Free – Fire And Water
(Island Records 1971 ILPS9104 Island Pink Rim Labels)
Matrix No’s: A5/B5 – UK Pressing
Vinyl in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from some light pops/crackles – few light clicks in the middle of Lying In The Sunshine)
Robor Gatefold Sleeve in Excellent+ condition
– some wear to edges, a little rubbing near the top and a sticker mark top right corner
Original Blue Island Inner Sleeve
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 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. Whereas Tons of Sobs had been produced by Guy Stevens, Free was produced by the head of Island Records, Chris Blackwell.
Track listing
All tracks written by Andy Fraser & Paul Rodgers unless otherwise noted.
- Side one
- “I’ll Be Creepin'” – 3:27
- “Songs of Yesterday” – 3:33
- “Lying in the Sunshine” – 3:51
- “Trouble on Double Time” (Fraser, Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Paul Kossoff) – 3:23
- “Mouthful of Grass” – 3:36
- Side two
- “Woman” – 3:50
- “Free Me” – 5:24
- “Broad Daylight” – 3:15
- “Mourning Sad Morning” – 5:04
Personnel
- Paul Rodgers – vocals
- Paul Kossoff – lead guitar, rhythm guitar
- Andy Fraser – bass guitar, rhythm guitar, piano
- Simon Kirke – drums, percussion
- Chris Wood – flute (“Mourning Sad Morning”)
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