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Sweet Freedom: The Best of Michael McDonald - Michael McDonald - Songs, Reviews, Credits - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved September 20, 2017.
2. "MICHAEL MCDONALD - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
3. "Michael McDonald | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
4. "British album certifications – Michael McDonald – Sweet Freedom: Best Of Michael Mcdonald". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 26, 2018.