Free (Free album)

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Free
Free albumcover.jpg
Studio album by
Free
ReleasedOctober 1969
October 2001 (Reissue)
RecordedJanuary 3 – June 6, 1969
StudioMorgan Studios and Trident Studios, London, UK
GenreBlues rock, folk rock
Length35:56
LabelIsland
ProducerChris Blackwell
Free chronology
Tons of Sobs
(1969) 		Free
(1969) 		Fire and Water
(1970)

Free is the second album by 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. Both albums were released by Island Records, with Free being produced by Chris Blackwell, the head of Island, taking over from Guy Stevens, who produced the first album.

Recording[]

This album saw the burgeoning of the songwriting partnership between Paul Rodgers and sixteen-year-old 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. Fraser's bass guitar is far more prominent here than on the previous album, being 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. Kossoff, whose natural spontaneity had been given free rein up to then, particularly resented being taught very specific rhythm guitar parts by Fraser.[citation needed] However, Blackwell managed to keep the band in line to record the album.

The album performed poorly on release, reaching only No. 22 in the UK charts,[citation needed] and failing completely in the US. The single releases, "Broad Daylight" and "I'll be Creepin'", also failed. Two songs from the album, "I'll be Creepin'" and "Woman", were later covered by the American rock band Three Dog Night.

Cover[]

The album is notable for having innovative artwork from Ron Raffaelli of The Visual Thing Inc. It 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 (1967) and Robert Crumb's artwork for Big Brother and the Holding Company's Cheap Thrills (1968). The book was part compiled by Storm Thorgerson, who had designed many famous album covers such as Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (1973).

Raffaelli made the cover by photographing his model with strobe lights to make a silhouette of her against a background, on which he could then overlay the design.[citation needed] Hence, the album has a 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.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars [1]

Track listing[]

All tracks written by Andy Fraser and Paul Rodgers unless otherwise noted.

Side one
  1. "I'll Be Creepin'" – 3:27
  2. "Songs of Yesterday" – 3:33
  3. "Lying in the Sunshine" – 3:51
  4. "Trouble on Double Time" (Fraser, Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Paul Kossoff) – 3:23
  5. "Mouthful of Grass" – 3:36
Side two
  1. "Woman" – 3:50
  2. "Free Me" – 5:24
  3. "Broad Daylight" – 3:15
  4. "Mourning Sad Morning" – 5:04

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
    • This was the B-side to "Broad Daylight".
  3. "I'll Be Creepin'" – 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 Creepin'".
  5. "Broad Daylight" (BBC Session) – 3.21
    • A BBC Session of the album track recorded on 17 March 1969.
  6. "Songs of Yesterday" (BBC Session) – 3.11
    • A BBC Session of the album track recorded on 17 March 1969.
  7. "Mouthful of Grass" – 3.33
    • This early version of the song contains only 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" – 2.37
    • An early version of the album track
  10. "Mourning Sad Morning" – 5.10
    • This is an alternate version of the album track that does not contain Wood's flute solo.

Personnel[]

References[]

Citations
  1. ^ Free - Free (1969) album review by Dave Thompson, credits & releases at AllMusic
Sources
  • 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.

External links[]

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