Free – Fire and Water (1970) review
Free “Fire and Water” (Music On Vinyl, 2013)
With a hectic gigging schedule and two
already well-received sets behind them, Tons Of Sobs and Free, both in 1969,
the following year’s Fire and Water saw the group moving beyond the blues boom
and becoming a major part of the denim-clad, hard rock fraternity. Street credibility
aside, they were now also able to cut it with the younger teenage ‘Top of The
Pops’ crowd with a number still among the mainstream world’s most effulgent
rockers, ‘All Right Now’; a song that’s, even now, synonymous with the name
Free.
already well-received sets behind them, Tons Of Sobs and Free, both in 1969,
the following year’s Fire and Water saw the group moving beyond the blues boom
and becoming a major part of the denim-clad, hard rock fraternity. Street credibility
aside, they were now also able to cut it with the younger teenage ‘Top of The
Pops’ crowd with a number still among the mainstream world’s most effulgent
rockers, ‘All Right Now’; a song that’s, even now, synonymous with the name
Free.
The overall sound which the album’s
material is soaked in – this time around opting for a band co-production,
alongside John Kelly and Roy Thomas Baker – shows a group with much to offer
beyond blues-rock scene contenders and the, yet another long–haired group with
a pop hit on their hands tag which, sometimes, they are saddled with. The blues
is still ingrained here, however, and is perhaps best represented by such as
the reflective bare-bones soul of ‘Don’t Say You Love Me’, and Paul Rodgers and
Paul Kossoff’s heavily melancholic ‘Oh I Wept’.
material is soaked in – this time around opting for a band co-production,
alongside John Kelly and Roy Thomas Baker – shows a group with much to offer
beyond blues-rock scene contenders and the, yet another long–haired group with
a pop hit on their hands tag which, sometimes, they are saddled with. The blues
is still ingrained here, however, and is perhaps best represented by such as
the reflective bare-bones soul of ‘Don’t Say You Love Me’, and Paul Rodgers and
Paul Kossoff’s heavily melancholic ‘Oh I Wept’.
The structure and main central riff of the
title track, and the aforementioned smash ’All Right Now’, however, remain
classic examples of pure, unadulterated British rock grunt with a largely
unadorned, earthy feel that also encapsulates the group strengths. While it’s
true Rodgers’ gruff, soulful vocals, and the exchanges between Kossoff’s
brittle fuzz fretting and juicy, sure-touch leads are at the forefront of much
that’s happening here, it’s the undergirding provision of Simon Kirke’s basic
kit-pounding, and the sinewy, flexible bass figures of Andy Fraser that truly
enables Free to build on such tough, solid foundations and, in no small part,
helps keep their engine well-greased.
title track, and the aforementioned smash ’All Right Now’, however, remain
classic examples of pure, unadulterated British rock grunt with a largely
unadorned, earthy feel that also encapsulates the group strengths. While it’s
true Rodgers’ gruff, soulful vocals, and the exchanges between Kossoff’s
brittle fuzz fretting and juicy, sure-touch leads are at the forefront of much
that’s happening here, it’s the undergirding provision of Simon Kirke’s basic
kit-pounding, and the sinewy, flexible bass figures of Andy Fraser that truly
enables Free to build on such tough, solid foundations and, in no small part,
helps keep their engine well-greased.
Review made by Lenny Helsing/2013
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http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2013
http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2013
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