Free - Highway [Remaster-Expanded] [320k MP3]

Highway is the fourth studio album by English rock band Free. It was recorded extremely quickly in September 1970 following the band's success at the Isle of Wight Festival but with an attitude of relaxation , the band having achieved worldwide success with their previous album Fire and Water and the single "All Right Now". It is a low-key and introspective album compared with its predecessors.

From a writing point of view Highway continued in the same vein as previous albums, with Paul Rodgers and Andy Fraser collaborating on seven of the nine songs. For the most part it was the easiest of their albums to record as they had achieved their desire to have a hit single and returned to the studio with renewed confidence . Paul Kossoff however found sudden fame more difficult to deal with, and remembered the aftermath of 'All Right Now' as being "a great increase in pressure from every angle" (quoted in Phil Sutcliffe's liner notes). He preferred the more serious, weighty songs on the album such as "Be My Friend", which he saw as an antidote to the "frivolity" of "All Right Now" .

It was their last album to be recorded in a position of success and security, as its failure contributed to the emotionally-insecure Kossoff's growing drug addiction and the band's temporary split, from which it never truly recovered . Some, including Simon Kirke, also cite the death of Kossoff's idol Jimi Hendrix (which occurred during the sessions for this album), as an important factor in his eventual breakdown .

Track Listing [320k MP3]

01. "The Highway Song" 4:14
02. "The Stealer" (Fraser, Rodgers, Kossoff) 3:14
03. "On My Way" 4:04
04. "Be My Friend" 5:45
05. "Sunny Day" 3:07
06. "Ride on a Pony" 4:17
07. "Love You So" (Rodgers, Kirke) 4:54
08. "Bodie" 3:05
09. "Soon I Will Be Gone" 3:01

Bonus Tracks

10. "My Brother Jake" 2:49
11. "Only My Soul" 2:27
12. "Ride on a Pony (BBC Session)" 4:27
13. "Be My Friend (BBC Session)" 5:34
14. "Rain (Alternate version)" 3:54
15. "The Stealer (Single mix)" (Fraser/Rodgers/Kossoff) 3:21

Free:

Paul Rodgers – vocals
Paul Kossoff – guitar
Andy Fraser – bass guitar, piano
Simon Kirke – drums