Album Club - Week 153: 08/07/2014: Free - Fire & Water (1970)

[Album Club]

Thanks to Audio Al for this week's choice: (And sorry - Wednesday is the new Tuesday!)





Fire and Water is the third studio album released by English rock group Free. The album became the band's breakthrough hit, reaching No2 in the UK charts and No17 in the US, making it the most successful Free album.
Release date: April 1990
Artist: Free
Songs
1 Fire and Water 4:03
2 Oh I Wept 4:29
3 Remember 4:29
4 Heavy Load 5:22
5 Mr Big (BBC Live in Concert) 6:37
6 Don't Say You Love Me 5:55
7 All Right Now 4:14

The album contained the hit single "All Right Now" which they later played to a crowd of over 600,000 people at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, generating great popularity. To date, it is the only Free album to have seen a CD reissue in America.
All tracks written by Andy Fraser and Paul Rodgers unless otherwise stated.

Side one

"Fire and Water" – 4:02 (UK album) 3:41 (US album)
"Oh I Wept" (Rodgers, Kossoff) – 4:26
"Remember" – 4:20 (A reworking of an unused song "Woman by the Sea" from the Tons of Sobs recording sessions in 1968)
"Heavy Load" – 5:19

Side two

"Mr. Big" (Fraser, Rodgers, Kirke, Kossoff) – 5:55 (Performed by Free on a televised session that can be seen on the Let It Rock – Vol. 2 DVD, released in the UK in 2003.)
"Don't Say You Love Me" – 6:01
"All Right Now" – 5:32 (The version on the album is longer than the single release: the second verse is repeated and the guitar solo is longer.)

Personnel

Paul Rodgers – vocals
Paul Kossoff – guitars
Andy Fraser – bass guitar, piano
Simon Kirke – drums


I love the harsh down to earth sound of these early Albums , The artists are left to get on and play without being over edited

[The Grand Wazoo]

Fabulous album!!
It's spoiled a little from the over-exposure that 'All Right Now' has had, but apart from that, it's bloody near perfect. I'm not going to vote yet though!

[jollyfix]

Great Album, but for me not their best, but as Chris said almost perfect. I liked Andy Frasers bass playing style, it complemented Kossoffs guitaring , and Rogers great vocals. Free could create a certain sound, yes full on blues/rock at times, but for me that kind of slow drift off to another place is where they were at , Heavy Load being a good example.
8 out of 10 for me.

[Barry]

Yes - near perfect. In fact it's so close to perfection for me to give it a 10.

[The Grand Wazoo]

It's an easy 10 score from me.
I gave a friend a ropey Hendrix compilation album in exchange for this when I was a teenager - he was chuffed to bits, but I know who got the better part of the deal. It's the ballads that make this album for me - 'Oh, I Wept' and 'Remember' being two of a perfect pair. Throughout the whole thing, Kossof's guitar playing is subtle, full of space and air and great feeling.
What a wonderful record - I may just play it again now!

[jollyfix]

Last night after i posted my thoughts, i played Fire and Water, the first time for many years. My post was from memory, but i know now i should have listened first. I have now played it again this morning. Fire and Water was rarely off the my turntable in my youth, as Free were my favorite band. This LP was played to death ( i hate that term), i needed something fresh to hit the spot, so Free and Highway got more plays, Sobs also. Hartbreaker another great LP, but more Bad Company sounding. Listening again to Fire and Water is akin to meeting an old friend after many years, you kind of forgot how well you get on, how much they mean to you.
Fire and Water has it all, the Free sound more than any other of their stuff.
I would like to change my score to a 9 , it was going to be a 10, but back in the day i was never keen on alright now, same today.

[Audio Al]

I think it a classic album , My copy is nearly worn out from my early teen days ,

May have a look around for another copy

[MikeMusic]

Odd I have that as a 6... ?
Relistened and re rated as an 8

Great album

[mr sneff]

Aside from All Right Now I found the album curiously leaden and felt that most of the tracks would have benefited from a livelier tempo and pruning a minute or so off the running time. Having said that I did enjoy the bass work, there are some nice basslines but I didn't find the songs themselves very interesting so it's 3/10

[high.spirits]

Took me back to my hey day in the 70s.
Good choice 7/10.