TOP MINT = 1970 Orig FREE HIGHWAY = "THE STEALER" HARD STRUTTING GLORY Kossoff
$
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Description
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MINTY CLEAN = TOP COPY
STILL IN ORIGINAL FACTORY SHRINK WRAPPER
FREE
HIGHWAY
USA - (brown) A&M RECORDS - SP 4287
FANTASTIC TOP MINT ... original 1970 first pressing ...
STILL IN FACTORY SHRINK WRAPPER
Recorded a mere 3 months in 1970 after the sonic rush of "All Right Now" & the smash album "Fire & Water" = the mighty FREE issued "HIGHWAY" and it kick starts where "Fire & Water" left off with the gritty biting hardrocker = "STEALER", one of the bands best aggressive tracks ....
Such was the way of the music industry in 1970 that Free were back in the studio on August 21st barely a few months after the release of the "Fire and Water" album to begin recording the follow up "Highway".Through the first three albums they had built up a solid reputation as a hard working solid blues rock band. For each of these albums the songs had been written and honed on the road, so much so that the entire previous album was played live at some point or another in the year of its release. That wasn't the case with "Highway" though and for the first time the band were forced to write in the studio. The irony of this is that the recording of the second and third albums had been frought with difficulties as the band disagreed with record company people and producers alike despite having the material all prepared. "Highway" though had none of these problems and was generally regarded by the band as the easiest to record.
There is a marked change in styles again on "Highway". Just as "Tons of Sobs" had been very bluesy, "Free" very blues & rock and "Fire and Water" very rocky, "Highway" was drenched in memorable melodies and hardrock boogie. "Highway" is certainly the softest of the Free albums and this gives added punch to the harder Free rockers here.
The album starts with the curious 'The Highway Song'. A nice mid paced piano and drum shuffle it sets the tone for the album and casts thoughts of lazy summer days. The idea behing the song is said to have come from Rodgers' love of "Music From The Big Pink" by The Band.
'The Stealer' was the single and supposed successor to 'All Right Now' and is one the real out and out rockers on the album. A great strutting peice of classic Free it is still a mystery to many as to why it bombed so terribly as a single, it's too great for that, and went right over most everyones head. Lyrically it is not dis-similar to 'All Right Now'. Incidentally when this was recorded, on first take at 3AM in the morning engineer Andy Johns woke Island boss Chris Blackwell and demanded he come and listen to it straight away as it was a surefire hit. Luckily for Johns Blackwell agreed with him, unluckily for Free the record buying public didn't and it never even charted.
'On My Way' is a lovely mellow track which is a great vehicle for Rodgers' voice and the Kossoff guitar. It leads perfectly into 'Be My Friend' a beautiful brooding cry for love which Kossoff maintained was the best thing they ever did. Kossoff still turns in an impressive performance especially as the song builds.
The second out and out rocker on the album is 'Ride on a Pony'. A dirty classic Free riff that just leaps out of the speakers and grabs you by the throat. The song just stuts along throughout its entirety. It's one of the great all-time Free songs, a blinding rock tune and along with 'Be My Friend' became a staple part of the live set even before the album was released.
Two more brooding bluesy love songs with soul tinged vocals make up the album. The tremendously melancholy and heartfelt plea of 'Love You So' which will doubtless trigger many a personal memory in every listener and the lonely despair of 'Soon I Will Be Gone' which closes the album.
By the time "Highway" hit the streets Free were fast disintegrating as Rodgers, Kossoff, Fraser and Kirke developed as musicians and got restless with each other which turned out to be a major mistake... A: The Highway Song 4:14 The Stealer 3:14 On My Way 4:04 Be My Friend 5:45 B: Sunny Day 3:07 Ride on a Pony 4:17 Love You So 4:53 Bodie 3:04 Soon I Will Be Gone 3:01
CONDITION: The cover: stiff and solid all over, MINT, still in factory shrink wrapper, it's a perfect original from 40 years ago with 4 sharp corners, no bends, no writing and no split seams ...
The vinyl: all clean and clear, M- and plays TOP level ... clean A&M labels...
keeper!
A GREAT ADDITION TO ANYONE'S COLLECTION !
SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...
EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING
All imperfections are noted both cover & record
NOTE: All Items backed by money back guarantee! IF you have a problem PLEASE let us solve for you BEFORE leaving negative feedback. Thanks! GRADING SCALE: M, M-, EX, VG++,VG+, VG, VG- M Completely clean, no marks M- Carefully used, looks clean, plays clean, shiny gloss, no marks EX Faint scuff or superficial mark, near M-, high gloss, plays clean VG++ Glossy with minimal scuffing or light mark playing very nice, clean VG+ a bit more scuff or markls still plays well with very minimal surface at worse VG more marks/scratches only minor, nothing deep, no loud clicks or pops this grade is abused by many, VG here does not mean "trashed" VG- surface noise present, will not have skips or jumps MULTIPLE LP SETS COUNT EACH DISC FOR SHIPPING COST (double Lp count as 2-Lp, etc.) The Records In All Parcels Are Well Protected = The disc of an LP will always be separated from its cover (avoiding seam splits,etc) ALL PAYMENTS SHOULD BE MADE WITHIN 7 DAYS Of AUCTIONS END Do Not Bid If You Are Not Serious About Following Through The Transaction! ALL ITEMS GUARANTEED FOR WINNING BID - LESS SHIPPING!
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