I have no idea if the full show exists but it would make a great release. The live Heartbreaker is outstanding is that really Paul Rodgers on guitar? Yes a 2 cd Free Live would really be a fairly obvious release but Mr Rodgers of course would rather give us his recent butchered versions of Free classics live instead.
I didn't go to the Free Spirit shows, prices too high for me, but I think the CD/DVD sounds pretty good. I'd hardly say he butchered them. Good band and voice holding up really well - better than that other famous Paul
I always wondered who Rebop Kwaku Baah was playing congas on the Wishing Well single as I could not hear them. I then heard the alternative mix on the B side of a 12” picture disc single of All Right Now which features an excellent and different guitar solo. Can anyone confirm who plays this - is it Kossoff, Rodgers or Walden? To my ears it sounds like Kossoff is playing. The congas sound great too!
I have a handful of silver factory live sets from 69-72 that include Stockholm but not IOW, I make do with the DVD audio.
You are right - butchered is too strong a word but I just don't want or need to buy/own or really do more than here these new versions once. However the shows sell even at quite high ticket prices and so presumably do the official releases of them. I would guess Rodgers gets more money and satisfaction from the shows and associated releases than any archival Free releases which is fine. It is a shame archival stuff is just not done as separate project like Dylan's bootleg series or The Jethro Tull and King Crimson deluxe series
I love Free, one of my favourite bands but I seriously doubt there's much, if any, archival material to be released. They had a very short career.
Songs Of Yesterday IS their archive, isn't it? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Songs-Yesterday-Free/dp/B00004SRKB/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
Yep. But I'm pretty sure this was just reissuing everything that's already out there. I love Songs of Yesterday great stuff on there but even that doesn't add up much in the way of quantity.
I think are still some alternate takes and the complete Free Live shows along with the Isle of Wight if nothing else. John
I don't want to sound like a killjoy but Free only had a five year career so the live shows are pretty much the same set. I'm sure they're good but better than Free Live?
I believe they recorded 3 or 4 shows for Free Live and have yet to release a 2 cd set which contains all of the different songs they played at the shows. There was also the live version of Heartbreaker from The Free Story. I am not sure if they recorded the entire show or not but their set list was quite a bit different by then. They played The Stealer and Crossroads at the Isle Of Wight which do not appear on the cd reissue of Free Live with bonus tracks. Here's an example of another set list from 1972 - Heartbreaker was record live in 1972. Heartbreaker I'm on the Run Soldier Boy Child Every Day I Have the Blues Come Together in the Morning Wishing Well Seven Angels Fire and Water All Right Now The Hunter
Don't get me wrong - I'd love to see some "new" material. I just don't think there's much of it. Was Kossoff on the 72 tour?
Yes, but Andy Fraser was replaced by Tetsu and Rabbit Bundrick. The cancelled box set was going to be 18 cds. They have 6 studio albums + the live album. The BBC sessions was 2 cds and there were 4 cds of Free material on the Songs Of Yesterday set. By my count that makes 13 cds so there were going to be 5 cds of additional material.
Maths was never my strong point. I wonder if we'll ever see that then? The Rumour is that Rodgers nixed it so looks unlikely. I wonder if anyone out in SHFland knows?
But if they took the same approach as Songs Of Yesterday, the additional CDs could be filled up with non-Free material, like CD5 of the SOY set! Then you could have all the Bad Co. and Queen + Paul Rodgers stuff conveniently in one place!!!!
The last I heard Rodgers said he was going to concentrate on Bad Company vault material. There was talk at one point of a compromise between Island and Rodgers of releasing all of the Free albums as 2 cd deluxe editions with bonus material but so far Fire And Water was the only album released that way.
