Genre: rock
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: Tons of Sob
Company: A&M
Catalog: SP-4198
Year: 1968
Country/State: UK
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: still in shrink wrap (opened)
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5326
Price: $20.00
If there's a 1960s era band in need of rediscovery my vote would go to Free. Superbly talented and criminally overlooked these guys could go head-to-head with most active bands and still kick their collective butts.
Quick band history - By 1968 lead guitarist Paul Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke had spent several years with the London based R&B group Black Cat Bones. Frustrated with their roles in the band and it's failure to breakthrough to a larger audience the two decided to strike out on their own, eventually hooking up with ex-Brown Sugar/Roadrunners singer Paul Rodgers. With the addition of then-16 year old bassist Andy Fraser (who'd just been fired from John Mayall's Blues Breakers), the group began rehearsing and playing local London pubs and clubs. They quickly found a mentor in bluesman Alex Korner, who even supplied them with the name 'Free' (apparently inspired by his own bad 'Free At Last'). Korner also helped bring the band to the attention of Chris Blackwell and Island Records.
Ignoring Blackwell's plea to rename themselves The Heavy Metal Kids, a debut single 'Broad Daylight' b/w 'The Worm' (Island catalog number WIP 6054) did nothing commercially, but Island management nevertheless decided to finance an LP. First a quick word of warning. Produced by Guy Stevens, 1968's "Tons of Sobs" tends to get critical praise, but to my ears was a competent, if occasionally flat debut. The band's fascination with American blues dominated the sound; tracks like '','' and 'Goin Down Slow' would have sounded right at home at a John Mayall performance. Showcasing largely original material (drawn from their touring set list), the driving, raw sound was certainly different from the competition. (Ironically economics apparently played a role in the bare bones sound. Island reportedly earmarked about $1,200 for the record sessions.) That said, three characteristics saved the album from falling into the 'also ran' category. 1.) Rodgers' stunning vocals simply had to be heard to be believed. How could this guy have only been 18? Compare his dumbfounding performance on their cover of Booker T. and the MG's 'The Hunter' with that of Robert Plant who covered the track the following year on "Led Zeppelin" and tell me which one's better. 2.) The band's ability to generate a truly molten sound. Fraser, Kirke and Kossoff were talented beyond words, easily out-muscling Cream and other English blues outfits and 3.) Tracks like 'Walk In My Shadow', 'Worry' and 'I'm a Mover' may have displayed the band's blues base, but hinted at the band's ability to mix it up in a more commercial vein. Commercially the album did nothing in the UK or the States, though roughly a year later it hit # 197 on the US charts.
"Tons of Sobs" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Over the Green Hills Part 1 (Paul Rodgers) - 1:01
2.) Worry (Paul Rodgers) - 3:25
3.) Walk In My Shadow (Paul Rodgers) - 3:20
4.) Wild Indian Woman (Paul Rodgers - Andy Fraser) - 3:19
5.) Goin Down Slow (J. Oden) - 8:0
(side 2)
1.) I'm a Mover (Andy Fraser - Paul Rodgers) - 2:49
2.) The Hunter (Booker T. Jones - Wllls - Al Jackson - Donald Dunn - Steve Cropper) - 4:11
3.) Moonshine (Paul Rodgers - Paul Kossoff) - 5:01
4.) Sweet Tooth (Paul Rodgers) - 4:43
5. Over the Green Hills Part II (Paul Rodgers) - 1:68
