Over look the stupid cover artwork and you'll find a terrific album. Free had a history that was as far removed from its name as one could imagine. When the band first formed their record company rejected their name initially feeling it wasn't too commercial but lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Paul Rodgers, bassist/songwriter Andy Fraser (who would later go on to write the Robert Palmer hit "It Takes Every Kind of People"), lead guitarist Paul Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke (who would go on to join Rodgers in Bad Company and briefly join Kossoff in the spin-off group Kossoff,Kirke,Tetsu and Rabbit)stuck to their guns and still managed to generate three massive hits ("All Right Now", "Stealer" and "Little Bit of Love"), record six powerful albums before the band fell apart (for the second time)due to the pressure of stardom, egos and drugs.
"The Free Story" is THE BEST anthology to get because it features the original mixes of the songs ("Molden Gold" has all been remixed by Bob Clearmountain sometimes to good effect but more often than not diminishing the originals) and even their remaster discography (which liberally uses No Noise to eliminate all tape hiss--it also effectively makes the album sound like all the air was sucked out of the room and that a blanket was thrown over the speakers).
Duplicating the exact order of the original two record vinyl set (minus one song that couldn't be included for time reasons--which is too bad because it is a stunning live version of "Heartbreaker". The sound quality is extremely good and what it might lack in clarity compared to "Molten Gold" it makes up for because the original mixes the band intended to release are included.
The booklet includes all of the original liner notes touching briefly on Kossoff's problem with drugs that sidelined him and his eventual death on a plane flight from a drug induced heart attack. The selection of songs is excellent including one track from the spin-off KKTR (with bassist Tetsu Yamauchi and keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick eventually joining Free after Fraser departed upon completion of their album "Free at Last"). "Heartbreaker" is woefully underrepresented here but, aside from that, it has MOST of the essential tracks from this terrific band that had a tragic history. Wayne Klein
No comments:
Post a Comment