Free - Transmission Impossible (2023)

STUNNING TRIPLE DISC COLLECTION OF FREE RADIO BROADCASTS Formed in London in 1968 and best known for their 1970 signature song All Right Now , Free became renowned for their live shows and non-stop touring. Their studio albums, however, did not sell well until their third, Fire and Water, featured the massive hit All Right Now . The song helped secure them a place at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970, where they played to 600,000 people. In the early 1970s Free became one of the biggest-selling British blues rock groups; by the time they disbanded, they had sold more than 20 million albums around the world and had played more than 700 arena and festival concerts. Free disbanded in 1973, after which lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become the frontman of the band Bad Company, which also featured his former bandmate Simon Kirke on drums. Lead guitarist Paul Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler in 1975, but died from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 25 in 1976. Bassist Andy Fraser formed Sharks. Rolling Stone has referred to the band as "British hard rock pioneers". The magazine ranked Rodgers No. 55 in its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", while Kossoff was ranked No. 51 in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". This triple disc collection celebrates the enormous contribution Free made to British rock music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, featuring as it does a selection of live recordings all made for radio broadcasts at the time. The set kicks off on DISC ONE with a quite stunning show the band gave at the Redcar Jazz Club in North Yorkshire, which, despite its name, was a haven for up and coming rock bands in the late 1960s and early 70s. Performed in December 72, this event illustrates the continuing live prowess of the band even at this late stage in their career. DISC TWO brings together two mid-carer performances from the band in 1970, the first performed in the Granada TV studios in Manchester for the Doing Their Thing music programme, and the second recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, in December 70, for the Midnight Hour programme on Sverige s Radio. The set concludes on DISC THREE with two sessions recorded at London s Paris Theatre in January and July 1970, plus a selection of bonus cuts recorded for Radio 1 s Top Gear show, and for the BBC World Service s Rhythm & Blues Jamboree