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Fire and Water is the third studio album by English rock band Free, released in 1970. It quickly became the band's breakthrough album, achieving widespread commercial success as the band's first two studio albums were not successful. With the "tremendous" acclaim of Fire and Water at their backs, in the words of AllMusic, Free headlined the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival and "appeared destined for superstardom".[2][3]

Fire and Water
Studio album by Free
Released	26 June 1970 (1970-06-26)
Recorded	January–June 1970
Studio	Trident and Island, London
Genre	Blues rock hard rock[1]
Length	35:33
Label	Island
Producer	Free
Free chronology
Free (1969) Fire and Water (1970) Highway (1970)
Singles from Fire and Water
"All Right Now" Released: May 15, 1970

Fire and Water reached No. 2 on the U.K. album chart, being listed on it for a total of eighteen weeks. In contrast, neither of the band's prior two studio albums had charted at all.[4] Fire and Water additionally reached No. 17 on the U.S. chart.^{[citation needed]}

The album spawned the band's signature hit song "All Right Now", praised by publications such as AllMusic as a hard rock "smash powered by [Paul] Rodgers' gritty, visceral vocals".[2] The song became a top five rock hit in the group's native United Kingdom,[4] and also did well in European countries such as Austria, France, and Germany.^{[citation needed]}

Background and production

The group formed in London in 1968, after musician Paul Kossoff of the blues band Black Cat Bones saw a performance that included frontman Paul Rodgers. Free came into being once the duo joined up with musicians Simon Kirke and Andy Fraser, the latter formerly from the ranks of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Free's debut album, titled Tons of Sobs, came out in 1968 to a muted response. The group's eponymous 1969 follow-up, while expanding on the band's mix of styles, also failed to achieve commercial success.[2] Neither album appeared in the charts.[4]

Free recorded Fire and Water from January to June 1970 in London, the group using the engineering facilities of Island Studios and Trident Studios. Mike Sida devised the album's cover image, with Richard Polak being the band's photographer. Free produced the work, with assistance from others.[5]

Roy Baker contributed to the album's production, providing particular help with the audio engineering. Before getting started with Free, he had worked with groups such as Savoy Brown and The Deviants in the 1960s. Since his association with Fire and Water, he has spent decades serving rock bands such as Byzantium, Hawkwind, Queen, and The Cars.[6]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Christgau's Record Guide	B[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide	[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[10]

Music critic Matthew Greenwald has written for AllMusic praising the album. He stated that by 1970 "Free presented itself to the world as a complete band, in every sense of the word", particularly with elements ranging from "Paul Kossoff's exquisite and tasteful guitar work to Paul Rodgers' soulful vocals" on display for listeners. He also positively compared the group's work with that of bands Blind Faith, Cream, and Derek and the Dominos.[5]

Track listing

All tracks written by Andy Fraser and Paul Rodgers unless otherwise stated. The details are taken from the Island CD reissue, which has accurate timings and may differ from other releases.

Side one

1. "Fire and Water" – 3:57
2. "Oh I Wept" (Rodgers, Paul Kossoff) – 4:26
3. "Remember" – 4:23
4. "Heavy Load" – 5:19

Side two

1. "Mr. Big" (Fraser, Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Kossoff) – 5:55
2. "Don't Say You Love Me" – 6:01
3. "All Right Now" – 5:32

Reissue bonus tracks

1. "Oh I Wept" - 4:22
   • Alternate vocal
2. "Fire and Water" - 4:24
   • Stereo mix
3. "Fire and Water" – 3:08
   • BBC session
4. "All Right Now" – 5:29
   • BBC session
5. "All Right Now" – 4:18
   • single version
6. "All Right Now" – 3:31
   • early version

Personnel

Free

• Paul Rodgers – vocals
• Paul Kossoff – guitars
• Andy Fraser – bass, acoustic guitar, piano
• Simon Kirke – drums, percussion

References

Further reading

• Clayton, David and Smith, Todd K. Heavy Load: The Story of Free. Moonshine Publishing 2002
• Strong, Martin C. The Great Rock Discography, 6th edition. Edinburgh: Canongate Books 1994, 2002. pp. 392–3.
• Sutcliffe, Phil. Notes to Fire and Water by Free. Universal Island Records Ltd. 1970, 2001.

External links

• Free – Official Website
• Fire and Water at Discogs (list of releases)

На других языках

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[de] Fire and Water

Fire and Water ist das dritte Studioalbum der britischen Bluesrockband Free. Es erschien 1970 bei Island Records.[1]

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- [en] Fire and Water (Free album)

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[es] Fire and Water (álbum)

Fire and Water es el tercer álbum de estudio de la banda inglesa de rock Free, editado en junio de 1970. Al contrario que los anteriores trabajos de la banda, Tons of Sobs y Free, Fire and Water alcanzó el segundo puesto en la lista inglesa de álbumes más vendidos, y el 4º en la estadounidense,[1] haciendo que se convirtiese en el disco más exitoso de la banda. Este inusitado éxito se debió en gran medida a la popularidad del sencillo «All Right Now», que fue tocado ante una multitud de 600 000 personas en el festival de Isle of Wight en 1970.

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[ru] Fire and Water

Fire and Water — третий студийный альбом британской рок-группы Free, выпущенный записывающей компанией Island Records 26 июня 1970 года[1][2].

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