Free me (Free) (LP 2550 - 2554)

Free  Free (CD, Island Records, 1969) ****  

Free  Fire And Water (CD, Island Records, 1970) ****  

Free  Highway (CD, Island Records, 1970) ****  

Free  Free At Last (CD, Island Records, 1972) ***  

Free  Heartbreaker (CD, Island Records, 1973) ****  

Genre: Rock 

Places I remember: Fopp

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Wishing Well (Heartbreaker)

Gear costume: Fire And Water (Fire And Water)

Active compensatory factors: Free albums are remarkably consistent, because the guys quickly hit on a winning formula and stuck to it for the duration of these albums (all part of a 5 Classic Albums package). 

Free, by Free, is actually their second album and it's a classic of the genre. It tanked commercially at the time which is utterly bizarre. It stands out from the blues rock pack because each member is a master of their instrument. 

There is also a lot of space in their sound, or maybe it's the way they were recorded. The separation of the instruments is a recurring feature of these records.

Paul Rodgers and Andy Fraser were the principle writers and they knew what they were doing, for sure.

Their other unique strength is Paul Rodgers' vocal ability. He is effortlessly in total command throughout these records.

Fire And Water, their third album, was in comparison to Free, hugely successful. All Right Now was a massive hit and now a ubiquitous presence on any self-respecting seventies rock collection.

Paul Kossoff emerged as a real star guitarist with this album.

Next studio album was Highway, also from 1970 and it's a more introspective, low-key album, but nevertheless it retains everything that makes Free a great band. Unfortunately, the band broke up, temporarily after Highway, and Paul Kossoff developed a paralysing drug habit.

So, Free At Last came out a few years later and, although not a tough guitar fueled rock album, is remarkedly good given the situation.

Their sixth and final studio album was 1973's Heartbreaker. It may be my favourite Free album. It starts with Wishing Well which is an air guitar classic (Kossoff at his best).

Tetsu replaced Andy Fraser on bass, and with Paul Rodgers doing the heavy lifting of the song writing, the band produced a great album despite all the comings and goings. Amazing!

Where do they all belong? A best off is probably a good place to start (I have a vinyl copy of Completely Free which is pretty cool).