(Review from amazon)
From their very first session in 1968 (astonishingly, recorded just days after bassist Andy Fraser’s 16th birthday), through to their last official recording for the Beeb, ‘In Concert’ for John Peel in July 1970, this set captures the rise of one of the most talented blues/rock bands.
While some of the material has surfaced as bonus material on reissues, the bulk of it has never before been available. The December 1969 Session for Top Gear never even made it to bootleg, it’s a gem of a find that turned up relatively recently in Paul Kossoff’s private archive.
Disc 1 contains some excellent material all of very good quality including the first two tracks which are from Free’s very early days as a band in 1968. Both tracks are blues numbers and give you an insight into Frees raw bluesy sound. Tracks 3-12 are all very good renditions of various tracks (although the beginning of “I’ll Be Creepin’ is missing because Paul Kossoff taped over it). Tracks 13-20 encompass two takes of “Be my Friend” and five takes of “Ride on a Pony”.
Disc 2 contains two afternoon concerts hosted by John Peel, although he is never heard between the tracks, as this was presumably missing or erased. Each track just fades up at the beginning and fades down at the end. Tracks 1-4 of Disc 2 are of very poor quality, only worth something in terms of their historical importance. Tracks 5-9 are much better and the quality is good enough to enjoy them, despite some radio interference (sounds like morse code!) in the quiet passages. These tracks we’re taken “off the air” by the way. Tracks 10-11 are of poor quality, possibly worse then the first four.
There was a heartbreaking amount of Free’s material lost from the BBC archives and this set really is a bitter-sweet sample of what could have been had the BBC been more careful with their tapes. The album is compromising of its own admission and this is truly for die-hard Free fans.
Line-up:
* Paul Rodgers – Vocals
* Paul Kossoff – Guitar
* Andy Fraser – Bass
* Simon Kirke – Drums
Track List:
CD1
01. Waiting On You – 2:16
02. Sugar For Mr. Morrision – 3:43
03. I’m A Mover – 3:05
04. Over The Green Hills – 3:52
05. Songs Of Yesterday – 3:08
06. Broad Daylight – 3:19
07. Woman – 4:22
08. I’ll Be Creepin’ – 2:43
09. Trouble On Double Time – 3:51
10. Mouthful Of Grass – 4:41
11. All Right Now – 5:28
12. Fire And Water – 3:04
13. Be My Friend (Take 1) – 6:05
14. Be My Friend (Take 2) – 5:36
15. Ride On A Pony (Take 1) – 0:10
16. Ride On A Pony (Take 2) – 4:31
17. Ride On A Pony (Take 3) – 1:24
18. Ride On A Pony (Take 4) – 0:25
19. Ride On A Pony (Take 5) – 4:29
20. Get Where I Belong – 3:25
CD2
01. The Hunter – 5:23
02. Woman – 4:26
03. Free Me – 7:23
04. Remember – 4:48
05. Fire And Water – 3:58
06. Be My Friend – 5:00
07. Ride On A Pony – 4:35
08. Mr. Big – 6:35
09. Don’t Say You Love Me – 5:26
10. Woman – 4:17
11. All Right Now – 5:09



thx sam sweet