Free/Europe Tour Collection 1970

The original FREE that played miraculous blues rock. The four members had an extremely short career history, but 1970 was especially special. It’s a miracle that young people with an average age of 20 were able to capture the height of delicious blues rock, but the great albums “FIRE AND WATER,” “HIGHWAY,” and “FREE LIVE!” were all recorded within 1970 (studio recording “Get Where I Belong” only (March 1971). There are many bands who have released two masterpieces in one year, but it is extremely rare to have three. And all while living a touring life. The remaining works prove how miraculous “1970 FREE” was. The introduction has become long, but this work is a “miraculous year” CD. It is an audience album that is a collection of the best recordings of the 1970 Central Europe tour. This work includes three performances. This is an excellent audience recording set with two long recordings of the “July 11, 1970 Munich performance” and “November 29, 1970 Vienna performance”, and a bonus recording from the “July 10, 1970 Aachen performance”. Before introducing each one individually, let’s first briefly organize the structure of this work. ●2 takes of Munich performance/Vienna performance (5 songs)・TONS OF SOBS: I’m A Mover・FIRE AND WATER: Fire and Water/Mr. Big/All Right Now・HIGHWAY: Ride On A Pony ●1 take Recorded (6 songs) – Munich performance: Walk In My Shadow/Woman – Vienna performance: Songs Of Yesterday/Heavy Load/Be My Friend – Aachen performance: The Hunter [First half: July 11th Munich performance (7 songs)] First What appears is an exquisite audience recording from when they participated in the West German music festival “EURO-POP ’70 AZ-MUSIKFESTIVAL”. This festival was held over two days, with TASTE and DEEP PURPLE as the headliners, TRAFIC, BLACK SABBATH, AMON DUUL II from the YETI era, and CAN, to which Damo Suzuki had just joined (they met during the performance and went straight to the stage). The legend that joined the band was the same one from Munich two months ago), and 22 bands from Japan and abroad participated. FREE was in the mid-level slot on the second day. This work, which records such a show, is extremely wonderful. This is a recording that has rarely been available until now, but it is a wonderful combination of taste and ease of listening. Although it is not as close as a soundboard, it is not far away. Anyway, if the freshness is great and the core is strong, the sound is extremely neat. What’s even more surprising is how well balanced it is. The four members are well-balanced through a slight atmosphere, and every single note is delivered to your fingertips beautifully, down to the subtlest details. In the early 70’s, it was hard to believe that even a mid-sized band was recording with this kind of sound… In fact, there are not many beautiful sounds recorded in 1970. It has probably been overlooked because of its length of about 34 minutes, but the quality is one of the best recordings. [Second half: Vienna performance on November 29th (8 songs)] Next is the Vienna performance just before the release of “HIGHWAY”. This is about 40 minutes long and also plays “Songs Of Yesterday” and “Heavy Load.” This is also a vintage recording that is rarely available, but it is extremely fresh. However, compared to the Munich performance, it is a little more addictive. Actually, only the vocals are strangely distant, and I can’t even hear the lyrics. Of course, if it is a bad recording, we will not make it into a permanent preservation press. Complementing the vocals is Paul Kossoff’s ultra-realistic guitar! It’s the exact opposite of the vocals, it’s intensely close, and it’s being played right in front of your eyes. That extremely thick tone jumps into your ears without any sense of distance, and even though it seems simple, you can understand the subtleties of the vibrato that subtly changes its expression. At first, you may think, “I’m sure the vocals are…”, but as you immerse yourself in the exquisite guitar, you realize that the sound is actually neat and the details are clear. In a sense, it takes a little getting used to the audience, but it is a “Kossoff recording” that allows you to fully experience the solitary guitar that no one could imitate, rather than imitating anyone. [Bonus: July 10th Aachen performance (1 song)] And the last bonus recorded is the audience recording of “AACHEN OPEN AIR POP FESTIVAL”, which is the day before the opening Munich performance. This is an event that is an expanded version of “EURO-POP ’70,” a legendary festival that also featured PINK FLOYD and KRAFTWERK before their album debut. FREE appeared as a semi-bird on the first day of the three days (by the way, the bird was DEEP PURPLE, which is on the official album “LIVE IN AACHEN 1970”). As a matter of fact, this recording already exists, but this work is a different upgrade master. The previous edition was valuable but unsatisfactory, with distortion and hiss, but this work is wonderful and feels like something else. However, (for some reason) this upgraded version only appeared on one song, “The Hunter” from this work. Therefore, the Munich recording was included as a bonus in this work, which will be permanently preserved the next day (I know that the recording itself is long, so I would like to see an upgraded full-length version…). The original FREE was a miracle even in the colorful 70’s British scene. “1970”, which was their peak, is truly a miracle among miracles. Eissport-Stadion, Oberwiesenfeld, Munich, West Germany 11th July 1970 Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria 29th November 1970 Soerser Stadium, Aachen, Germany 10th July 1970 (79:43) “EURO-POP ’70 AZ-Musikfestival” Eissport-Stadion, Oberwiesenfeld , Munich, West Germany 11th July 1970 01. Fire And Water 02. Woman 03. Ride On A Pony 04. I’m A Mover 05. Mr. Big 06. Walk In My Shadow 07. All Right Now Konzerthaus, Vienna, Austria 29th November 1970 08. Fire And Water 09. I’m A Mover 10. Ride On A Pony 11. Be My Friend 12. Mr. Big 13. Songs Of Yesterday 14. Heavy Load 15. All Right Now “Aachen Open Air Pop Festival” Soerser Stadium, Aachen, Germany 10th July 1970 16. The Hunter