"...I'm The Stealer...Gonna Steal Your Love..."
This is the kind of CD
reissue that does my nut in - one step forward and two steps back. Some
explanation is needed...
FREE fans will know that the
February 2002 CD reissue campaign of all seven of their albums (six studio and
one live) came with great Peter Mew remasters, decent bonus tracks and expanded
booklets to match - and were mid-price at the time. But here we are in
September 2016 with another reissue campaign of all seven albums accompanied by
"The Free Story" compilation (a 2LP set onto 1CD) that strips away
those brilliant bonuses entirely – and unwisely substitutes the hugely
informative liner notes for band photos.
But – these 2016 reissues do
offer us one genuinely worthy consolation prize - new 2016 ANDY PEARCE and an
uncredited MATT WORTHAM set of Remasters that breath wonderful naturalistic
vitality back into the albums. With the eight being offered on Amazon at a less
than five pounds sixty-five pence per reissue – you can of course argue that
the price is right and with their generic 'Island Remasters' see-through side
panelling on the jewel case – they look good too. But what real fans are
essentially getting is great new sound - but lesser discs (one step forward
etc). Here are the neutered nadges...
UK released Friday, 9
September 2016 - "Highway" by FREE on Universal/Island Remasters 473
181-9 (Barcode 602547318190) is a straightforward CD Remaster of the 9-track
late 1970 UK LP and plays out as follows (36:02 minutes):
1. The Highway Song
2. The Stealer
3. On My Way
4. Be My Friend
5. Sunny Day [Side 2]
6. Ride On Pony
7. Love You So
8. Bodie
9. Soon I Will Be Gone
Tracks 1 to 9 are their 4th
studio album "Highway" - released December 1970 in the UK on Island
Records ILPS 9138 and February 1971 in the USA on A&M Records SP-4278.
Produced by FREE and engineered by Andy Johns - it peaked at No. 40 on the UK
LP charts (didn't chart in the USA).
The six missing bonus tracks
on the 2002 Island Remasters version are "My Brother Jake (7" Single
Mix)", "Only My Soul"
(April 1971 non-album B-side to "My Brother Jake" released in the UK
on Island WIP 6100), "Ride On A Pony (BBC Session)", "Be My
Friend (BBC Session)", "Rain (Alternative Version)" and
"The Stealer (7" Single Version Edit)". As you can see from this
list of missing extras - your loss is considerable - every one of these bonus
tracks adding huge punch to the overall vibe of the 2002 reissue.
The new booklet is 12-pages
with a Tape-Box Photo of "The Stealer" on Page 2, other band photos
and reissue credits on the centre colour spread (both guitarist Paul Kossoff
and bassist Andy Fraser get a page each) - but there's no liner notes giving
history, details etc. Beneath the see-through CD tray are pictures of the seven
reissued albums with the eight being "The Free Story" double-album
compilation from 1974 (for catalogue numbers see notes below). But a fabulous
new master from ANDY PEARCE and an uncredited MATT WORTHAM – who did such great
work on Pentangle, Frankie Miller, Thin Lizzy, Wishbone Ash, the 2012 Rory
Gallagher CD remasters of his Polydor and Chrysalis catalogues and most
recently the 2016 Budgie 3CD Box Set for their MCA Albums and the 'Deluxe
Editions' for the Emerson, Lake And Palmer Island catalogue (see reviews for
them all) - resoundingly compensates for all of that distasteful compromise.
I've had the 2002 remaster and the Japanese 2008 SHM-CD reissue – both of which
rock – but this version is better to my ears. There's suddenly staggering
naturality and presence to the whole LP. Pearce and Wortham let things breathe
(it's a trademark of theirs). Sure there's trace amounts of hiss and it's
possibly louder than the other pressings – but its not loudness for loudness
sake – not shrill so to speak – just in your face – huge power and presence -
like an original tape should be. Buggering thing is I'll now need the lot if
they all sound this good...
As an album December 1970's
"Highway" has always been second fiddle to the mighty "Fire And
Water" from earlier in the year (May 1970) with it's all conquering
"All Right Now". But I'd argue it's the band's "Powerage"
or "Communiqué" or "Goat's Head Soup" or "Tusk" -
a record that followed monsters and therefore gets unfairly overlooked and
slagged off. Granted a tune like the dreadfully weedy "Bodie" is not
classic Free no matter how well the Acoustic Guitars now leap out of the mix.
But check out the opener "The Highway Song" and suddenly that
ramshackle British Rock thing The Stones and Mott The Hoople had in spades
starts to fill your living room with trouser-filling swagger (look out ladies).
The album cut of the truly fabulous "The Stealer" at 3:16 minutes is
actually better than the slightly longer single mix at 3:23 minutes which has
different guitar parts and a more accentuated Andy Fraser bass. Here the 2016
LP Version has amazing power - that fantastic 'she stood on the corner' riffage
now has the gonads it’s always cried out for (surely Free at their best). Side
1 shows the mellow side of singer Paul Rodgers and songwriting bassist Andy
Fraser when they end the A with two superb mid-tempo tunes "On My
Way" and "Be My Friend" - massively underrated Free songs –
beautiful remasters for both cuts too.
"Sunny Day" opens
Side 2 in the same mellow mood - it's a song I honestly didn't think much of at
first but now dig - especially as it's followed by the album's other nugget -
the fab "Ride On A Pony" which should have been the follow-on single
from "The Stealer". The remaster has given it oomph in every area.
The Mellotron that featured on "Be My Friend" returns for the pretty
and affecting "Love You So" - a very sweet FREE ballad. I never could
abide "Bodie" but that mush is followed by an epic "Soon I Will
Be Gone" which sounds utterly amazing on this Remaster.
Across the seven reissues we
probably loose thirty to thirty-five genuinely cool bonus tracks and all that
enlightening info in the booklets too - so buying their catalogue yet again may
become a chore. But we do gain fabulous new audio - and for many that's
probably going to be a deciding factor. Bugger but Universal wins again -
because if they all sound this good - I'm gonna have to own the lot...
PS: FREE titles in the 9
Sept 2016 Island Remasters CD Reissue Series are:
1. Tons Of Sobs (March 1969
debut UK LP) - Island Remasters 473 181-5 (Barcode 602547318152)
2. Free (October 1969 UK LP)
- Island Remasters 473 187-1 (Barcode 602547318718)
3. Fire And Water (May 1970
UK LP) - Island Remasters 473 187-4 (Barcode 602547318749)
4. Highway (December 1970 UK
LP) - Island Remasters 473 181-9 (Barcode 602547318190)
5. Free Live! (June 1971 UK
LP) - Island Remasters 473 187-6
6. Free At Last (June 1972
UK LP) - Island Remasters 473 183-9 (Barcode 602547318398)
7. Heartbreaker (January
1973 UK Final Studio LP) - Island Remasters 473 182-6 (Barcode 602547318268)
8. The Free Story (March
1974 UK 2LP Compilation) - Island Remasters 472 262-9
There is also a VINYL Box
Set called "FREE - The Vinyl Collection" on Universal/Island 473
187-9 released 9 September 2016 with seven LPs (Barcode 0602547318794)
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