Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu & Rabbit - Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu & Rabbit

There’s inevitably a monumental overspill from Free on this one-off album recorded during the months after they split in May 1971, following the perceived commercial failure of their fourth album, Highway, and before regrouping in January 1972. With Paul Rogers and Andy Fraser off pursuing their own projects, Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke recruited Japanese bass player Tetsu Yamauchi and multi-keyboardist John Rabbit Bundrick, fresh from a stint with Johnny Nash. From the dragging mid-paced tempos to the day-glo bursts of Kossoff’s instantly recognisable guitar riffs, Free’s stylistic trademarks are much in evidence. The real big miss is, of course, Paul Rodgers’ voice. Apparently he was asked to sing on the album, but was too busy with his own solo project, PEACE, and so the vocals were jointly handled by Kirke, Rabbit and Koss (the latter’s contribution being uncredited on Colours), though reputedly none were happy with the completed tracks. While the album certainly has its moments, most notably the opening Blue Grass, the instrumental Just For The Box and I’m On The Run, things too often slumber into hazily mediocre balladry. Still, for all that, this remains a must-have item for any self-respecting Free completist.