Formerly known as The Method, they signed with CBS in London for whom they recorded three albums and several singles. Their stunning debut LP "Love & Poetry" (1969) is regarded as a psychedelic classic by many collectors around the world. Their name was shortened to Andwella in 1970 and their further long players "World's End" (1970) and "People's People" (1971) were issued under this moniker.
by Clark Faville
Tracks
1. Hold On To Your Mind - 3:50
2. Lady Love - 4:16
3. Michael Fitzhenry - 3:32
4. I'm Just Happy To See You Get Her - 2:57
5. Just How Long - 3:18
6. World's End Part I (Bobby Scott) - 3:00
7. World's End Part II - 2:25
8. Back On The Road - 3:24
9. I Got A Woman - 2:56
10.Reason For Living - 3:10
11.Shadow Of The Night - 3:39
All compositions by David Lewis except where stated.
Originally known as The Method, a heavy psych/blues trio led by David Lewis (and the band Brush Shiels first saw Gary Moore play with when Gary subbed for David when the Method played a Dublin club in 1967?).
The Method became Andwella's Dream when they moved from Belfast to London in 1968. They signed to CBS and recorded a stunning debut LP "Love & Poetry". The original drummer only plays on one track ("Felix") as he got homesick and returned to Belfast. Gordon Barton then joined the band.
"Love & Poetry" captures the moment when psychedelia was at the point of splintering into progressive and acid folk. There are various styles and moods across the record with consistently strong melodies and some killer Hendrix-esque guitar. It's rightly regarded as a psychedelic classic by many collectors around the world.
CBS released three singles including two non-LP A-sides "Mrs Man" and "Mister Sunshine" which are worth tracking down. These have not surfaced on CD reissues for some reason.
In 1970 Dave McDougall joined on keyboards, the band name was shortened to Andwella. They moved to CBS's Reflection imprint (home to Steamhammer & Dogfeet) for subsequent releases.
A gorgeous Hammond organ sound underpins the two albums released on Reflection. The first of these was "World's End", released in 1970, which is the better of the two. Though it is less psychedelic and less adventurous than the debut and doesn't revisit the same heights, it is more consistent, more measured and contains several outstanding songs. At times recalls the best work of Traffic and early Santana.
That same year, David Lewis produced another album on Reflection, hippie poet David Baxter's very odd "Goodbye Dave" album. All the music on this LP was written by Lewis and performed by Andwella.
In 1971 the original rhythm section was replaced by Dave Struthers (bass/vocals) and Jack McCulloch (ex One In A Million & Thunderclap Newman, drums). This lineup recorded the final album, "People's People" (1971) which is a step closer to the mainstream but still an enjoyable album. In 1974 a track from this album was released as a single credited to The Bridge.
After Andwella split, David Lewis released two solo albums on Polydor in the 70s.
Dave McDougall later worked with Speedy Keen (ex Thunderclap Newman). Nigel Smith was later in Khan (after their LP), Magna Carta and Pentangle.
Tracks
1. She Taught Me to Love - 3:16
2. Saint Bartholomew - 3:04
3. World of Angelique - 3:35
4. Mississippi Water - 3:28
5. I've Got My Own - 2:45
6. Are You Ready - 2:32
7. Four Days in September - 3:51
8. Lazy Days - 1:26
9. People's People - 3:27
10.Behind the Painted Screen - 3:30
11.All for You - 2:20
All compositions by David Lewis
Andwella’s Dream was a thrusting injection of freakbeat that could not be ignored. Their slicing riffs were high core psyche injected from guitarist / keyboardist David Lewis, bassist Nigel Smith and drummer Gordon Barton who started out as The Method that at one time included Gary Moore.They were regulars at the Maritime Club where Van Morrison had his early days with Them.
The Method evolved into Andwella’s Dream and were the primal Irish psyche next to Eire Apparent. Dave Lewis the soaring guitarist who wrote all the songs also recruited keyboardist Dave McDougall, ex McCullochs Struthers & Paterson bassist Dave Stuthers, Nigel Portman Smith and ex One In A Million/Andromeda drummer Jack McCulloch.The bamboo flute and sax was played by future Egg Bob Downes. When Andwella’s Dream moved to London they released their primal 1969 debut Love And Poetry with surging numbers like the thrusty opener “The Days Grew Longer For Love” and guitar razzling “Sunday”.
Dave’s throttling axe exerts fury on “Lost A Number Found A King” with its ancient Indian flute and ambient acoustic textures. The two finest numbers “Cocaine” with McDougall pushing hard and the soaring “Shades Of Grey” where ex Thunderclap Newman Jack McCulloch’s drums are best heard create a furnace of fusion.
Acoustic delights are “Midday Sun”, “Goodbye” and the Hammond rolling “Felix” which opens into crescendo breaks by Lewis. In 1970 they evolved into Andwella and launched a further two albums Worlds End (1970) and Peoples People (1971) plus a bounty of singles. World’s End although a lyrical romantic masterpiece did ignite the past as on the psyche “Michael Fitzhenry” exalting frenetic flute and Dave’s insatiable guitar riffs. The harmonies and melody that bend around the brassy I’m Just Happy To See You Get Her are creative marvels.
Future Bad Company definitely copped the riffs from “Just How Long” while the double linked “World’s End” is just so underplayed. Sterling jazz riffs trip through Steely Dan styled “Back To The Road” with Bob Downes giving it stick in the wind. There’s a bit of Billy Joel in the People’s People or even Tremeloes in the opener “She Taught Me To Love” which crystalises into the spiritual “Saint Bartholomew”.
Lewis was the songwriter extraordinaire having written the award winning film War and songs as varied as “Happy To Be An Island In The Sun”, #1 for ex Aphrodite Child Demis Roussos. David’s 1969 The Songs Of David Lewis remain a collector’s dream.
by Shiloh Noone
Tracks
1.The Days Grew Longer For Love - 3:55
2.Sunday - 3:13
3.Lost A Number, Found A King - 6:03
4.Man Without A Name - 2:41
5.Clockwork Man - 2:44
6.Cocaine - 4:59
7.Shades Of Grey - 3:36
8.High On A Mountain - 2:31
9.Andwella - 3:15
10.Midday Sun - 3:40
11.Take My Road - 3:22
12.Felix - 4:16
13.Goodbye - 2:17
14.Mrs. Mann - 3:59
15.Mister Sunshine - 3:17
16.Every Little Minute - 3:55
17.Michael FitzHenry - 3:42
18.Take My Road - 3:26
19.Man Without A Name - 2:38
20.Paradise Isle - 3:44
21.Miles Away From My Baby - 4:37
All songs by David Lewis
Bonus tracks from 14-21.
Andwella's Dream
*Dave Lewis - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals
*Nigel Portman Smith - Bass
*Gordon Barton - Drums with
*Bob Downes - Flute, Percussion, Chinese Bells, Tam Tam
*Wilgar Campbell - Drums
Liverpool's Wimple Winch are best known to obsessive collectors of U.K. freakbeat for a handful of rare but potent singles, such as the malevolent "Save My Soul and "Rumble on Mersey Square South," a mini-rock opera that feels like a more compact contemporary to the Who's "A Quick One While He's Away."
But Tales from the Sinking Ship, which collects Wimple Winch's singles for Fontana along with recordings that came from earlier and later incarnations of the band serves best as an object lesson in how radically the British music scene would change between 1964 and 1968. The set opens with a dozen sides recorded when
Dee Christopholus (vocals and guitar), John Kelman (lead guitar), and Larry King (aka Lawrence Arendes, drums) were members of the beat combo the Four Just Men (who briefly became the Just Four Men), who start out playing pleasant but unremarkable instrumentals not unlike what the Shadows were doing and eventually moved on to pop vocal sides that make them sound like competent but unremarkable also-rans on the Merseybeat scene.
They improved as they went along, and the last of the Four Just Men sides here are the best, the moody but dramatic "In the Shelter of Your Arms" and a solid cover of the Bacharach/David classic "Trains and Boats and Planes." However, when bassist Stuart Sirrett left at the end of 1965 and Barry Ashall took over in early 1966, something kicked in with this band, which adopted the new name Wimple Winch and embraced a far more aggressive and compelling sound, with a crispness that suggested the mod sound that was coming into vogue, along with shades of psychedelia creeping into "Atmospheres" and a dash of Ray Davies-style wit informing "Typical British Workmanship."
None of the Wimple Winch singles were hits, and this collection closes out with eight demos that confirm the group was continuing to evolve and innovate even after it was dropped by Fontana, with the psychedelic influences moving comfortably to the forefront and pop-minded pastoral accents coloring the melodies.
Phil Smee's richly detailed liner notes tell more about Wimple Winch's story than most fans will ever need to know, and a family tree makes it easy to follow the many personnel shifts in the group; this is fascinating stuff for those enamored of the point where beat music fell under the lysergic influence, and reveals just how weird a seemingly ordinary, clean-cut band could get during the first era of acid.
by Mark Deming
Tracks
1. Ad-Ventures (Theme From Friday Night) (Unknown) - 1:00
2. Half Past Five (Dee Christopholus, John Kelman) - 1:58
3. Aggravatin' (Unknown) - 2:43
4. Colours (Unknown) - 2:38
5. Four Just Men Theme (Aka Laura Norder) (Unknown) - 2:16
6. Sorry Girl (Unknown) - 2:23
7. Don't Come Any Closer (Demo Version) (Dee Christopholus) - 2:17
8. I Just Can't Make Up My Mind (Dee Christopholus, John Kelman, Larry King, Pete Turner) - 1:45
9. Woman Needs A Man (Dee Christopholus, John Kelman, Larry King, Pete Turner) - 2:04
10.I Still Care (Unknown) - 2:06
11.Thinking About Your Love (Dee Christopholus, John Kelman, Larry King, Pete Turner) - 2:24
12.Tomorrow (Dee Christopholus, John Kelman, Larry King, Pete Turner) - 2:45
13.In The Shelter Of You Arms (Jerry Samuels) - 2:32
14.Trains And Boats And Planes (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) - 2:25
15.What's Been Done (Barrie Ashall, Dee Christopholus, John Kelman, Larry King) - 2:44
16.I Really Love You (Lawrence Arends, Dee Christopholus) - 3:41
17.Save My Soul (Dee Christopholus) - 3:06
18.Everybody's Worried 'Bout Tomorrow (Ashall, Christopher, Kelman) - 2:34
19.Rumble On Mersey Square South (Dee Christopholus) - 4:31
20.Atmospheres (Dee Christopholus) - 4:27
21.Typical British Workmanship (Barrie Ashall, Dee Christopholus, John Kelman, Larry King) - 2:59
22.Bluebell Wood (Demo Version) (Dee Christopholus) - 3:32
23.Lollipop Minds (Dee Christopholus) - 3:10
24.Marmalade Hair (Dee Christopholus) - 3:00
25.Coloured Glass (Barrie Ashall, Dee Christopholus, John Kelman, Larry King) - 2:17
26.Those Who Wait (Barrie Ashall, Dee Christopholus, John Kelman, Larry King) - 2:29
27.Three Little Teddy Bears (Barrie Ashall, Dee Christopholus, John Kelman, Larry King) - 2:45
28.Sagittarius (Dee Christopholus) - 2:47
29.The Last Hooray (Barrie Ashall, Dee Christopholus, John Kelman, Larry King) - 3:18
Tracks 1-14 performed as Four Just Men
Funkadelic, arguably the greatest "black rock" band ever...Actually, strike that, they are far and away the best black rock band ever. In fact, screw everything, they're one of the greatest rock bands period, up there with any classic rock dinosaur you care to name. And though it's tempting to launch an essay on the racism of rock radio-- or rock journalism for that matter-- I'll stick to the band. Even as they're revered as legends and purveyors of the some of the best funk of the 70s, I've read relatively few accounts on their greatness as a pure rock band. But they had it all: great players, great singers, a great look, a great concept, actual hits, great albums, great drugs, freaky sex, disputes over money-- everything Led Zeppelin (or Spinal Tap) taught us was necessary to make the world's greatest rock music.
They started small, backing up ringleader George Clinton's Parliaments in the late 60s. When Clinton got into arguments with his label Revilot over money and rights, he decided to start recording his backup band instead, using the original Parliaments singers (Clinton, Ray Davis, Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins-- and come on, dude's name is "Fuzzy"-- Calvin Simon and Grady Thomas) as "guests." Guitarists Eddie Hazel and Tawl Ross, bassist Billy Nelson, drummer Tiki Fulwood, and eventually, master keyboardist Bernie Worrell were the band that would turn this fairly traditional soul group into the intense live act that wowed Detroit's Westbound Records head Armen Boladian. He signed them, and from the get-go, their music cut through genres and money bullshit like neither had ever existed. Never mind that half the band quit and came back again during recording sessions for their first record, Funkadelic was destined for greatness. Ace's reissues of the band's Westbound catalog is long overdue-- they sound a world better than the terribly mastered original CD pressings, and contain a wealth of bonus tracks, alternate mixes, and liner notes.
Funkadelic from 1970 was a bomb dropped all over rock and soul. No matter Hendrix, no matter James Brown, no matter the MC5, nobody had ever heard anything like this. This music was slower than sludge, dirtier than the "raw funk" Herb "Sparky" Sparkman talks about in "Music For My Mother". It was a great big fucking mess, and a lot of people didn't know what to make of it. I remember reading a Rolling Stone review from the time that ended with "who needs this shit?" and a writer from the Blues & Soul 'zine from a year later admitted, "Funkadelic has never been one of my favorite R&B; acts". Still, the record sold (peaking at #16 on the Soul LPs chart), and planted the seed of a cult worship that would balloon in the latter half of the decade, making the P-Funk enterprise the most successful soul act on the planet.
"Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" started out with the sound of Clinton's wet mouth and the best ever opening line for an album: "If you will suck my soul, I will lick your funky emotions." When the beat hits with Hazel's guitar line, there can be no doubt that Funkadelic were without peer as far as this stuff was concerned. This stuff-- hell, tunes like "Mommy" and "Good Old Music" are slams to the gut as powerful as anything Zep ever did, and with beats to spare. "Music For My Mother" is like a Southern myth, detailing a loner's travels through "Keep Runnin' Mississippi", hearing music he thought long dead, yet getting trapped by its sticky black allure. "What Is Soul?" drops more classic lines ("soul is a hamhock in your cornflakes," "Soul is chitlins foo young," "soul is a joint rolled in toilet paper") in seven minutes than most bands muster up in a career. Bonus tracks like the tight instrumental "As Good As I Can Feel" and several single versions of album cuts make this album one of the most indispensable of all indispensable Funkadelic records.
by Dominique Leone
Tracks 1. Mommy, What's a Funkadelic? (George Clinton) - 9:04 2. I Bet You (George Clinton, Patrick Lindsey, Sidney Barnes) - 6:10 3. Music for My Mother (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel, Billy Nelson) - 5:37 4. I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody's Got a Thing (Clarence Haskins) - 3:52 5. Good Old Music (George Clinton) - 7:59 6. Qualify and Satisfy (George Clinton, Billy Nelson, Eddie Hazel) - 6:15 7. What Is Soul (George Clinton) - 7:40 8. Can't Shake It Loose (George Clinton, Sidney Barnes, Joanne Jackson, Rose Marie McCoy) - 2:28 9. I Bet You (George Clinton, Patrick Lindsey, Sidney Barnes) - 4:10 10.Music for My Mother (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel, Billy Nelson) - 5:17 11.As Good as I Can Feel (George Clinton, Clarence Haskins) - 2:31 12.Open Our Eyes (Leon Lumpkins) - 3:58 13.Qualify and Satisfy (George Clinton, Billy Nelson, Eddie Hazel) - 3:00 14.Music for My Mother (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel, Billy Nelson) - 6:14
Bonus Tracks 8-14
Musicians
*George Clinton - Vocals
*Eddie Hazel - Lead Guitar, Vocals (Tracks 1,9)
*Lucius "Tawl" Ross - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals (Tracks 3,10)
*Ray Monette - Guitar (Track 4)
*Billy "Bass" Nelson - Bass (Track 1), Vocals (Tracks 3,4,10)
*Bob Babbitt - Bass (Track 9)
*Mickey Atkins - Organ (Track 1)
*Bernie Worrell - Organ (Track )
*Earl Van Dyke - Keyboards (Track 9)
*Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood - Drums (Tracks 1,4,9,6,13)
*Brad Innis - Drums (Tracks 3,10)
*Gasper Lawal - Conga (Tracks 3,10)
*Herb Sparkman - Lead Vocals (Tracks 3,10)
*Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins - Lead Vocals (Track 4)
*Calvin Simon - Lead Vocals (Tracks 6,13)
*Ray Davis, Grady Thomas and some unknown Female Vocalists - Additional Vocals
Beginning with 1967’s Fire & Fleet & Candlelight, the music of folksinger Buffy Sainte-Marie began to take on a decidedly schizophrenic nature. Traditionally celebrated for her biting political songs, as well as her stark approach to folksong, the late sixties saw her take her distinctive sound in a series of surprising directions. Candlelight experimented with sweeping orchestral arrangements and electric pop music, while its follow-up, I’m Gonna Be A Country Girl Again, saw Buffy immersing herself deep in Nashville traditions. Come winter, 1969, and the young firebrand decided to turn the tables once again, releasing what is perhaps her most esoteric album of all: Illuminations.
From the very first notes you know you’re in for something unique. “God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot” is an eerie, electronically treated adaptation of lines from Leonard Cohen’s novel Beautiful Losers, featuring bizarre production touches courtesy of Vanguard Records president Maynard Solomon himself. Buffy’s voice and guitar are taken and warped into distorted moans and oscillating loops of sound that build upon themselves into a kind of electric witch’s chant. I should warn you not to get too comfortable with all this, though, because if this record is anything, it’s unpredictable. After almost five minutes, this unsettling opening fades into the short, church organ hymnal “Mary,” before a gnarly electric guitar and banjo jerk into the rapid-fire folk-rock of “Better To Find Out For Yourself,” featuring Buffy at her yelping, wailing best. In the clucking fadeout, what might return but Solomon’s electronic screeching, teasing the record back down into a dark, candlelit vampire ballad.
Honestly, I could go on for the entirety of the track list like this, as every song here is indispensable to the whole. In fact, I’m almost tempted to label this one a concept album, with the opening track acting as a sort of manifesto. As for the music, though, it’s everywhere, from the raw west coast psychedelia of “He’s A Keeper of the Fire” to the caustic “Suffer the Little Children,” which itself sounds straight out of one of Buffy’s earlier records. One of the most wild segments is when the stomping “With You, Honey” closes with a shrill scream and dissolves into the pretty, lilting acoustic love song “Guess Who I Saw In Paris.” This latter track is so overly cute that in any other context I might write it off as a low point, but in context with the rest of the music here it somehow comes off as extraordinary. Like the rest of the album, it’s hard to really put the magic into words. This is one you just have to experience.
Interestingly enough, this album was not only groundbreaking musically, but it was also the very first quadrophonic vocal record ever made. Unfortunately, it appears that few people cared about either of those two points at the time of its release, as it was a huge commercial disaster and would quickly be deleted from Vanguard’s catalog. If you can, I would recommend you all find a vinyl copy, since this seems like the kind of record that was born for the needle, but should that fail there’s always Vanguard’s compact disc reissue. Also worth checking out is Buffy’s follow up to this one, She Used To Want To Be A Ballerina, which, of course, sounds little like Illuminations, but does feature Jack Nitzsche and the original lineup of Neil Young and Crazy Horse.
by Nik Rayne
Tracks
1. God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot (Leonard Cohen, Buffy Sainte Marie) - 4:40
2. Mary - 1:26
3. Better To Find Out For Yourself - 2:12
4. The Vampire - 2:05
5. Adam (Richie Havens) - 4:50
6. The Dream Tree - 2:35
7. Suffer The Little Children - 3:15
8. The Angel (Ed Freeman) - 3:30
9. With You, Honey - 1:45
10.Guess Who I Saw In Paris - 2:25
11.He's A Keeper Of The Fire - 3:20
12.Poppies - 3:10
Music and Lyrics by Buffy Sainte-Marie except where stated
Gibbons' career actually dates back to the very end of the '50s. A rock 'n' roller with a special love of Elvis Presley's work, Gibbons was working as a plumber's apprentice in his native Birmingham, England, when he made the leap to a professional career, replacing Colin Smith as lead singer in the Dominettes, a local rock & roll band. He remained with the Dominettes -- who were renamed the Uglys three years later -- for the next eight years, as they went through numerous lineup changes and their sound evolved from rock & roll to R&B to psychedelia.
Gibbons himself became heavily influenced by the music and songs of Bob Dylan during the mid-'60s, which manifested itself for years after (and, indeed, into the '90s), starting with the Uglys' single "Wake Up My Mind." The group experienced many false-starts and thwarted efforts at chart success, and by 1968 Gibbons was the only original member of the Uglys still in the lineup. And the band essentially dissolved in a disastrous series of behind-the-scenes machinations of manager Tony Secunda, and Gibbons was among those left to find a new gig.
He initially joined former Move bassist Trevor Burton, ex-Moody Blues guitarist/singer Denny Laine, and his former Uglys bandmate Keith Smart in an outfit called Balls. by April of that year they had formed a new group called Balls, which didn't last long but did leave an album behind. Gibbons then joined the Birmingham band the Idle Race, which had lost Jeff Lynne to the Move not too long before. That configuration lasted for a few months, before it renamed itself the Steve Gibbons Band.
It was in this guise that Gibbons finally began his rise to stardom, at least in England. Gibbons fancied himself a modern-day rock & roll outlaw: dark features, surly countenance, mean disposition. His songs were essentially Chuck Berry updates (in some cases, simply Chuck Berry covers) about thugs, dealers, and good lovin' gone bad. Tight with Who bassist John Entwistle, Gibbons was able to land a contract with the Who's American label, MCA, and share the same management company.
The trouble was that Gibbons' career never amounted to much in the U.S., he was fairly popular in England, though. Following Down in the Bunker, Gibbons released two early-'80s records for RCA, and On the Loose for Magnum Force in 1986.
by John Dougan - Bruce Eder
Tracks
1. Take Me Home - 4:04
2. Johnny Cool - 3:55
3. Rollin' - 5:53
4. Spark Of Love - 4:14
5. Standing On The Bridge - 3:13
6. Natural Thing - 4:21
7. Speed Kills - 3:32
8. Strange World - 5:17
9. Sweet Heart - 4:20
10.Back Street Cat - 3:21
11.Dick Malone - 4:01
All Songs by Steve Gibbons
The Band
*Steve Gibbons - Lead Vocals
*Dave Carroll - Guitar, Vocals
Critics have labeled Gibbons as the English Bob Seger, but such a comparison is little more than superficial, doing credit to neither party. The two share a love for basic, no frills rock and roll but that's pretty much where the comparisons end.
Produced by Ken Laguna, 1977's "Rollin' On" is simply prime Gibbons and stands as one of my all time favorite albums. Credited with penning twelve of the 14 tracks, original material such as 'Light Up Your Face', 'Please Don't Say Goodbye' and a live 'Tupelo Mississippi Flash' showcased Gibbons' knack for crafting material that was tuneful, commercial, yet rocked with an intensity that's all but absent from music these days.
How could songs like 'Wild Flowers' and 'Low Down Man' not have garnered top-40 airplay? Other highlights included the atypical country-flavored 'Now You Know Me' and the gorgeous ballad 'Till the Well Runs Dry'. Interestingly, the album's lone cover of Chuck Berry's 'Tulane' provided Gibbon's with an unexpected UK hit 'Tulane' b/w 'Now You Know Me'.
Tracks
1. Wild Flowers - 4:09
2. Light Up Your Face - 3:07
3. Now You Know Me - 3:36
4. Mr. Jones - 4:33
5. Till the Well Runs Dry - 4:13
6. Tulane (Chuck Berry) - 2:52
7. Low Down Man - 3:06
8. Till the Fire Burns Out - 3:00
9. Cross Me Over the Road - 3:13
10.Right Side of Heaven - 0:55
11.Rollin On - 3:53
12.Please Don't Say Goodbye - 3:07
13.Tupelo Mississippi Flash (Jerry Reed) - 4:39
14.Rounden (Instrumental) - 0:19
15. Gave His Life To Rock 'N' Roll (Bonus Track) - 3:22
16. Make The Good Times Last (Bonus Track) - 2:39
17. Dick Leaps In (Bonus Track) - 3:03
All Songs by Steve Gibbons except were indicated. The Steve Gibbons Band
*Dave Carroll - Lead Guitar
*Steve Gibbons - Vocals
*Bob Lamb - Drums
*Bob Wilson - Lead Guitar
*Trevor Burton - Bass
Free returned to the studio in April 1969 to begin work on their second album and already there was trouble in the camp. Rodgers and Fraser had by now formed a pretty solid songwriting partnership although they were not exactly the best of buddies. This lead to Kossoff and Kirke feeling a little less than equal as both Rodgers and Fraser had very set ideas as to how they wanted the songs to sound. In fact things got so bad at one point that Rodgers and Fraser were going to leave the band and form a duo. Kirke and Kossoff actually auditioned Overend Watts from Mott The Hoople as Fraser’s replacement and Kossoff himself even auditioned for the vacant guitarist spots in both The Rolling Stones and Jethro Tull.
On to the album itself then. Well if “Tons of Sobs” was Free’s blues album then this self titled follow up was probably their folk album. Although Rodgers still insists it’s more of a soul album. The hard powerful blues that was all over the first album is still evident in places but is more controlled. If “Tons of Sobs” was a runaway horse then “Free” is a restrained gallop.
The album opens with ‘I’ll Be Creepin” which with it’s funky and prominent bass starts the album off in tremendous style. Just to prove the longevity of these songs Rodgers used this track to open his set on his most recent solo tour. ‘Songs Of Yesterday’ has the blues feel of the earlier album and some great Kossoff guitar, but then which of these tracks hasn’t. ‘Lying In The Sunshine’ is a similar type of song to ‘Over The Green Hills’ from the first album but with more of a soul feel. ‘Trouble On Double Time’ is the out and out blues rocker of the album and is the only track on which Kossoff and Kirke get a songwriting credit. It has a Stones like strut about it. ‘Mouthful Of Grass’ closed the first side on the original vinyl issue. Virtually an instrumental with just a choir of aaah’s it is a strangely hypnotic sort of song. It is also possibly one of the Free songs owned by the most people as it was used as the b-side to ‘All Right Now’. ‘Woman’ is classic Free at their best with a nice understated intro and a great early solo from Kossoff. It was particularly effective in a live setting and is as good as anything they ever recorded.
Highlight for many is the lengthy almost whispering laid back folky blues track ‘Free Me’. On the live disc which comes as part of the “Songs Of Yesterday” 5-CD box set Kirke introduces this song as “….. one of our favourites actually”. It is not difficult to tell why as all put in faultless performances. Kossoff in particular pulling of one of his trademark crying solo’s. At at time when everyone was trying to be the fastest guitarist alive it is ironic that Kossoff was beginning to attract attention by doing exactly the opposite. ‘Broad Daylight’ was a bit of a throwaway song that wouldn’t have been out of place on the first album and was the first single issued by the band. ‘I’ll be Creepin’ was later released as a single but neither charted. The closing track ‘Mourning Sad Morning’ is an absolutely stunning piece of music that once again highlights Rodgers superb voice. Sounding in places like a two hundred year old folk song the unique mixture of Rodgers’ voice, Kossoff’s guitar and the haunting flute of Traffic’s Chris Wood closes the album on a melancholy but beautiful note.
It is also worth mentioning the album cover as it is one that regularly appears in classic album art coffee table books. It was designed by Ron Raffielli and is a photograph of a naked woman shot from below. This effect was obtained by Raffieli standing in a hole and having the woman stride over him. The outline of her body was then filled with stars and set against a blue sky background. The centre spread of the album featured a picture of a young woman on a beach with building blocks! Each member of the band was photographed in one of the boxes. The box which displayed the photo of Paul Rodgers was being held by the girl up to her mouth and she is blowing sand of it. One of the other members of the band later commented “Typical, the one the girl had hold of had to have Rodgers in it ……”
“Free” peaked at #22 in the UK chart which was not bad at all considering there was no hit single and not exactly masses of publicity. All that would change though in 1970 with two more classic albums, a worldwide hit and a tremendous performance at the Isle Of Wight Festival. Superstardom was indeed due to come creeping around the door very soon indeed.
by Martin Leedham, November 21, 2010
Tracks
1. I'll Be Creepin' - 3:27
2. Songs Of Yesterday - 3:33
3. Living In The Sunshine - 3:51
4. Trouble On Double Time (Andy Fraser, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke) - 3:23
5. Mouthful Of Grass - 3:36
6. Woman - 3:50
7. Free Me - 5:24
8. Broad Daylight - 3:15
9. Mourning Sad Morning - 5:04
10.Broad Daylight - 3:09
11.The Worm - 3:03
12.I'll Be Creepin' - 2:47
13.Sugar For Mr Morrison - 3:01
Bonus Tracks 2001 Island Remasters
14.Broad Daylight - 3:21
15.Songs Of Yesterday - 3:11
16.Mouthful Of Grass - 3:33
17.Woman - 4:00
18.Trouble On Double Time (Andy Fraser, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke) -- 2:37
19.Mourning Sad Morning - 5:10
All songs by Andy Fraser, Paul Rodgers except where indicated
Gordon Lightfoot was born on November 17, 1938 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada. His parents recognized and encouraged his interest in music; his first appearance as Massey Hall in Toronto, now a revered standard in his tour schedule, was just before he turned 13, as the winner of a competition for boys with unchanged voices.
After a background in barbershop quartets, and as a member of a duo, Lightfoot struck out on his own in the early 60s. He had written perhaps 75 songs, when he was caught up in the country music scene and folk revival of the time; Bob Dylan's music and a song by Merle Travis, Dark As A Dungeon, combined with his sensitivity, inventiveness and beautiful voice, resulted in his unique songwriting and singing style. In less than two years, between late '61 and some time in 1963, his sound and his life changed forever.
Lightfoot was already 27 at the time of his solo debut, which might have accounted in part for the unusually fully developed maturity and confidence on this recording, in both his songwriting and vocals. Contains some of his best compositions, including "Early Mornin' Rain," "I'm Not Sayin'," "The Way I Feel," "Lovin' Me," and "Ribbon of Darkness." At this point Lightfoot was still including some covers in his repertoire, and he handles numbers by Phil Ochs ("Changes"), Ewan McColl ("The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"), and Hamilton Camp ("Pride of Man") well. The whole album is included on The United Artists Collection.
Lightfoot had used additional guitar and bass on his debut, but for his second LP he went for a fuller band sound, using a couple of the noted Nashville sessionmen (Charlie McCoy and Ken Buttrey) who had played on Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde. The result was a brighter and more accesible sound, with the country elements more to the fore. The songs weren't quite as impressive as his first batch, but they were still very good, highlighted by the epic "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" and an electrified remake of "The Way I Feel." The whole album is included on The United Artists Collection.
by Richie Unterberger.
Tracks
1. Rich Man's Spiritual - 2:44
2. Long River - 2:46
3. The Way I Feel - 3:43
4. For Lovin' Me - 2:25
5. The First Time Ever I saw Your Face (Ewan MacColl) - 3:10
6. Changes (Phil Ochs) - 2:30
7. Early Mornin' Rain - 3:04
8. Steel Rail Blues - 2:48
9. Sixteen Miles - 2:05
10.I'm Not Sayin' - 2:28
11.Pride Of Man (Hamilton Camp) - 2:41
12.Ribbon Of Darkness - 2:39
13.Oh, Linda - 3:09
14.Peaceful Waters - 2:01
15.Walls - 2:53
16.If You Got It - 2:31
17.Softly - 3:26
18.Crossroads - 2:58
19.A Minor Ballad - 3:15
20.Go Go Round - 2:40
21.Rosanna - 2:42
22.Home From The Forest - 3:04
23.I'll Be Alright - 2:27
24.Song For A Winter's Night - 3:01
25.Canadian Railroad Trilogy - 6:22
26.The Way I Feel - 3:02
All songs written by Gordon Lightfoot except where indicated.
Songs 1-14 from the 1966 Lightfoot!
Songs 15-26 from the 1967 The Way I Feel
Musicians 1966 Lightfoot!
*Gordon Lightfoot - Guitar, Piano, Vocals
*David Rea or Bruce Langhorne - Second Guitar (Tracks 2 and 14)
*Bill Lee - Bass 1967 The Way I Feel
*Gordon Lightfoot - Guitar, Piano, Vocals
*Kenneth A. Buttrey - Drums
*Red Shea - Guitar
*John Stockfish - Bass
*Charlie McCoy - Harmonica, Celeste, Bells
