''Free Live!'' is the first

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by English rock band

Free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

. It was rush-released by

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

to commemorate the band, who had broken up in April 1971. Possibly because of the publicity caused by their breakup (which had also earned them a successful parting single "My Brother Jake" that same month) the album was a hit, reaching No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart. It fared less well in the US Billboard 200 however, reaching No. 89.

Recording

The album (including the extra tracks) was recorded from gigs played in the UK at both The Locarno,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

(January 1970) and Croydon's Fairfield Halls (September 1970), both places where Free had strong followings. Engineer Andy Johns could only use two tracks from the

gig (" The Hunter" and " All Right Now"), but used crowd noise from it frequently to create seamless links between tracks. With increased re-mastering technology available it has been possible to make others ready for the CD reissue, along with some alternate takes of tracks recorded at the second of the two Croydon sessions that were recorded. Many of the tracks on the album are from their debut '' Tons of Sobs'' (1968), as that album's rock-oriented ethos and uncomplicated production values made its material ideal for performing live. SegersBold text''3073781135879

Track listing

* All tracks written by Andy Fraser & Paul Rodgers unless otherwise stated:

Original tracks

#" All Right Now" – 6:24 #"I'm a Mover" – 3:46 #"Be My Friend" – 5:56 #"Fire and Water" – 3:56 #"Ride on Pony" – 4:30 ("Ride on a Pony" on the back of the CD reissue, but "Ride on Pony" on the cover of both the original LP and the CD) #"Mr. Big" (Andy Fraser, Simon Kirke, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers) – 6:13 #" The Hunter" ( Booker T. Jones, C. Wells, Al Jackson Jr., Donald Dunn,

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Ot ...

) – 5:29 #"Get Where I Belong" – 4:19 With the exception of one song, Get Where I Belong, all performances are versions of album tracks.

Extra tracks

The CD reissue contains tracks not featured on the original 1971 LP release. These include "Woman" and a more rock-based version of "Trouble on Double Time" both of which are from ''

'' (1969), nothing of which was featured on the main album itself. There are also live versions of "Walk in My Shadow" (considerably slower than the version on ''Tons of Sobs'') and "Moonshine", which lasts for over nine minutes. The extra tracks also contain alternate live takes of "All Right Now" and "Mr. Big". The album closes with an alternative studio version of "Get Where I Belong", which is notable for Rodgers forgetting a line and having to hum a later one in order to regain his correct place. 8610 Extra track listing: 9. "Woman" – 4:32
10. "Walk in My Shadow" – 4:15
11. "Moonshine" – 9:08
12. "Trouble on Double Time" – 3:57
13. "Mr Big" (Alternative Take) – 5:26
14. "All Right Now" (Alternative Take) – 4:43
15. "Get Where I Belong" (Alternative Take) – 4:22

Personnel

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

– vocals * Paul Kossoff – guitar * Andy Fraser – bass guitar. Bass/acoustic guitar/piano on "Get Where I Belong." * Simon Kirke – drums

Notes

References

* Strong, Martin C. The Great Rock Discography, 6th edition. Edinburgh: Canongate Books 1994, 2002. pp. 392–3. *Sutcliffe, Phil. Notes to ''Free Live!'' by Free. Universal Island Records Ltd. 1971, 2002.

External links

Free - ''Free Live!'' (1971) album review by Matthew Greenwald, credits & releases
at AllMusic
Free - ''Free Live!'' (1971) album releases & credits
at Discogs
Free - ''Free Live!'' (1971, Remastered 2002 with Bonus Tracks) album to be listened
as stream on Spotify {{Authority control Free (band) albums Albums produced by Andy Johns 1971 live albums Island Records live albums