Track Listing

1. I'm A Mover - Free, Guy Stevens
2. I'll Be Creepin' - Chris Blackwell, Free
3. Mourning Sad Morning - Chris Blackwell, Free
4. All Right Now - Free, John Kelly, Roy Thomas Baker
5. Heavy Load
6. Fire And Water
7. Be My Friend
8. The Stealer
9. Soon I Will Be Gone
10. Mr. Big
11. The Hunter - Andy Johns, Free
12. Get Where I Belong - Free, Andy Johns
13. Travelling Man
14. Just For The Box - Paul Kossoff, Simon Kirke, Tetsu Yamauchi, John "Rabbit" Bundrick, Richard Digby Smith
15. Lady - Chris Blackwell, Free, Paul Rodgers
16. My Brother Jake
17. Little Bit Of Love
18. Sail On
19. Come Together In The Morning - Free, Andy Johns, Paul Kossoff

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4269 in Music
• Released on: 1996-09-16
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds
• Running time: 77 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Respected as one of the finest blues rock bands of their time, The Free Story reminds us that there is much more to them than standard classics like "Alright Now". This compilation, spanning all six of their albums, opens in true form with the swaggering groove of "I'm A Mover" taken from Tons Of Sobs. Singer Paul Rodgers' soulful wailing and the band's inventive playing brings the blues to life with their own brand of traditional folk and sultry rock. The parade ends with a single track from their final album, Heartbreaker. By this time, founder guitarist Paul Kossoff had left the group, to be replaced by Rodgers on guitar; this accounts for the complimentary song writing on "Come Together In The Morning". Often shadowed by the legendary supergroups of the early 1970s, Free hold a quiet authority as the masters of understatement and pure musical passion. --David Trueman.

Customer Reviews

Never far from my stereo...
Spare, stripped down, passsionate rock and blues - that for me sums up Free's music. Not a spare note or a note out of place. I can't remember waiting for the postman with such anticipation as when I bought this CD from Amazon - and this despite the fact that I already have the album on vinyl. There has beeen no band to compare with Free since 1968 when Alexis Korner gave them their name. Paul Kossoff is the guy who Eric Clapton wanted to have him teach him some techniques, and this in the days when people went around with "Clapton is God" badges. Say no more. I like the review that compares them with Led Zeppelin, compared to Free, Led Zeppelin were definitely a triumph of marketing over talent. Free were just the opposite. Buy this album! Now. Then buy Free Live! Then all the rest of their stuff.

Superb
After seeing Paul Rodgers perform All Right Now on channel 4's UK music hall of fame final with Queen members Roger Taylor and Brian May it reminded me of what a fantastic song it is. But Free are much more than just one song and this album provides the best of Free's work (Fire and Water, Mr Big and The Hunter to name a few). The album sums up the essence of Free from the "solid" Simon Kirke on drums to the awesome voice of Paul Rodgers, which got him noticed by Kossoff and Kirke when singing at The Fickle Pickle. All in all this is a must for anyone just discovering Free or current fans alike, it is one of the bands best albums along with their Live album. Definitely worth buying!

A must buy
This album is an essential purchase for anyone interested in discovering this band and for pretty much anyone else for that matter. It contains most of the bands best material with one or two notable omissions and it is a bargain as well in that it was a double album when originally released on vinyl. Free were always more that just another rock band and tried to embrace many influences rather like Led Zeppelin. However, whereas Zeppelin often failed when they sought to diversify from the rock/blues base ( Dyer Maker anyone? ) Free usually succeeded. This was in large part due to the fantastic voice and stylish lyrics of Paul Rodgers who could do much more than just scream like Robert Plant and avoided the latter's banality. ( Plant did redeem himself somewhat however on his briliant Fate Of Nations album). In addition Free had Paul Kossoff who was a true original in the rock guitar field. Another feature of the band was Andy Fraser's bass which was quite often used as a lead instrument and was very innovative for the time. Simon Kirke's steady pounding took the role that the bass took in other bands thus allowing Fraser to stretch out. Listen to the guitar/bass interplay on Mr Big to see what I mean - absolutely outstanding rock music which proves conclusively that rock music need not be mindless 4/4 with flash solos ( see Deep Purple etc ) and can almost be regarded as an artform when done at its best. Sadly the lifespan of Free was too short. Rodgers and Kirke did re-emerge as Bad Company who were a pale imitation of this wonderful band but did have their moments as well.