Customer Reviews
SUPERB - By: G. Ritchie, 13 Oct 2006 
I was there for the Sunderland gig, remember they had problems with the audience mike although you wouldn't think so listening to this. Nice to see more tracks from Sunderland on Remastered.
Sad thing is I don't think Free realised how good they were - just buy it!
Is this the best British live album? - By: bewarefrog, 11 Feb 2006 I bought this last week on a whim. I'd just got the Allmans at Atlanta & thought it was better than the Fillmore concerts, but I was knocked over when I played what I thought was a karaoke record. This is,in my opinion, the best British live recording I've ever heard, fresh youthful talent at its peak. Kossoff is astounding, especially on the Croydon "All Right Now", & Paul Rogers' voice is amazing. At the price there is no reason why any fan of quality rock music should not own (and love) this record.
The Free must-have - By: Mailian, 20 Aug 2005 This remastered & expanded Free Live cd captures them at their primein Sunderland, Croydon (1970) & London (1971, two studio versions of the ballad Get where I belong, thatin a way announced their break-up later that year).
All Right Now starts off the proceedings, squawking out of the loudspeakers with its plodding rhythm, Paul Kossof's emotional raw guitar & Paul Rodgers' bravado vocals. Such is the power of this song that it 3x times reached the top of the hit paradesin the 1970s. The musical tension between the aggressive bass of Andy Fraser & Paul Kossof, underpinned by the solid pace-setting of Simon Kirke then continues on improved live versions of studio favourites like Ride on a pony to culminatein Mr. Big (track 6).
The additional tracks (9-15) maintain the high level with slightly different, a bit more controlled repeats of Mr. Big & All Right Now & Woman (the growling vocals) & Trouble on double (Paul Kossof really lets his blues-infected guitar out here) as the other highlights. This album ranks as one of the greatest live recordingsin rock's history.
One of the world's greatest ever bands..........live!!! - By: , 27 Jan 2005 As a teenager of the 21st century some of my peers find it hard to grasp why i am a massive fan of not only 'classic' rock but especially of a band like Free who are not given much applausein the history of Rock 'n' Roll. Well hopefully the answer to this question can be answered by listening to this stunning Free record.
Recorded during the bands hayday & contaning material created during their first 4 albums this record shows why Free had such a blistering live reputaion as it perfectly shows of Free's powerful rythem section of Simon Kirke (one of rock's finest drummers) & bass playing child prodigy Andy Fraser (just listen to Mr Big!!!!)as well as Paul Kossoff's hugely underestimated guitaring at it's best concluding with the man with the greatest voicein rock memory Paul Rodgers.
This record itself is simply spellbounding & any band can take this as a blueprint of how to play live with the power & pressence of such tracks as 'I'M a Mover', 'Mr Big' , my personal favourite 'Ride on Pony' & of course 'Alright Now' leaving this record to be a must for any music fan or budding musician.
a new and improved Free Live!! - By: yerblues, 24 Nov 2003 Recordedin 1970 & comprising of tracks drawn from their 1st four studio albums (tons of sobs, free, fire & water, highway), this is a brilliant & powerful live album from one of the great blues rock bands ever.... In addition to the 1971(year of release) original track listing, several bonus tracks (all live except 'Get where I belong')) have been added & their presence greatly enhances this CD version. A couple of these actually surpass the 1971 vinyl versions (All Right Now & Mr Big).The 'new' All Right Now is far better than track one, which is a bit sloppy & not a patch on the single/fire & water version.
Track one aside, the party kicks off with 'I'm a Mover' & doesn't let up from thereon. Most tracks possibly eclipse the studio versions (though the 'studio' albums are mostly excellent also).
Free were/are one of the top bandsin my opinion. Paul Rodgers strong, passionate & soulful voice, Andy Fraser's innovative 'lead guitar' style bass playing (listen to Mr Big) & Simon Kirke's steady solid backbeat excel on this live document. One must not forget the Fraser/Rodgers songwriting team responsible for so many great songs.
The reason I'm a big fan however is down to the guitar playing of Paul Kossoff. His roaring & screaming vibrato lead has never failed to make the neck hairs stand on end ....even when he plays one note it can have the desired affect. He hits the spot where other guitarists simply fail to reach. If you like passionate & emotional guitar playing at its BEST, listen to Paul Kossoff. Unbelievably, like the rest of the band, he was only around age 20 at the time...
A fitting live document to a magnificent band who were sadly short-lived. Although the CD cover can't be opened like an envelope (as could the original vinyl cover), the contents more than make up for it. I'm generally not a fan of bonus tracks as often they are inferior & can spoil the feeling of the original album (i.e. 'Power to the People' stuck on the end of Lennon's Plastic ono band)... butin the case of Free, a great job's been done (see also Tons of Sobs for a good example of this)..
Definitely recommended. One of the best live albums ever released.
