Fire and Water (Free album)
Fire and Water | ||||
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Island, London | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 35:33 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Producer | Free | |||
Free chronology | ||||
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Singles from Fire and Water | ||||
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Fire and Water is the third studio album by English rock band Free, released in 1970. It became the band's breakthrough album, achieving widespread commercial success as the band's first two studio albums were not successful. With the "tremendous" acclaim of Fire and Water at their backs, in the words of AllMusic, Free headlined the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival with an estimated audience of 600,000 to 700,000 attendees and "appeared destined for superstardom".[2][3][4]
Fire and Water peaked at No. 2 on the U.K. album chart, being listed on it for a total of eighteen weeks. In contrast, neither of the band's prior releases had charted at all.[5] Fire and Water additionally reached No. 17 in the U.S.[citation needed]
The album spawned the band's signature hit song "All Right Now", praised by publications such as AllMusic as a hard rock "smash powered by [Paul] Rodgers' gritty, visceral vocals".[2] The song entered the top five within the group's native country of the United Kingdom, and also did well in other European countries such as Austria, France, and Germany.[citation needed][5] "All Right Now" remains a staple track of classic rock radio.[6][7][8]
Background and production
The band formed in London in 1968, after guitarist Paul Kossoff of the blues band Black Cat Bones saw a performance that included frontman and lead singer Paul Rodgers. Free came into being once the duo joined up with drummer Simon Kirke and bassist Andy Fraser, the latter formerly from the ranks of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Free's debut album, titled Tons of Sobs, came out in 1968 to a muted response. The group's eponymous 1969 follow-up, while expanding on the band's mix of styles, also failed to achieve commercial success.[2] Neither album appeared in charts.[5]
Free recorded Fire and Water from January to June 1970 in London, the group using the engineering facilities of
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [9] |
Christgau's Record Guide | B[11] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [12] |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [13] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [14] |
Music critic Matthew Greenwald has written for AllMusic praising the album. He stated that by 1970 "Free presented itself to the world as a complete band, in every sense of the word", particularly with elements ranging from "Paul Kossoff's exquisite and tasteful guitar work to Paul Rodgers' soulful vocals" on display for listeners. He also positively compared the group's work with that of bands Blind Faith, Cream, and Derek and the Dominos.[9]
Track listing
All tracks written by Andy Fraser and Paul Rodgers unless otherwise stated. The details are taken from the Island CD reissue, which has accurate timings and may differ from other releases.
- Side one
- "Fire and Water" – 3:57
- "Oh I Wept" (Rodgers, Paul Kossoff) – 4:26
- "Remember" – 4:23
- "Heavy Load" – 5:19
- Side two
- "Mr. Big" (Fraser, Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Kossoff) – 5:55
- "Don't Say You Love Me" – 6:01
- "All Right Now" – 5:32
- Reissue bonus tracks
- "Oh I Wept" - 4:22
- Alternate vocal
- "Fire and Water" - 4:24
- Stereo mix
- "Fire and Water" – 3:08
- BBC session
- "All Right Now" – 5:29
- BBC session
- "All Right Now" – 4:18
- single version
- "All Right Now" – 3:31
- early version
Personnel
Free
- Paul Rodgers – vocals
- Paul Kossoff – guitars
- Andy Fraser – bass, acoustic guitar, piano
- Simon Kirke – drums, percussion
Charts
Chart (1970) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[15] | 25 |
Finnish Albums ( The Official Finnish Charts)[16]
|
17 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[17] | 30 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[18] | 19 |
UK Albums (OCC)[19] | 2 |
US Billboard 200[20] | 17 |
References
- ISBN 978-0957144262.
- ^ AllMusic. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- ^ "The Isle Of Wight Festival". This Day In Music. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- ^ "The Story Behind "All Right Now" By Free". I Love Classic Rock. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ Fagan, Ellen (27 August 2020). "The One-Hit Wonder File: "All Right Now"". www.culturesonar.com. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ "Top 1000 Classic Rock Songs of the Millennium". canuck.seos.uvic.ca. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
- ^ AllMusic. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- AllMusic. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
- ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 24 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. pp. 596–597.
- ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 458.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 264–265.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
- GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Free – Fire and Water". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ "Free Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
Further reading
- Clayton, David and Smith, Todd K. Heavy Load: The Story of Free. Moonshine Publishing 2002
- Strong, Martin C. The Great Rock Discography, 6th edition. Edinburgh: Canongate Books 1994, 2002. pp. 392–3.
- Sutcliffe, Phil. Notes to Fire and Water by Free. Universal Island Records Ltd. 1970, 2001.
External links
- Free – Official Website
- Fire and Water at Discogs (list of releases)