I'm 65 and I am still grooving.Paul Rogers is undoubtedly the best British Blues/Rock vocalist of my lifetime.We in Middlesbrough are so proud of him.He's one of our own.
Free were superb and their original versions can't be topped, but these are great songs that deserve to be heard and this is still brilliant. Paul Rodgers is the best rock singer ever. I'd sell my soul to have a voice like that. About twenty years ago a girlfriend asked me to put on a video of Free performing live. She got very excited and asked me to show one bit to her featuring Paul Rodgers in slow motion! Warmed her up nicely but not sure who she was thinking of later that night!
Masterpiece version of a great song. Showing that Paul Rodgers has only gotten better with age, probably one of the hardest things to do as an artist. (of any kind) The band plays with as much soul as Rodgers sings. Total perfection.
This is my all time favourite Free song.I like the guitars on this,seventeen year old Kurtis Dengler and Howard Leese do a great job. I also loved Paul Kossoffs playing of this great Free song too,he had so much passion.His heart and soul went into his playing.R.I.P. Paul.
Paul Kossoff died in 1976 from a heart attack caused by his drug use. He was on a plane to the states with his band Back street crawler. I was 17 at the time and remember as if it was yesterday. I dont think the feel and emotion he brought to his guitar playing has ever been matched
Speaking from a musicians point of view, no where the level of the man himself but a very keen follower. The guy oozes class and after best part of 50 years on the stage , hasn't lost his edge. An outstanding tone and his control and phrasing are still of the highest standard. As a band, couldn't ask for better. Tight, great mix and knew when to go and when to hold. Comparing them to koss and Andy is ridiculous and to even think about doing this is beyond stupidity. Every musician is unique and shouldn't be pitted against another. It's a cover in their eyes and for a cover , my word it was good. Lyrically one of my favourite tracks.
This is one of the most-loved Free songs, so comparisons are inevitable. Rodgers still has the voice, but the playing on this is ham-fisted in comparison to Free, and the guitar tones are far too harsh. Almost all of the mood has gone, and this song is all about mood.
Agreed, Rodgers is and always will be awesome, but an awful lot of processing on guitars nowadays, way too much for this song, Kossof just plugged his Les Paul straight into his amp most of the time, turned up and let his talented fingers and creativity do the talking. Still a great song.
always when you think ,paul cant sing it better ,he surprises you.but the rest of the musicians cant build up the magic this song got.listen only to the guitar.even two guitarists cannot replace koss.miss him
So who among us is what they were 40 years ago? Rodgers still pours his heart out maybe its your ears or callousness getting in the way. As far as these guitarist I could take em or leave em. Rodgers could sing the phone book at still move me.
Paul will alwauys be my hero, but as far as guitarists are concerned you'll see the greatest and dedicated Koss tribute guitarists at the annual Free Convention here in the North East of England
Paul's still got the vocal chops, no doubt, and that's one of my favorite Free songs. But you can't replace the dancing bass of Andy Fraser and Paul Kossoffs unique attack on guitar. It's still plenty good. Thanks for posting.
Paul Rodgers is awesome and still "got it", saw them last nite (6-23-13) @ the Shoreline ampitheatre Mountain Veiw, CA... he`s "the VOICE rock and roll 6 23 13
Why don't you moaners give it a rest, Paul Kossoff was a great player but he is gone, these guys are still playing, touring and gigging and giving us these old songs, brilliant, enjoy it for what it is, you can't all live in the past all the time - MOVE ON!!!
Very polished performance, possibly too polished. Kossof definately added a raw vibe to those Free songs, and maybe that's what this song is missing, it's a bit too smooth. Great version though all the same, great to see that Rodgers still has it!
@mikes5637 Well said. Rogers' voice is still incredible, and I always loved Howard Leese's work, especially in Heart. Free are no more and Kossoff is sadly dead, get over it!
I cannot believe there are actually naysayers here! Saw Mr Rodgers and his band last night in Southend and this was the highlight of the set for me - and judging by the audience reaction at the end for lots of other people too. The band just has Howard Leese on guitar now and his solo was sublime. Oh, and Jason Bonham is the drummer on the British leg of the tour so the plonker who hates 'technical fills' is gonna be shit out of luck!
That's right. Hope they will come to scandinavia on their next tour. What do you think about their new song, "say it's not true" ? Just watched the video, very touching...
@Smoothways I agreed Kossoff was a major talent and unfortunately a talent loss too young. Free brought together the creative talents of four band members. Paul rodgers has adapted his own style so singing the music of his youth.Credit to him he's great live, gives everything singing those rock blues tunes..
A lot of bogus comments from the wannabes neverwillbes pretending to be guitar prowess experts! Bozos, Firstly the Les has the sound, and Rodgers doesn't need upstaging by sidemen. Second - Koss may have spent hours getting the feel right in a recording studio. These dudes got one shot live with a guy on the desk to mix in-the-moment. I saw Free with Paul Kossoff amazing on the lead - but quit the troll shite, this is ace and Paul is doing it FANTASTICALLY many years later as a featured singer. You all know nothing about zilch, otherwise you would NOT criticise. Go blab about how lucky Ringo was or some other bullshit.
***** If Paul Rodgers still wore loon pants, had a half beard and straggly hair and a cracked voice like Axl Rose ....THAT would be embarrassing. This is good, few can sing like him. Plant couldn't reach the same notes a week after Zeps records came out ffs! (and he came out with same weak flower powery asides every gig!) Joe Bonamassa plays tributes well - in has style. Since Kossoff can't be up there, and Jeff Beck ain't everywhere, this'll do fine. Anyway, you point me the way to a better example.
***** By the way - the guitar players are not supposed to get flashy - and if you listened (??) to this you would know who the lead guitar player is! (a clue; PR says his name clearly immediately after the solo. "embarrassing"!).
Sorry, I made a mistake when rating this awesome video , and I rated as 'nothing special'.I am a Paul fan since de seventies and I think his new band is fantastic!
This a reason why Rodger's Bad Company was called Free without substance, or Free Lite - Wish they would go back to original concept of Free which was less is more.
Agreed! You don't need chorus and shit for a song like this, and what's with all the distortion during the solo??? I just saw the Isle of Wight version, and that one blows this version out of the water.
Absolutely the truth. Full disclaimer, I've met "the relic" in person once, and I'll never forget what an absolute prick he was. His tone reflects who he is; cold, plastic, nasty. The kid...well, I'll cut him some slack; it took me nearly three decades to find decent tone, and I'm still working on it constantly. But yeah, Kossoff set the bar awfully high, yes? And I agree with other comments...nobody belts it out like Paul Rodgers.
Are you describing Paul, because I had the exact opposite experience? I want to be sure, that's who you meant because I never met a warmer stranger. I actually met him twice and both encounters were quite nice. Everyone has a bad day, of course. Wishing you a nice evening.
I think you're right about Leese lacking soul but i think Curtis is a soulful player ,of course they both have a hard act to follow but i think Curtis pulls it off.I'm a massive Koss fan but would love to see Free reform with either Curtis Dengler or Audley Freed on Guitar.
Listen to the version from Isle of Wright 1970. That is how it is suppose to sound! Rodgers still sound good though. There is just too much polish and 'pro' in the rest of the performance. Good musicians (ofcourse) but miss the nerve!
BadCo has some really awesome material, but Free was more... uh... free? They experimented more and avoided painting themselves into the creative corner that BadCo seemed to get stuck in as time went on. The best of their material just feels a lot more open and spacious. Also, Paul Kossoff and Andy Fraser were more inventive players and writers than their counterparts in BadCo: Mick Ralphs is a solid rock guitarist, but Paul Kossoff was something else entirely.
@Smoothways ...stimmt, aber der junge Gitarist (mit 70er Outfit mit dem Solo am Schluß) gibt sich Mühe...u. hatte sich sicher Kossof auch zum Vorbild genommen...
what happened to his singing every fukkin note has a noodly bit on the end the paul rogers i grew up listening to had no noodly bit and whats with the words all i need is a FRUHUND whats a fruhund i think he means friend....... a great shame to much time away has killed his grit.
Everything is technically spot on,but it just doesn't have that feel and vibe when Free played it. Everyone's so finished and polished ,their clothes,instruments,and their sound,but they lack the raw sound and energy Free had. They had a raw sound , No special stage outfits, fancy equipment,just a Les Paul straight into a Marshall and great music.
