As JohnFox, in our favorite RYM,
states: «Free, along with Led Zeppelin, the Jeff Beck Group and Cream, stood tall as the cornerstone of the
storied, late sixties British blues-rock movement. Fronted by soulful vocalist
Paul Rodgers, Free's gritty sound separated the group from the competition. Free
is most closely tied to the legendary riff of "All Right Now", the
quartet's breakthrough song from the seminal Fire and Water LP, which also
features the engaging title track. Paul Kossoff's fretboard work drives the upbeat "All
Right Now", which was penned immediately following a frustrating gig in
Durham, England. The hard rockin' "All Right Now" pushed Free to
international fame. With bassist Andy Fraser and Simon Kirke on drums, there
was so much more to Free than the amped-up "All Right Now". The band
deftly delivered heartfelt mellow numbers, slow burnin' blues, and hard edged
tracks. With a wealth of quality albums defining the group's ability to pen
diverse songs, it was from the stage that served as the ultimate Free
experience, where the group locked-in and delivered tight, jaw-dropping
performances. The Free ride came to a halt following the Heartbreaker LP, but
over the group's relatively short run, which lasted less than five years, the
proud English group delivered the goods and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the
greats from the British blues-rock boom.»
Whilst in the bio section is
mentioned: «Formed in 1968, in London UK, Free were the archetypal blues/ rock
band. Along with the likes of Led Zeppelin they typified the
sound that influenced a generation of rock musicians. Although Paul Rodgers
and Paul Kossoff are generally regarded as
the dominant talents in the band, Andy Fraser (who was only 15 years
old at the time) was already working in the well established band John Mayall's
Bluesbreakers which had seen the likes of Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck pass through it's ranks.
Also, Simon Kirke while contributing little in the way of written material over
his time with the band was a highly accomplished drummer.
Despite a critically acclaimed debut album Tons of Sobs and follow-up Free, commercial success eluded them until their third album Fire and Water from which the classic "All Right Now", their third single, was drawn. However, their follow up single "The Stealer" from the Highway album failed to chart and when combined with their young ages and Paul Kossoff's heavy drug addiction, the pressure was too much and the band began to fall apart.
Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke joined with Tetsu Yamauchi (later of Faces) and John "Rabbit" Bundrick to form ... and produced the self titled album Kossoff Kirke Tetsu Rabbit. Andy Fraser formed Toby and Paul Rodgers formed Peace neither of which produced any recorded material at the time (although some Peace material was later released in 1984). During this period, Island records released the album Free Live! and this was generally well received. The single "My Brother Jake" was also released at this time and charted in the UK. Combined with the lack of success in the side projects and a desire to help Paul Kossoff rehabilitate the band reformed and produced a very strong album Free at Last from which the single "Little Bit of Love" was drawn. Bouyed by the success of the Free at Last album, the band decided to tour but the combination of Paul Kossoff's failing health and artistic frictions was too much and the band imploded. Andy Fraser pulled out of the tour and Paul Kossoff was too ill to appear so Tetsu and Rabbit were called on to finish the Japanese leg of the tour. At this point the band was dead in all but name but with Paul Kossoff able to contribute on many of the tracks they still managed to produce the excellent Heartbreaker album with the single "Wishing Well" prior to the final split.
Andy Fraser released a couple of albums with the Andy Fraser band and Sharks but finding little in the way of commercial success withdrew from public performance and went on to write songs for the likes of Brian Eno and Robert Palmer. Paul Kossoff had recorded a solo album Back Street Crawler during the initial split and later, after kicking the habit, formed a band of the same name and released a couple of critically acclaimed albums. However, with his body weakened by his fight against addiction, he succumbed to a heart attack while on a flight to New York in 1976 at the age of 25. Paul Rodgers and Kirke went on to form Bad Company with Mick Ralphs of Mott the Hoople and Boz Burrell of King Crimson and the rest, as they say, is history.»
Despite a critically acclaimed debut album Tons of Sobs and follow-up Free, commercial success eluded them until their third album Fire and Water from which the classic "All Right Now", their third single, was drawn. However, their follow up single "The Stealer" from the Highway album failed to chart and when combined with their young ages and Paul Kossoff's heavy drug addiction, the pressure was too much and the band began to fall apart.
Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke joined with Tetsu Yamauchi (later of Faces) and John "Rabbit" Bundrick to form ... and produced the self titled album Kossoff Kirke Tetsu Rabbit. Andy Fraser formed Toby and Paul Rodgers formed Peace neither of which produced any recorded material at the time (although some Peace material was later released in 1984). During this period, Island records released the album Free Live! and this was generally well received. The single "My Brother Jake" was also released at this time and charted in the UK. Combined with the lack of success in the side projects and a desire to help Paul Kossoff rehabilitate the band reformed and produced a very strong album Free at Last from which the single "Little Bit of Love" was drawn. Bouyed by the success of the Free at Last album, the band decided to tour but the combination of Paul Kossoff's failing health and artistic frictions was too much and the band imploded. Andy Fraser pulled out of the tour and Paul Kossoff was too ill to appear so Tetsu and Rabbit were called on to finish the Japanese leg of the tour. At this point the band was dead in all but name but with Paul Kossoff able to contribute on many of the tracks they still managed to produce the excellent Heartbreaker album with the single "Wishing Well" prior to the final split.
Andy Fraser released a couple of albums with the Andy Fraser band and Sharks but finding little in the way of commercial success withdrew from public performance and went on to write songs for the likes of Brian Eno and Robert Palmer. Paul Kossoff had recorded a solo album Back Street Crawler during the initial split and later, after kicking the habit, formed a band of the same name and released a couple of critically acclaimed albums. However, with his body weakened by his fight against addiction, he succumbed to a heart attack while on a flight to New York in 1976 at the age of 25. Paul Rodgers and Kirke went on to form Bad Company with Mick Ralphs of Mott the Hoople and Boz Burrell of King Crimson and the rest, as they say, is history.»
Full Discography
Related
LZ & The supergroups (See 1st Link Led
Zeppelin above)
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| Songs Of Yesterday |
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