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Rating: Free – Fire & Water
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
When this album was released, the period of the English rock blues scene (also called “British blues”) was nearing its end, and Free had been the prominent figures of that genre along with Fleetwood Mac (the early ones with the great Peter Green firmly at the helm!!!), John Mayall with his Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton Ten Years After, and several others.
Despite their musical life lasting only from '68 to '73, Free, much more than numerous other bands of that glorious scene, left a deep mark on rock history and were an inspiration to many. They were pioneers of an hard blues that was both powerful and melodic, rich in truly syncopated rhythms like none had heard before, and full of great emotional pathos which over the years influenced hundreds of musicians.
Compared to the two previous albums (“Tons of Sobs” and “Free”), this "Fire And Water" is definitely cleaner and less raw, and despite catering to a wider audience, the sound does not lose the visceral passion typical of blues.
The group consisted of Paul Rodgers on vocals (he later became the singer for Bad Company, The Firm, and a very dismal Queen reunion in place of Mercury!!!), a singer with a deep and powerful voice endowed with great expressiveness, able to effectively tackle both harder tracks and ballads. Paul Kossoff (fresh from Black Cat Bones of Barbed Wire Sandwich) on guitar was an atypical instrumentalist for that period. Back then, super technical guitarists like Clapton or super fast like Alvin Lee dominated the English scene, but Paul was a decidedly essential guitarist; his style was characterized by few, very dragged out, extended notes, following a tradition rooted with Albert King. His style was rich in melancholic expressiveness (listen to the few and long notes on "Heavy Load"). On drums was Simon Kirke, an essential drummer, certainly not phenomenal, who did his job well by fully putting himself at the band's service. The bassist, Andy Fraser, was undoubtedly the youngest and most talented element; he trained in that extraordinary musical gym that was the 'Bluesbreakers' of John Mayall and can be considered in all respects a precursor, the prototype of the modern bassist. With him, the bass reached a dignity that had been unknown on the English scene until then (in the USA, the Allman Brothers Band and the Grateful Dead had already been valorizing the instrument).
It is precisely in the copious and unusual melodic bass lines that the peculiarity of the Free's sound lies (listen to his great work under "Mr. Big"!!!). Unfortunately, success for this band would be only fleeting; after the success of this record, a series of mostly mediocre albums followed before their breakup.
1 - Fire And Water - Opening the album is the title track, which winks at new hard sounds, truly a great track, syncopated and slightly psychedelic, where we can immediately appreciate the peculiar sound of Kossoff's guitar unleashing its piercing wails well supported by an excellent rhythm section.
2 - Oh I Wept - is the first ballad of the album rich in melody and feeling, with a splendid vocal performance by Paul Rodgers who, after showing his great incisiveness in the previous track, instead reveals his more intimate and melodic side.
3 - Remember - is another melodic ballad with Kossoff's guitar decidedly more prominent than in the previous track, and especially Fraser's bass which guides the track towards melodic goals reminiscent of the southern rock of the Allman Brothers Band.
4 - Heavy Load - the subsequent “Heavy Load” is, on the other hand, very nocturnal, enveloping and melancholic; again, the splendid vocal performance by Rodgers is the true star of the track.
5 - Mr. Big - besides being one of the great classics in rock history, it is perhaps the track that best allows us to appreciate all the genius of Fraser's bass, which guides the track masterfully while Kossoff's six-string scratches with brief and sharp riffs. The guitar-bass call-and-response is truly beautiful.
6 - Don’t Say You Love Me - is yet another ballad with great appeal.
7 - All Right Now - an extraordinary piece, with incredible drive, with a sharp and indelible riff, very current, undoubtedly the emblematic track of Free and a true generational anthem. It showcases at its best, as can be appreciated throughout the album, their syncopated, raw, visceral, dramatic and at times furious sound, with high peaks of pathos. The melody is truly great, and the chorus sticks in your head for good, certainly one of the most famous tracks in rock history. The splendid guitar solo by Kossoff deserves a mention.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Fire and Water (04:04)
Every single day, I got a heartache comin' my way
I don't wanna say goodbye
Baby but look at the tears in my eye
I don't wanna say goodbye
Mama but look at the way you made me cry
Every way that's nice
You show you've got a heart that's made of ice
and I know
Fire and water must have made you their daughter
You've got what it takes, to make a poor man's heart break
A poor mans heart break
Baby you turn me on
But as quick as a flash your love is gone
Baby I'm gonna leave you now
But I'm gonna try to make you grieve somehow
Fire and water must have made you their daughter
You've got what it takes to make a poor man's heart break
A poor man's heart break
And my heart is breakin' too
(ahh yeah)
(alright)
I don't wanna say goodbye baby
But look at the tears you made me cry
Every way that's nice
You show you've got a heart that's made of ice
And I know
Fire and water must have made you their daughter
You've got what it takes to make a poor mans heart break
Fire, fire and water must have made you their daughter
Baby you've got what it takes to make a poor man's heart break
Heart break
Baby and my heart is breakin�
ohh my heart is breakin�
ohh listen
02 Oh I Wept (04:29)
Oh I Wept
For days
Filled my eyes
With silly tears
But I don't
Care no more
I don't care if
My eyes get sore.
I take my seat on the train
And let the sun come melt my pain
Come tomorrow I'll be far away
In the sunshine of another day.
A worried mind
Makes so hard to bear
Hard to live
And hard to care.
But I don't
Care no more
I don't care if
My eyes get sore.
Now I've left
It all behind
I did not care
To be so unkind.
Oh,
I did not...
But the street
Is warm and bright
Far away
I'm gonna be tonight
03 Remember (04:28)
Do you remember
Every morning
We would dress
And we'd be still yawning,
In the street
Where people meet
We would wander around
In the northen heat.
All these days are gone
My Baby, now I'm all alone
I wish I had you near me
Baby, I wish I had you here
In the summer
Days were lazy
And sometimes the heat
Would drive us all crazy
Singing songs all night long
Till the light thru' the window
Said another day had come
All these days are gone
Baby, now I'm all alone
I wish I had you near me
I wish I had you here.
Baby, do you remember
Every morning
We would dress
And we'd be still yawning,
In the street
Where people meet
We would wander around
In the northen heat.
Baby, oh these days are gone
And I'm all alone
I still remember
The good old days we spent together
Baby I can't forget
You know me
I can't forget
The good old days we spent together
05 Mr. Big (05:58)
I work hard everyday
Come rain or shine
And I don't need no one
To tell me 'bout a girl of mine
She's got so much love
And she saves it all for me
I would not be lying
That's the way it's got to be
So Mr. Big
You'd better watch out
When only you hang around me
Oh for you now
I will dig
A great big hole in the ground.
I don't care who you are
So don't explain
Just get out of here
And don't come back again
I don't want a thing from you
I don't want to give you nothing too
Get out of here
Before I lose my cool.
Mr. Big
Oh watch out
Baby and don't you hang around me
Oh for you now
I will dig
A great big hole in the ground.
So Mr. Big
You'd better watch out
When only you hang around me
Oh for you now
I will dig
A great big hole in the ground
07 All Right Now (05:31)
Whoa-oh-oh-oh-woha
There she stood in the street
smilin' from her head to her feet;
I said, "Hey, what is this?
Now baby, maybe,
maybe she's in need of a kiss."
I said, "Hey, what's your name baby?
Maybe we can see things the same.
"Now don't you wait, or hesitate.
Let's move before they raise the parking rate."
All right now, baby, it's a-all right now.
All right now, baby, it's a-all right now.
(Let me tell you now)
I took her home to my place,
Watchin' every move on her face;
She said, "Look, what's your game baby?
Are you tryin' to put me to shame?"
I said "Slow, don't go so fast, don't you think that love can last?"
She said, "Love, Lord above,
now you're tryin' to trick me in love."
All right now, baby, it's a-all right now.
All right now, baby, it's a-all right now.
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By charley
With just one hit they managed to build a decent bank account, but only time has taken away the honors this excellent album deserves.
Fire And Water offers an original vision of hard rock, ahead of the crossovers of the years to come.
