Free At Last

Part of the second generation of bands to emerge from the British blues boom of the 1960s, Free, with its stripped-down instrumental style, spanned the divide between artistically acceptable progressive rock and ephemeral pop music. Its signature sound was formed around the innovative bass playing of the youthful Andy Fraser, the spare drumming of Simon Kirke, and the remarkable R&B vocals of Paul Rodgers. The youthful band (on the release of its debut album in 1968 three of its members were in their late teens, while Fraser was just 16) initially had considerable success with a string of singles like All Right Now, My Brother Jake, and Wishing Well. But a combination of business inexperience and the mounting drug problems of its heroin-addicted guitarist Paul Kossof led to a series of splits, culminating in a permanent rift in 1973. Here, music writer Steven Rosen skillfully documents the band`s internal feuding--particularly the antipathy between front man Rodgers and Fraser, its main songwriter--as well as Kossof`s inevitable terminal overdose, and Rodgers`s and drummer Kirke`s subsequent return to form with the internationally successful Bad Company. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.