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Free: Tons of Sobs

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Island Records
Released: 1969.03.14
Time:
 38:55
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Guy Stevens
Rating:
Media type: CD
Web address: www.freetheband.co.uk
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Over the Green Hills - Pt. 1 (P.Rodgers) - 0:49
[2] Worry (P.Rodgers) - 3:26
[3] Walk in My Shadow (P.Rodgers) - 3:29
[4] Wild Indian Woman (P.Rodgers/A.Fraser) - 3:39
[5] Goin' Down Slow (J.B.Oden) - 8:20
[6] I'm a Mover (P.Rodgers/A.Fraser) - 2:56
[7] The Hunter (B.T.Jones/C. Wells/D.Dunn/A.Jackson Jr./S.Cropper) - 4:13
[8] Moonshine (P.Rodgers/P.Kossoff) - 5:04
[9] Sweet Tooth (P.Rodgers) - 4:54
[10] Over the Green Hills - Pt. 2 (P.Rodgers) - 1:58

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Andy Fraser - Bass Guitar
Simon Kirke - Drums
Paul Kossoff - Guitar
Paul Rodgers - Vocals

Steve Miller - Piano Thumping

Guy Stevens - Producer
Andy Johns - Engineer
Mike Sida - Front Cover Photograph
Richard Bennett Zeff - Inside Cover Photography

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


Although Free was never destined to scrape the same skies as Led Zeppelin, when they first burst out of the traps in 1968, close to a year ahead of Jimmy Page and company, they set the world of British blues-rock firmly on its head, a blistering combination of youth, ambition, and, despite those tender years, experience that, across the course of their debut album, did indeed lay the groundwork for all that Zeppelin would embrace. That Free and Zeppelin were cut from the same cloth is immediately apparent, even before you start comparing the versions of "The Hunter" that highlight both bands' debut albums. Where Free streaks ahead, however, is in their refusal to compromise their own vision of the blues -- even at its most commercial ("I'm a Mover" and "Worry"), Tons of Sobs has a density that makes Zeppelin and the rest of the era's rocky contemporaries sound like flyweights by comparison. The 2002 remaster of the album only amplifies the fledgling Free's achievements. With remastered sound that drives the record straight back to the studio master tapes, the sheer versatility of the players, and the unbridled imagination of producer Guy Stevens, rings crystal clear. Even without their visionary seer, however, Free impresses -- three bonus tracks drawn from period BBC sessions are as loose as they are dynamic, and certainly make a case for a full Free-at-the-Beeb type collection. Of the other bonuses, two offer alternate versions of familiar album tracks, while "Guy Stevens Jam" is reprised from the Songs of Yesterday box set to further illustrate the band's improvisational abilities. As if they needed it.

Dave Thompson - AllMusic.com



Tons of Sobs is the debut album by English blues rock band Free, released in the UK on 14 March 1969. While the album failed to chart in the UK but reached #197 in the US, Free are still cited[by whom?] as one of the definitive bands of the British blues boom of the late 1960s even though this is the only album of their canon that can strictly be called blues rock. The title of the album does not relate directly to the content of the album; it is both a colloquialism of "lots of money"[citation needed], reflecting the swaggering attitude with which the album was made[citation needed], and an oblique reference to the darker, more sombre moments of the record.

Free were a new band when they recorded Tons of Sobs, and they were extremely young; none of them were yet twenty and the youngest, bassist Andy Fraser, was just sixteen years old. They had achieved a following through constant touring, and their debut album consisted for the most part of their live set-list.

With the band signed to Chris Blackwell's Island Records, Guy Stevens was hired to produce the album (he later became notable for producing early albums for Mott the Hoople and The Clash's legendary album London Calling [1979]). He opted for a minimalist attitude to production, due to the extremely low budget of about £800, creating a very raw and raucous sound – although it may have been that the relative inexperience of the band was also been a contributing factor to this[citation needed]. As such the album is a marked contrast in production terms from the band's later albums. The simple nature of the recording meant that many tracks translated well into a live setting and several songs from this album were still performed even when the band had written and recorded many more for subsequent records.
 

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