"…They Call Me Mr. Big…"
Preceded
by their debut "Tons Of Sobs" (March 1969) and their 2nd album
"Free" (October 1969) - FREE's landmark third LP "Fire And
Water" was delivered to an expectant public in all its 7-track simplicity
and glory on 26th of June 1970 on Island Records ILPS 9120 (originals had the
distinctive pink label in the UK). Prepped by the edited single of "All
Right Now" in May 1970 which raced up to number 2 in the British charts
(Island WIP 6082) - the vinyl album delivered what the public seemed to already
know - here was a truly great British Rock band hitting its stride.
This
is the 3rd CD incarnation of the original LP - a 1986 crappy non-remaster - a
far better 2001 Remaster with 6 bonus tracks - and now this - a 30-Track 2CD
DELUXE EDITION of "Fire and Water" by FREE issued 18 March 2008 on Universal/Island 5306090 (Barcode
600753060902). For fans who already own the 2001 remaster and probably also
have the 4CD "Songs Of Yesterday" Box set that went before it in May
2000, for all its comprehensiveness this 2CD set offers only 5 Previously
Unreleased Tracks. So if you can buy the 2001 remaster for a fiver or less
anywhere, why pay more money for this 2CD set? The answer is threefold - the
packaging, the Extras (4 out of 5 of them are actually great) and above all -
the SOUND - which is the best ever to my tired lugs. Here are the button-up
jeans and hairy-chests...
Disc
1 (72:34 minutes):
1.
Fire And Water
2.
Oh How I Wept
3.
Remember
4.
Heavy Load
5.
Mr. Big [Side 2]
6.
All Right Now
7.
Don’t Say You Love Me
Tracks
1 to 7 are the album “Fire And Water” (details above)
8.
Fire And Water (BBC “Sounds Of The Seventies” Sessions 23 June 1970)
9.
Mr. Big (BBC “Top Gear” Session 13
December 1969)
10.
All Right Now (as per 8)
11.
Remember (BBC “John Peel Sunday Concert” 15 January 1970)
12.
Mr. Big (BBC “John Peel Sunday Concert” 2 July 1970)
13.
Don’t Say You Love Me (as per 12)
14.
All Right Now (as per 12)
Disc
2 (67:24 minutes):
1.
Fire And Water (US Album Mix)
2.
Oh I Wept (Alternate Vocal version)
3.
Remember (New Mix)
4.
Don’t Say You Love Me (New Mix)
5.
All Right Now (First Version)
6.
All Right Now (Single Version – Edit)
7.
Fire And Water (Previously Unreleased Backing Track)
8.
Fire And Water (Alternate Stereo Mix)
9.
Fire And Water
10.
Don’t Say You Love Me
11.
Mr. Big (9 to 11 live at Fairfield
Halls, Croydon, UK)
12.
All Right Now
13.
Mr. Big No.2 (12 and 13 live at Sunderland Locarno Fillmore North)
14.
All Right Now (Take 1)
15.
All Right Now (Take 2)
16.
All Right Now (Take 3)
EXTRAS:
There
are five previously unreleased versions new to this release:
"Mr.
Big" (Track 9 on Disc 1) is from the BBC's John Peel Show recorded 15 Jan
1971. It’s very disappointing - not a great recording with really muddy sound
and it's easy to see why it's been left off previous releases
"Fire
And Water (Backing Track)” (Track 7 on Disc 2) - a really interesting `work in
progress' from February 1970 mixed in 1999, Take 5 contains studio chatter at
the beginning and then the band working nicely through the backing track -
Kirke's drumming fantastic, but it ends oddly and abruptly
Tracks
11, 12 and 13 on Disc 2: "All Right Now" (Takes 1, 2 and 3)
All
three takes were recorded as part of filmed promotional shorts for "All
Right Now" and "The Stealer" in October 1970. Instead of miming,
the band played live (the two videos turn up on the "Free Forever"
DVD set) and these `live' takes are superb and genuinely deserve the moniker
`bonus tracks" - they even include the squeaking of Simon Kirke's drum
stool! Fans will have to have these.
PACKAGING:
The
booklet contains black & white photos, reproduction of concert tickets,
press adverts, in the studio colour photos and a detailed history of the albums
path to number 3 in the UK charts in July 1970. The CDs themselves reflect the
original `PINK' Island label design on 1st pressings of the LP and the original
master tape boxes are pictured underneath the two see-through trays - a nice touch
on both counts.
SOUND:
Even
though the outside packaging seems to be saying that the remaster is 'new', the
20-page booklet confusingly states that the remaster used is the 2001 one done
by PETER MEW at Abbey Road - the same as the single disc that's been on the
market for years? But the sound on this release is different – far better to my
ears.
FREE
were a `loud' band and the recordings at the 8-track Trident Studios reflected
their hairy-arsed live rock band nature - in other words the recorded results
were not exactly going to win audiophile gongs. The tapes were then remixed
onto the 16-track facility at Island's new studio in Basing Street. But even
then, Chris Blackwell, label founder and leader, hated the results. So more
mixing was done. But even to this day, the further mixing and remixing before
the album was finally released still gave us a less than great sonic result. I
mention all of this because the liner notes to this release talk of major audio
restoration having gone into the 1999 and 2001 remastering process - and now
again on this 2008 version - and man can you HEAR IT!
Take
Side 2 of the original album, "Mr Big", "Don't Say You Love
Me" and "All Right Now" - when I A/B the sound on my 2001 issue
to this 2008 issue, the huge difference is the removal of `almost' all of the
hiss that was omnipresent on the 2001 remaster which marred the listen
enormously. The result is that instead of being saturated in a rough and ready
hissy wall, the band suddenly explodes out of the speakers with an intensity
that will thrill fans to their very core! I would describe it like this - it's
as if I'm listening to the full power of FREE for the first time. With this new
clarity, the opening and eventual build up in "Mr Big" to a guitar
crescendo has to be heard to be believed! It's enormous and just AWESOME to
hear! The beautiful "Don't Say You Love Me" is truly gorgeous now,
especially when the lovely piano addition comes in, while the fantastic anthem
that is "All Right Now" has you hearing Kossoff's plectrum scratching
off the pick-ups - little guitar flicks before he goes into the big riff, the
clarity of Fraser's bass work and other nuances that I've just never heard
before. Don't get me wrong, there is `hiss' on these recordings, but the
removal of even half of it has made the band come alive to my ears. Wonderful
stuff!
To
sum up - "Fire And Water" is a great album and this 2CD 'DELUXE EDITION' of
it gives the great record a stunning sonic upgrade. Throw in all the live
versions and alternate takes around its release, decent liner notes and
packaging, all topped off with 4 out of the 5 previously unreleased tracks
actually worth owning - then indeed you have something special.
There
have been some stunning issues in Universal's 'DELUXE EDITION' series (check out
the Whiskeytown "Strangers Almanac" double) and this is another.
Regardless of the price and the overdoing of "All Right Now" (nine
versions for Gawd's sake) - fans will have to own it - and the uninitiated can
discover why Britain and the world went mad for the FREE and their down and
dirty brand of 'rawk'. What a band…
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