Free (Free album)
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| Free | ||
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| Studio album by Free | ||
| Released | October 1969 October 2001 (reissue) |
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| Recorded | January - June 1969 | |
| Genre | Rock, Soul | |
| Length | 70:29 | |
| Label | Island | |
| Producer(s) | Chris Blackwell | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Free chronology | ||
| Tons Of Sobs 1968 |
Free (1969) |
Fire And Water (1970) |
Free is the second album of English rock group Free, recorded and released in 1969. The band had spent time touring after their debut album Tons Of Sobs the previous year, and there is a marked difference in the musicianship of the band as well as Paul Rodgers's voice. Individual members of the band seem less inclined to show off their musicianship - there are few of Paul Kossoff's extended guitar solos that could be heard on some of the previous album's tracks such as "Goin' Down Slow." Whereas Tons Of Sobs had been produced by Guy Stevens, Free was produced by the head of Island Records himself, Chris Blackwell, meaning that the album is more expensively produced. It is, however, less hard-rock oriented.
Contents |
[edit] Lineup
Paul Rodgers - Vocals
Paul Kossoff - Guitar
Andy Fraser - Bass
Simon Kirke - Drums
with
Chris Wood - Flute
[edit] Recording
This album saw the burgeoning of the songwriting partnership between Paul Rodgers and bassist Andy Fraser, which had been glimpsed on Tons Of Sobs with songs such as 'I'm A Mover'; here, eight out of the nine tracks bear a Fraser/Rodgers credit. Possibly as a result of the sixteen year-old Fraser's influence as a songwriter the bass guitar is far more prominent here than on the previous album, and indeed is used more widely than most other bands' albums do. The instrument is used as a rhythm guitar, driving the songs, while Kossoff's lead guitar develops from it.
While Fraser and Rodgers made a strong writing partnership, tensions in the band increased as some felt that Fraser held the band in a stranglehold. Kossoff, whose natural spontaneity had been given free rein up to then, particularly resented being taught very specific rhythm guitar parts by Fraser. However, Blackwell managed to keep the band in line to record the album.
However, the album performed fairly poorly on release, only reaching number 22 in the UK charts and failing completely in America. The single releases, 'Broad Daylight' and 'I'll Be Creeping', also failed. It would not be until the release of All Right Now the following year that the band became truly successful.
[edit] Cover
The album is notable for having extremely innovative and impressive artwork from Ron Rafaelli of The Visual Thing Inc., which is featured in the book 100 Best Album Covers alongside better known examples such as Peter Blake's cover for the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Robert Crumb's artwork for Big Brother And the Holding Company's Cheap Thrills. The book was part compiled by Storm Thorgerson who had himself designed many famous album covers such as Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon.
Rafaelli made the cover by photographing his model with strobe lights to make a silhouette of her against a background, which he could then overlay the design on. Hence, the album has a striking design of a woman made of stars leaping across the sky. The band's name is printed in extremely small letters at the top of the cover; with CDs being much smaller than LPs, this is almost unreadable.
[edit] Track listing
(All tracks written by Fraser/Rodgers unless otherwise noted)
[edit] Original tracks
1. 'I'll Be Creeping' 3.27
This was the second single released from the album, and failed to chart. It is a soul-influenced song notable for several changes in tempo, which were becoming increasingly common at this time.
2. 'Songs Of Yesterday' 3.33
One of the most popular songs on the album (enough so to give its name to a box set of Free material released in 2000), this features another tempo change that temporarily turns the song into blues before it reverts back to rock. It is led by the bass; Fraser's intricate playing makes this probably the best example of his playing in the band's entire catalogue.
3. 'Lying In The Sunshine' 3.51
A slow, shuffling, jazz influenced song that deals with the desire to relax. From this point the album settles into alternating slow-paced and fast-paced songs.
4. 'Trouble On Double Time' (Fraser/Rodgers/Kirke/Kossoff) 3.23
A fast, funky rock song, this contains the swaggering spirit so prevalent on 'Tons Of Sobs' but largely absent on this album.
5. 'Mouthful Of Grass' 3.36
One of only two instrumentals the band did (the other, coincidentally, is a bonus track on this album), it is a languid tune that serves as a divider between the two halves of the album. It was released as the B-side of 'All Right Now' the following year; the success of that single earned this song more fame than it would have achieved on its own.
6. 'Woman' 3.50
Although this album is considerably mellower than many of its counterparts, this song arguably displays more braggadocio than any other Free song bar 'Wild Indian Woman' on the previous album, with some lyrics possibly intended for humorous effect ("Marry me today/I'll give you everything/Except my car").
7. 'Free Me' 5.24
A slow, dirge-like song driven by a repeating bass line that can be compared to the previous album's 'Moonshine'. It is more accessible than that song, which had included several melodramatic elements of the horror genre.
8. 'Broad Daylight' 3.15
The first single release of the album, the relative commercial failure of the album can arguably be laid at the door of this song; it takes a relatively long time to begin and features the title repeated several times for its chorus. While as an album track it is consistent, it was arguably unsuitable for release on its own.
9. 'Mourning Sad Morning' 5.04
A very slow and sad song, led by Kossoff's acoustic guitar, most memorable for its flute solo by Traffic's Chris Wood, who had earlier guested on Jimi Hendrix's song '1983...A Merman I Should Turn To Be' from the Electric Ladyland album.
[edit] Extra tracks
1. 'Broad Daylight' 3.09
The version of the song that was released as a single, this is a slightly different edit and features prominent backing singers.
2. 'The Worm' 3.03
A funky rock song often compared to Cream's 'Politician', this was the B-side to 'Broad Daylight'.
3. 'I'll Be Creeping' 2.47
This is the single version of the album track, with one verse edited out.
4. 'Sugar For Mr. Morrison' 3.01
The band's second instrumental track, this is a slow, bass-driven number that gradually builds into a crashing guitar jam. It was released as the B-side to 'I'll Be Creeping'.
5. 'Broad Daylight' - BBC Session 3.21
A BBC Session of the album track recorded on the 17th March 1969.
6. 'Songs Of Yesterday' - BBC Session 3.11
A BBC Session of the album track recorded on the 17th March 1969.
7. 'Mouthful Of Grass' 3.33
This early version of the song contains nothing but the rhythm guitar (played by Fraser) which formed the backbone of the finished song.
8. 'Woman' 4.00
This is an alternate version of the album track, with less prominent guitar.
9. 'Trouble On Double Time' (Fraser/Rodgers/Kirke/Kossoff) 2.37
This early version of the album track is an underproduced heavy-rock song that would have sounded more appropriate on Tons Of Sobs.
10. 'Mourning Sad Morning' 5.10
This is an alternate version of the album track that does not contain Wood's flute solo.
[edit] References
- Strong, Martin C. The Great Rock Discography, 6th edition. Edinburgh: Canongate Books 1994, 2002. pp. 392-3.
- Sutcliffe, Phil. Notes to Free by Free. Universal Island Records Ltd. 1969, 2001.
- Thorgerson, Storm and Aubrey Powell. 100 Best Album Covers. London: Dorling Kindersley 1994.
[edit] External links
| Free |
| Members |
|---|
| | Paul Rodgers • Paul Kossoff • Andy Fraser • Simon Kirke |
| Discography |
|
Studio albums: - Tons of Sobs • Free • Fire and Water • Highway • Free at Last • Heartbreaker |
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Live albums: - Free Live! |
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Compilation album: - The Free Story • The Best of Free • Free And Easy, Rough And Ready • Completely Free • The Best of Free: All Right Now • Molten Gold: The Anthology • Free: All Right Now • Songs of Yesterday • Chronicles • |
