Free (Paul Rodgers, Paul Kossoff, Andy Frasher, and Simon Kirke)

Free one of my favorite bands of all time, thanks to Spec bringing up the great Paul Rodgers my mind went back to his first band. Teenagers at the time of their debut 'Tons of Sob' , the band featured one of the greatest voices in rock history Paul Rodgers, Paul Kossoff one of the coolest, underrated guitartist who left us much too soon, bassist Andy Frasher who laid down some of greatest basslines in blues/rock vein and the laid back Simon Kirke.

Sounding like hardened bluesmen than a band barely out of their teens this band managed to record a number of classics 'Wishing Well' 'Catch a Train' and of course 'All Right Now', all featuring Paul Kossoff 's playing that at times could make you weep and convey more emotion in one note than a mountain of Yngwie clones could in a dozen.

Lord, I hope this thread doesn't make me go broke. I've been trying to forget how much I liked Tons of Sobs, so I don't go and buy their discography.


I was blown away by Tons of Sobs, BTW.

SpectreFate wrote:

Lord, I hope this thread doesn't make me go broke. I've been trying to forget how much I liked Tons of Sobs, so I don't go and buy their discography.


I was blown away by Tons of Sobs, BTW.

Great band have most of their discography on vinyl and reminds me I need to upgrade my collection, I am glad you liked it I knew you would, just a killer killer band

There's a subtlety to Free that is missing from most of the other British blues bands on the time. It's hard to describe, but it's basically stripping away all the fat and anything unnecessary and leaving just the "essence". They trick you into thinking it's simple, but their music has layer after layer.

Rodgers & the understated guitar mastermind that was Paul Kossoff were also accompanied by one of the very best rhythm sections in rock.

Sorry Spec, but Tons Of Sobs is just tip of the iceberg. Their next two records "Free" and "Fire & Water" achieve a level only hinted at on the debut.

I agree with everything that's been said so far. I cant really add to it. Paul Rodgers is one of my favorites of all time. I know this is about Free but I gotta say the first time I heard him sing "Seagull" on the "Live In Albuquerque 1976" album by BC with just him, a mic, and an acoustic I was blown away by just the power and grace of his voice. God blessed that man with pipes that even in his 60's (see Queen Live + Paul Rodgers") are still better than most vocalists ever had in their 20's or 30's.

Free proves that old adage "Less Is More"......lots of space, stripped down and not to busy. But everyone shines.

My fave is probably Highway, not sure why but i think it's the more acoustic nature of it. I think enhanced further for me by the fact my beloved Faces covered "The Stealer" and the elegiac Epic Soundtracks who covered "Sunny Day"......two of my fave covers ever and both originally coming from Highway.

Gimme a stack of Humble Pie, Faces and Free records.....that's all you need.....rock n' soul.

Free rawks and with Paul Kossoff on guitar to me he epitomizes the blues rock sound of that era. His solo material is as equally great although kinda spendy to buy.

Wargod49

rattpoison wrote:

Free proves that old adage "Less Is More"......lots of space, stripped down and not to busy. But everyone shines.

100% accurate.

"It's not the notes, it's the space BETWEEN the notes that's important" - Thelonious Monk

I'd also like to recommend this Paul Rodgers solo album that doesn't get the credit it deserves:



Not every song works, but the majority do...and the roster of guest guitarists is pretty damn impressive - Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, David Gilmour, Brian May, Gary Moore, Trevor Rabin, Neil Schon, Brian Setzer, Slash, etc...

Free is great. All Right Now has one of the greatest riffs of all time. It was also used in that commerical.

Free is a great band, Paul Rodgers' voice was great at this point in his career. When he was in Bad Co. he underutilized his voice a lot IMO. Chris Robinson reminds me a lot of Free era Paul Rodgers especially on The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion ,Amorica, and Three Snakes And One Charm.

akeldama wrote:

Chris Robinson reminds me a lot of Free era Paul Rodgers especially on The Southern Harmony And Musical Companion ,Amorica, and Three Snakes And One Charm.

Yeah although Robinson has a bit more of a Steve Marriott thing going on.......but it's all relative since Marriott was a big influence on Rodgers.

One guy who combines both Marriott and Rodgers perfectly is Cormac Neeson of the Answer.......

detuned wrote:

I'd also like to recommend this Paul Rodgers solo album that doesn't get the credit it deserves:



Not every song works, but the majority do...and the roster of guest guitarists is pretty damn impressive - Jeff Beck, Buddy Guy, David Gilmour, Brian May, Gary Moore, Trevor Rabin, Neil Schon, Brian Setzer, Slash, etc...

Is this Paul covering blues standards, specifically Muddy Waters? If so....gimme, gimme, gimme!!

If you are a Paul Rodgers fan, Metalguy you would love it, he covers Muddy Waters songs and few other standard blues numbers, highly recommended.

manny wrote:

If you are a Paul Rodgers fan, Metalguy you would love it, he covers Muddy Waters songs and few other standard blues numbers, highly recommended.

I'd say I'm pretty much a casual fan of the man, but I like that line-up of guitarists and the concept of blues cover albums. Paul's vocals would just be icing on the cake. These are studio recordings, right? Looks like I can pick it up pretty cheap on Amazon. Boo-ya!

MetalGuy71 wrote:

manny wrote:

If you are a Paul Rodgers fan, Metalguy you would love it, he covers Muddy Waters songs and few other standard blues numbers, highly recommended.

I'd say I'm pretty much a casual fan of the man, but I like that line-up of guitarists and the concept of blues cover albums. Paul's vocals would just be icing on the cake. These are studio recordings, right? Looks like I can pick it up pretty cheap on Amazon. Boo-ya!

Studio recordings

MetalGuy71 wrote:

manny wrote:

If you are a Paul Rodgers fan, Metalguy you would love it, he covers Muddy Waters songs and few other standard blues numbers, highly recommended.

I'd say I'm pretty much a casual fan of the man, but I like that line-up of guitarists and the concept of blues cover albums. Paul's vocals would just be icing on the cake. These are studio recordings, right? Looks like I can pick it up pretty cheap on Amazon. Boo-ya!

There is one new song (the title track), the rest are covers of Blues Standards. It's worth getting just to hear Gilmour play on a straight blues tune....

Free set the template for so much to come. Did any 70's band not feel their influence that called themselves rock? Amazing to think about with how young they were.

I just got Tons Of Sobs, Heartbreaker, Highway, Live.

Wargod49

Wargod48 wrote:

I just got Tons Of Sobs, Heartbreaker, Highway, Live.

Wargod49

You should definitely pick up Fire & Water.

One of the bands my mom got me into when I was little. Great stuff!

Based on this thread, I did some searching around for Free cd's. It's weird that I didn't recognize any of the album covers or know any songs other than "All Right Now". These guys really seemed to slip under the radar of popular music in the 70's.

I've got Tons of Sobs and that Muddy Waters Tribute album coming to me. From what I read, ToS is more blues-rock than the straight-up rock of their later albums. Looking forward to hearing them both.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Based on this thread, I did some searching around for Free cd's. It's weird that I didn't recognize any of the album covers or know any songs other than "All Right Now". These guys really seemed to slip under the radar of popular music in the 70's.

I've got Tons of Sobs and that Muddy Waters Tribute album coming to me. From what I read, ToS is more blues-rock than the straight-up rock of their later albums. Looking forward to hearing them both.

When you receive them, let us know what you think, I think you will love 'Tons of Sobs' .

manny wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Based on this thread, I did some searching around for Free cd's. It's weird that I didn't recognize any of the album covers or know any songs other than "All Right Now". These guys really seemed to slip under the radar of popular music in the 70's.

I've got Tons of Sobs and that Muddy Waters Tribute album coming to me. From what I read, ToS is more blues-rock than the straight-up rock of their later albums. Looking forward to hearing them both.

When you receive them, let us know what you think, I think you will love 'Tons of Sobs' .

Some reviews I read were comparing ToS to stuff like John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, which I really like. That's why I went with that one over their later material. And why not start at the beginning, right?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

manny wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Based on this thread, I did some searching around for Free cd's. It's weird that I didn't recognize any of the album covers or know any songs other than "All Right Now". These guys really seemed to slip under the radar of popular music in the 70's.

I've got Tons of Sobs and that Muddy Waters Tribute album coming to me. From what I read, ToS is more blues-rock than the straight-up rock of their later albums. Looking forward to hearing them both.

When you receive them, let us know what you think, I think you will love 'Tons of Sobs' .

Some reviews I read were comparing ToS to stuff like John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, which I really like. That's why I went with that one over their later material. And why not start at the beginning, right?

Very true and it is fair comparson, especially considering that Andy Frasher played with John Mayall prior to joining Free.