FREE The Free Story UK 1st Press A1//B1 1973 No 20141

	£		19
	$		25

A BREAKDOWN OF THE ARTIST/S :-

Formed in the midst of 1968's British blues boom, Free originally comprised Paul Rodgers (Born 17 December 1949, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, England; vocals), Paul Kossoff (Born 14 September 1950, Hampstead, London, England, d. 19 March 1976; guitar), Andy Fraser (Born 7 August 1952, London, England; bass) and Simon Kirke (Born 28 July 1949, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England; drums). Despite their comparative youth, the individual musicians were seasoned performers, particularly Fraser, a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Kossoff and Kirke had backed Champion Jack Dupree as part of Black Cat Bones. Free received early encouragement from Alexis Korner, but having completed an excellent, earthy debut album, Tons Of Sobs, the group began honing a more individual style with their second set. The injection of powerful original songs, including "I'll Be Creeping', showed a maturing talent, while Rodgers" expressive voice and Kossoff's stinging guitar enhanced a growing reputation.

The quartet's stylish blues rock reached its commercial peak on Fire And Water. This confident collection featured moving ballads - "Heavy Load", "Oh I Wept" - and compulsive, up-tempo material, the standard-bearer of which was "All Right Now". An edited version of this soulful composition reached number 2 in the UK and number 4 in the USA in 1970, since which time the song has become one of pop's most enduring performances, making periodic reappearances in the singles chart. A fourth set, Highway, revealed a more mellow perspective, highlighted by an increased use of piano at the expense of Kossoff's guitar. This was the result, in part, of friction within the group, a situation exacerbated when "The Stealer" failed to emulate its predecessor's success. Free broke up in May 1971, paradoxically in the wake of another hit single, "My Brother Jake" (UK number 4), but regrouped in January the following year when spin-off projects faltered, although Kossoff and Kirke's amalgamation (Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu And Rabbit) proved fruitful.

A sixth album, Free At Last, offered some of the unit's erstwhile fire and included another UK Top 20 entry, "Little Bit Of Love". However, Kossoff's increasing ill health and Fraser's departure for the Sharks undermined any new-found confidence. A hastily convened line-up consisting of Rodgers, Kirke, John "Rabbit" Bundrick (Born 21 November 1948, Houston, Texas, USA; keyboards) and Tetsu Yamauchi (Born 1946, Fukuoka, Japan; bass) undertook a Japanese tour, but although the guitarist rejoined the quartet for several UK dates, his contribution to Free's final album, Heartbreaker, was muted. Kossoff embarked on a solo career in October 1972, with Wendel Richardson from Osibisa replaced him on a temporary basis. Despite a final Top 10 single, "Wishing Well", in January 1973 Free had ceased to function by July of that year. Rodgers and Kirke subsequently formed Bad Company.

Discography:
Tons Of Sobs (Island 1968)***, Free (Island 1969)***, Fire And Water (Island 1970)****, Highway (Island 1970)***, Free Live (Island 1971)**, Free At Last (Island 1972)**, Heartbreaker (Island 1973)**.

Compilations:
The Free Story (Island 1974)****, Completely Free (Island 1982)***, All Right Now (Island 1991)***, Molton Gold: The Anthology (Island 1993)****, Walk In My Shadow: An Introduction To Free (Island 1998)****, Songs Of Yesterday 5-CD box set (Island 2000)***.

THE COVER :- Textured gatefold sleeve

THE LABEL :- Island labels

THE VINYL VISUALLY :- On initial inspection of this piece of vinyls I cannot see any areas of immediate concern. The vinyls sit perfectly flat on the turntable so there are no nasty warps to worry about. The vinyls still retains their just pressed quality, full of deep shine and lustre. I have not noted anything that would affect play. A lovely piece of vinyl. Near Mint visually.

THE VINYL PLAY GRADED :- The playgrading of the vinyl reveals hardly any lessening in the sound quality. There is very minimal surface noise. What there is can be only heard on the run in and run out of tracks and extra quiet areas of the album. Just a light static I would say that should improve with each clean as the album was fairly dusty when i did my original clean on my machine. The sound quality is high with a full dynamic range and very detailed sound. I feel certain this album has been played carefully and stored well over the years. I would grade the audio playback as a strong Excellent condition.

THE SLEEVE FRONT CONDITION :- This is the very earliest 1st press textured sleeve. The front of the sleeve is free from writing, free from stickers or evidence of previously removed stickers. The sleeve reveals some mild ringwear and a bump crease in the top left. Just some light marks in the white areas. The colours are bright and crisp. I would grade the front of the cover as Near Excellent condition.

THE SLEEVE REAR CONDITION :- The rear of the sleeve is free from writing, free from stickers or evidence of previously removed stickers. There is a crease in the top right of the sleeve and some mild ringwear. Just some very light corner and seam wear. Again the rear still retains its original crisp colours. I would grade the rear as Excellent condition.

THE INNER GATEFOLD CONDITION :- The inner of the sleeve is free from writing, free from stickers or evidence of previously removed stickers. There are no creases and only a light feathering of the surfaces. The stapled booklet has come loose from the staples but could be easily stapled again if desired. The is no damage to the booklet. Again the inner still retains its original crisp colours. I would grade the inner as Excellent condition.

THE LABEL SIDE ONE CONDITION :- Original Island labels in excellent order free from stickers or writing and no damage at all. Some handling marks present. No signs of play around the spindle hole. Excellent condition.

THE LABEL SIDE TWO CONDITION :- Original Island labels in excellent order free from stickers or writing and no damage at all. Some handling marks present. No signs of play around the spindle hole. Excellent condition.

THE SPINE CONDITION :- The writing on the spine is crystal clear. No spine splits at all. Just very light signs of shelfwear in the two corners. Excellent condition.

THE TOP EDGE CONDITION :- The top edges show some rubbing of the surface along the length.

THE BOTTOM EDGE CONDITION :- The bottom edges show some rubbing of the surface along the length.

THE OPENING EDGE CONDITION :- The top edges show some some handling wear but nothing too bad

THE INNER SLEEVE CONDITION :- Generic white inners in Excellent condition

THE EXTRAS :- No extras were given with this album

THE CATALOGUE NUMBER :- ISLD 4

THE YEAR OF RELEASE :-  1973

THE LABEL :- ISLAND

THE COUNTRY OF ORIGIN :-  UK

PLAYING FORMAT :- STEREO

THE MATRIX NUMBERS :-  ISL41 A1 & B1  +  ISL42 A1 & B1

TRACK LISTING :-

SIDE ONE :-

1. I'M A MOVER
2. I'LL BE CREEPIN'
3. MOURNING SAD MORNING
4. ALL RIGHT NOW
5. HEAVY LOAD

SIDE TWO :-

1. FIRE AND WATER
2. BE MY FRIEND
3. THE STEALER
4. SOON I WILL BE GONE
5. MR BIG

SIDE THREE :-

1. THE HUNTER
2. GET WHERE I BELONG
3. TRAVELLING MAN
4. JUST FOR THE BOX
5. LADY

SIDE FOUR :-

1. MY BROTHER JAKE
2. LITTLE BIT OF LOVE
3. SAIL ON
4. HEARTBREAKER
5. COME TOGETHER IN THE MORNING

WHAT WE PLAY THE RECORD ON :- 

We use a Project 6 Perspex Turntable to play grade our records which delivers a rich authoritative sound and achieves a rich and weighty vibrancy unrivalled by the majority of decks within its price range

HOW WE CLEAN YOUR RECORD :- 

We use a V.P.I. HW-16.5 record cleaning machine to clean your vinyl. "A highly recommended machine" as quoted by Stereophile magazine. This removes any excess dirt before playing

HOW WE PACKAGE YOUR RECORD :- 

Your record will be package very securely to minimise any risk of damage during transit. We remove the record from the outer sleeve unless asked not to do so. This helps to minimise the risk of seam spliting. We use a high quality record mailer which is designed to give superior protection for your vinyl record. We place stiffeners either side of the record for added protection. The album will also be placed in a 450 gram Poly outer sleeve for even extra added protection

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING CHARGES FOR UK CUSTOMERS :-

We advise that items reaching over £50 in price to be insured and sent by Special Delivery. This protects both of us and ensures better handling of the parcel during transit.We are in no way out to make money from postage. The postage price includes the record mailer, stiffeners and plastic sleeve. We just want your item to reach you in the best possible condition. A breakdown of insured postal services are listed below. Please choose to use the relevant postal service for your own protection as once these rare records are lost they can quite often seldom be replaced

 SECOND CLASS RECORDED (INSURED UP TO £50) :- FREE

FIRST CLASS RECORDED (INSURED UP TO £50) :- £0.45

SPECIAL DELIVERY NEXT DAY UPTO 500g :- £3.80

SPECIAL DELIVERY NEXT DAY FROM 500g - 1000g :- £5.00

(SPECIAL DELIVERY INSURES YOUR ITEM UPTO £500)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION :-    

All records reaching under £10 are sent to the European Union by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £10

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS  :-  £6.22 (For items under £10)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :-  £11.37 (For items £10 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :-  £13.97 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

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All records reaching under £10 are sent to the USA & Canada by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £10

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS  :-  £8.78 (For items under £10)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £13.93 (For items £10 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £16.53 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

POSTAGE AND PACKAGING FOR THE AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN AND ROW :- 

All records reaching under £10 are sent to the Australia & Japan by Airmail small packets. We will not ship abroad without insured post for items reaching over £10

AIRMAIL SMALL PACKETS :- £9.06 (For items under £10)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £14.21 (For items £10 - £50)

INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR :- £16.81 (For items £50 - £500)

(These prices are based on a package weight of no more than 500g and can vary for heavier packages)

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE DO NOT PROFIT FROM POSTAGE, THE PRICES WE QUOTE ARE QUITE ACCURATE AND INCLUDE THE PACKAGING MATERIALS AT COST PRICE

NOTE FOR INTERNATIONAL BUYERS:

PLEASE AWAIT AN INVOICE BEFORE PAYING SO WE CAN WORK OUT THE CORRECT POSTAGE/SHIPPING CHARGES

BUYERS OF MULTIPLE ITEMS :- 

Postage prices and courier methods for multiple purchases will be calculated after the auction end. It is impossible for us at the pre auction stage to determine these prices as the final weight is unknown.If you are the winner of multiple items the please await contact from us or alternately contact us yourself for a breakdown of the shipping costs.You will only pay the stamp price + relevant packaging charges so there are big savings to be made with multiple purchases

HOW TO PAY FOR YOUR RECORD :-

We can accept the following payment methods

UK BUYERS :- 

• PayPal
• Personal cheque (Please allow to clear)
• Bankers Draft
• Postal Order

OVERSEAS BUYERS :-

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TERMS AND CONDITIONS :-

We always try to appraise the record for sale as openly and honestly as possible and provide plenty of pictures for you to look at but please be aware that errors however rare do occur and not everyone has the same audio  equipment. There is no problem that cannot be worked out in a civilised manner. We urge you to contact us so that we can discuss any small problems that may occur. We offer a refund of the purchase price for returned items within 7 days of purchase and are happy to help you with any questions or concerns you may have during the auction

SAVE US TO YOUR FAVOURITES LIST AS WE INTEND TO LIST MANY MORE RARE VINYL TREATS OVER THE COMING MONTHS AND YEARS