The debut album from Free, and you can already here the sediment settling on a style of blues-rock that didn’t just draw from the past bur proved that they were going to be a major force.
Stevens’ production rightly kept everything minimalistic, allowing the expansive talents of the individuals here to shine through. Paul Rodgers’ voice was already becoming a major part of the live scene in the UK, complemented by Paul Kossoff’s powerful yet evocative guitar playing. The fact that eight of these songs were originals was in stark contrast to, say, the Rolling Stones’ debut album a few years earlier. But it underlined that this young band were able to be self-contained, but were fully aware both of the scope they had in which to operate and also an affinity to the best way to combine the roots of their influences with the commercial needs of the time.
This is best shown by ‘The Hunter’, which would become one of the best loved of all Free songs. And everything here translated simply and effectively into the live environment.
Although the album failed to chart in the UK, in America it made the Top 200, making it to number 197.
This is an impressive debut from what would become a truly great band. The quartet of Paul Kossoff (guitar), Paul Rodgers (vocals), Simon Kirke (drums) and Andy Fraser (bass) would go on to record some absolute classic British rock, and this is where they started.
With material written mostly by the band themselves, this is an impressive start. Most of the material is quite strong, and the performances exceptional. Fraser was an inventive bass player, who, along with Kirke provided a great rhythm section, with powerful and complex lines. Kossoff was a classic rock guitar hero, knowing just when to be restrained and when to break loose. And Paul Rodgers voice – he has to be the greatest blues singer that this country has ever produced.
Musically this album is how they would continue. Blues drenched rock. There are highs (Worry, Walk In my Shadow, I’m a Mover) and a few lows (The opener and closing `Over The Green Hills’ . Very effective. Wild Indian Woman and I’m a Mover follow suit – driving, grinding. Goin’ Down Slow and Moonshine are slower, more traditional blues songs, but still great. Perhaps the best song on the album is their rendition of the Hunter. Koss’ guitar is exceptional.
The Fat Angel Sings 