Free At Last
(Island Records 1972 ILPS9192 Island Pink Rim Label)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing
Sleeve in Excellent/Very Good+ condition
– front is a bit grubby with some foxing and discolouration spots
Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)
Free were an English rock band formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song “All Right Now”. They disbanded in 1973 and lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become a frontman of the band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums. Lead guitarist Paul Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler and died from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 25 in 1976. Bassist Andy Fraser formed Sharks.
The band became famed for their sensational live shows and nonstop touring. However, early studio albums did not sell very well – until the release of Fire and Water which featured the massive hit “All Right Now”. The song helped secure them a place at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 where they played to 600,000 people.
By the early 1970s, Free became one of the biggest-selling British blues rock groups; by the time the band retired in 1973, they had sold more than 20 million albums around the world and had played more than 700 arena and festival concerts. “All Right Now,” remains a rock staple, and had been entered into ASCAP‘s “One Million” airplay singles club.
Rolling Stone had referred to the band as “British hard rock pioneers”. The magazine ranked Rodgers No. 55 in its list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”, while Kossoff was ranked No. 51 in its list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time“.
Free were signed to Island Records in the UK and A&M Records in North America. Both labels became part of the PolyGram group in 1989, then Universal Music Group in 1998; UMG now controls the band’s catalogue worldwide.
Free at Last is the fifth studio album by English rock band Free. The band had broken up in April 1971 due to differences between singer Paul Rodgers and bassist Andy Fraser.
Track listing
All tracks written by Rodgers/Fraser/Kossoff/Kirke unless otherwise stated.
- Side one
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Catch a Train” | 3:32 | |
| 2. | “Soldier Boy” | 2:51 | |
| 3. | “Magic Ship” | 5:22 | |
| 4. | “Sail On” | 3:05 | |
| 5. | “Travellin’ Man” | 3:23 |
- Side two
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | “Little Bit of Love” | 2:34 | |
| 7. | “Guardian of the Universe” | 5:32 | |
| 8. | “Child” | 5:18 | |
| 9. | “Goodbye” | 5:05 |
Personnel
- Paul Rodgers – vocals, piano
- Paul Kossoff – guitar
- Andy Fraser – bass guitar
- Simon Kirke – drums
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