pH
11-03-2008, 10:15 AM
I've got a manky little nappy.
As amazon.co.uk e mails people alerting them to new releases, so they did to me today. It's the 'Fire and Water' Deluxe Edition by Free. I still love this album and my original UK vinyl copy still sounds good. However, like almost everything, past CD versions have been half-baked and have lost considerable fidelity in transfer. I always measure the sound by Andy Fraser's bass sound on 'Mr Big' and if it doesn't have that grunt, then it's a failure. Bob Clearmountain successfuly destroyed a compilation of Free material decades ago by adding a slew of reverb to the songs. One of Free's trademarks was the innate 'dryness' of their studio albums. Bob put paid to that - it was unlistenable.
When it was announced that 'Stormcock' was going to be remastered I, like lots of people, was hesitant. However, I was always going to buy it and Roy gave us a sparkling new album - who couldn't love it! But the proof is in the listening and amazon.co.uk is notorious for not providing samples of songs on their site, unlike amazon.com which does it more freely. So, I don't know about this new 'F&W'. The clincher (to my not ever buying it) could just be the *nine* versions of All Right Now spread between the two discs.
Also released soon is the Deluxe Edition of Paul Kossoff's 'Backstreet Crawler' which could be interesting. Here's the e mail FWIW:
Greetings from Amazon.co.uk,
As someone who has purchased or rated music by Free, you might like to know that Fire and Water: Deluxe Edition will be released on 17 March 2008. You can pre-order yours for just £12.98 by following the link below.
Fire and Water: Deluxe Edition Fire and Water: Deluxe Edition
Free
Price: £12.98
Release Date: 17 March 2008
Pre-order now!
Album Description
Free's 3rd album was originally released in June 1970 and has now been expanded with 23 bonus tracks.
Disc One contains the original album digitally remastered by Peter Mew at Abbey Road plus 3 songs recorded in session for the BBC plus 4 songs recorded live for John Peel's Sunday Live in Concert programme for the BBC.
Disc Two gathers together 16 alternative versions of songs from the album including a previously unreleased version of Fire and Water and previously unreleased versions of All Right Now recorded for the video.
"While it may seem excessive to close the set with three versions of the same song we felt that these are so good, and all quite different performances, that it would be absurd not to let you hear them and simply leave them languishing in the vaults."
David Clayton - Winter 2007
Track Listings
Disc 1
1. Fire And Water
2. Oh I Wept
3. Remember
4. Heavy Load
5. Mr. Big
6. Don't Say You Love Me
7. All Right Now
8. Fire And Water
9. Mr. Big
10. All Right Now
11. Remember
12. Mr. Big
13. Don't Say You Love Me
14. All Right Now
Disc 2
1. Fire And Water
2. Oh I Wept
3. Remember
4. Don't Say You Love Me
5. All Right Now
6. All Right Now
7. Fire And Water
8. Fire And Water
9. Fire And Water
10. Don't Say You Love Me
11. Mr. Big
12. All Right Now
13. Mr. Big
14. All Right Now
15. All Right Now
16. All Right Now
More to Explore
Back Street Crawler: Deluxe Edition
Paul Kossoff
As amazon.co.uk e mails people alerting them to new releases, so they did to me today. It's the 'Fire and Water' Deluxe Edition by Free. I still love this album and my original UK vinyl copy still sounds good. However, like almost everything, past CD versions have been half-baked and have lost considerable fidelity in transfer. I always measure the sound by Andy Fraser's bass sound on 'Mr Big' and if it doesn't have that grunt, then it's a failure. Bob Clearmountain successfuly destroyed a compilation of Free material decades ago by adding a slew of reverb to the songs. One of Free's trademarks was the innate 'dryness' of their studio albums. Bob put paid to that - it was unlistenable.
When it was announced that 'Stormcock' was going to be remastered I, like lots of people, was hesitant. However, I was always going to buy it and Roy gave us a sparkling new album - who couldn't love it! But the proof is in the listening and amazon.co.uk is notorious for not providing samples of songs on their site, unlike amazon.com which does it more freely. So, I don't know about this new 'F&W'. The clincher (to my not ever buying it) could just be the *nine* versions of All Right Now spread between the two discs.
Also released soon is the Deluxe Edition of Paul Kossoff's 'Backstreet Crawler' which could be interesting. Here's the e mail FWIW:
Greetings from Amazon.co.uk,
As someone who has purchased or rated music by Free, you might like to know that Fire and Water: Deluxe Edition will be released on 17 March 2008. You can pre-order yours for just £12.98 by following the link below.
Fire and Water: Deluxe Edition Fire and Water: Deluxe Edition
Free
Price: £12.98
Release Date: 17 March 2008
Pre-order now!
Album Description
Free's 3rd album was originally released in June 1970 and has now been expanded with 23 bonus tracks.
Disc One contains the original album digitally remastered by Peter Mew at Abbey Road plus 3 songs recorded in session for the BBC plus 4 songs recorded live for John Peel's Sunday Live in Concert programme for the BBC.
Disc Two gathers together 16 alternative versions of songs from the album including a previously unreleased version of Fire and Water and previously unreleased versions of All Right Now recorded for the video.
"While it may seem excessive to close the set with three versions of the same song we felt that these are so good, and all quite different performances, that it would be absurd not to let you hear them and simply leave them languishing in the vaults."
David Clayton - Winter 2007
Track Listings
Disc 1
1. Fire And Water
2. Oh I Wept
3. Remember
4. Heavy Load
5. Mr. Big
6. Don't Say You Love Me
7. All Right Now
8. Fire And Water
9. Mr. Big
10. All Right Now
11. Remember
12. Mr. Big
13. Don't Say You Love Me
14. All Right Now
Disc 2
1. Fire And Water
2. Oh I Wept
3. Remember
4. Don't Say You Love Me
5. All Right Now
6. All Right Now
7. Fire And Water
8. Fire And Water
9. Fire And Water
10. Don't Say You Love Me
11. Mr. Big
12. All Right Now
13. Mr. Big
14. All Right Now
15. All Right Now
16. All Right Now
More to Explore
Back Street Crawler: Deluxe Edition
Paul Kossoff