FREE FIRE AND WATER 1ST UK PRESS ISLAND PINK I AwEsOmE

	£		182
	$		241

FREE ''FIRE AND WATER'' IST UK PRESSING CAT NO.ILPS 9120 (STEREO) RAREST AND HARDEST TO EVER FIND! ORIGINAL AND THE VERY EARLIEST (TEXTURED) PINK I LABELS  THIS VINYL LOOKS TRUELY AWESOME! ORIGINAL UNLAMINATED 1ST PRESS MACNEIL PRESS PRINTED COVER! IN AWESOME CONDITION!  #1 #1 MATRIX!!!!

Fire and Water is the third studio album by English rock group Free. Unlike their previous albums Tons of Sobs and Free it was a huge success, reaching #2 in the UK charts and #17 in the American, making it the most successful Free album. This is largely due to the album containing the hit single "All Right Now" which they later played to a crowd of over 600,000 people at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival, which generated them huge publicity!!!!

The album carried on the Fraser/Rodgers writing partnership that characterised the bulk of the Free canon, with five of the seven tracks being credited to them. The album was made very much with the intention of gaining the band a hit single: the band only had one song ("The Hunter" from Tons of Sobs) that would generate the ecstatic reaction they desired from an audience and they badly needed another. This commercialised ethos is immediately obvious: many of the tracks seem to be intended to be listened to individually rather than as a coherent whole and as such the relationship between the songs is less distinct than on the band's previous albums. The tracks are arranged in a fairly basic form of alternating fast songs with slow ones!!!!.

Like their previous album there is little that could be called hard rock such as their debut album had contained, with the album continuing the fairly lightweight soulful sound of their previous album. There are also no blues songs, that being a genre where the band had their roots. The production is considerably less polished than their previous album as Fire and Water had been produced by the band themselves, a fact that Island Records boss (and the producer of the last album) Chris Blackwell later regretted!!!!

The album and single were a massive successes, catapulting the band to near-iconic status. Fees for live shows rose to £1000 (a considerable amount in 1970) and they began to be featured in mainstream music magazines. Commercial success brought with it accusations of "selling-out" which the purist Kossoff took badly: he took a defensive stance in one interview, stating that "obviously 'All Right Now' is part of us, but it's a frivolous part, it isn't what we want to be remembered by. We're generally more serious" (quoted in Phil Sutcliffe's album liner notes)!.

Nevertheless "All Right Now" is indeed what the band are remembered by; it is estimated that the song has been played somewhere in the world every day since its release in 1970, especially since it was remixed Bob Clearmountain and re-released in February 1991, being discovered by a new generation of fans. Since then, it has frequently appeared on generic budget rock compilation albums. Free are somewhat regarded as a one-hit wonder in the USA and if it were not for this song it is doubtful how well any more of their catalogue would be known!!!.

• "Fire and Water" 3:57
• "Oh I Wept" (Rodgers/Kossoff) 4:26
• "Remember" 4:23
  • "Remember" is a reworking of an unused song "Woman by the Sea" from the Tons of Sobs recording sessions in 1968.
• "Heavy Load" 5:19
• "Mr. Big" (Fraser/Rodgers/Kirke/Kossoff) 5:55
  • They performed this track on a televised session that can be seen on the Let It Rock - Vol. 2 DVD released in the UK in 2003.
• "Don't Say You Love Me" 6:01
• "All Right Now" 5:32
  • Free's best known track, this is a pounding riff-driven song that has become a classic of the genre. Please note!The version on the album is longer than the single release that people are familiar with: the second verse is repeated, and the guitar solo is longer!!!!

   

• The vinyl.

  The vinyl looks absolutely superbe on initial visual inspection this looks Awesome!, This is the thick and heavy, chunky slab of vinyl, Please note I have compared the vinyl with the slightly later label smooth variation and the vinyl is almost twice as thick!!  The vinyl still retains its sheen from new!!!!!! Please note! for the last 25 years this has been stored in a case with the vinyl seperated from the sleeve and cover to prevent ringware and damage!!This is how i have always stored my records!! When angled to the light only can possibly any sleeve removal marks\light whispy scuffs be seen. I can't see any deep needle or what would be audio sounding marks, or any thing that would cause any loud clicks or pops!  

• The Audio Quality

• I have played this through track for track prior to listing at very loud volume on a top system. The audio quality is cristal clear and extreemely vibrant!!!!(no) signs of any distortion or grooveware at all!! IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE!It is easy to be critical about these Island late 60s pressings due to the many quiet places and tracks!,, Please allow for some light background static crackle\ticks (not consistant throughout the audio)!! Most of this static is caused by dirt or dust trapped in the grooves from over the years of laying dormant in my opinion! A constant clean before each play would reduce this and greatly enhance the audio quality!!From my experiance especially the fact that i can see debrit on the playing surface after play  (In strong light there is (no) deep needle scratches audio sounding and nothing that I heard that caused any loud clicks or pops! ! Importantly I heard (no) loud clicks or pops at all!! !!! Please note! this vinyl has been stored seperately from the cover in a poly sleeve for all of its storage life it has obviously been played but in no way is there any distortion or grooveware or that this has been overplayed!!! This is the way I always  have stores my records!!!!

• To sum up!

•  The audio is extreemly clean, clear and vibrant! I could hear light static ticks\crackle especially during some quiet tracks in the form of static crackle ticks in most cases (not loud clicks)! From my experiance and in my opinion, most of this  is caused by dirt and dust trapped in the grooves from laying dormant in a case for over 25 years!  I would class myself as very highly critical! This vinyl was played a few times prior to listing at extreemely loud volume on a top system! I have also noticed that on another system or played at a lower volume, that this static is not or at least hardly heard!, and also it is possible that at a lower acceptable volume this also may not be heard! I must emphisize that this is not consistant throughout the audio!,, and the audio is exceptionally clear and vibtrant throughout!

• The Labels

• These (TEXTURED) PINK ISLAND LABELS are the very earliest to be released! (compared to the slightly later smooth labels the vinyl is half the thickness!) They are rarely seen in good condition like this one! Limited spidering can only be seen angled to the light There is little if no ware around the spindle hole the hole is perfectly round!!

• The Matrix

• side 1. ''1LPS 9120 A#1''

• side 2. ''ILPS 9120 B#1''

• The Cover

• This is the original MacNeil printed 1st press cover! Pinched end at the spine (only 1st press) In top! condition! Very very (very) minimal storageware to mention! Hardly any creases to mention! Just one minor front bottom left corner crease only realy noticable if looked for!  The lightest of rubbing ,, Superbe strong and straight!!!This must grade at least Excellent to Excellent plus!!!

HOW I SEND MY RECORDS!

THIS ALBUM WILL BE SENT IN A LARGE BOX WITH CARDBOARD STIFFENERS THE ALBUM IS ALWAYS PUT IS A POLY SLEEVE AND ENCASED IN THE BOX WITH PLENTY OF BUBBLEWRAP FOR ADDED PROTECTION (SEE PHOTOS)

• As always I have tried to give my honest personal opinion when describing items listed! Although it is my honest opinion! I always urge others to do their own personal research on any items that they are interested in purchasing, before, they commit to bidding!) I have Highlighted all aspects as clearly as possible!! I have taken time to play this vinyl track for track to give a clear and accurate description of the audio quality. (please look at my completed listings of albums that I have sold of this calaber (more than 800 items) and you will see that I normally get it right) I have also provided as many photos as I can and supersized so that all aspects can be seen clearly in strong light!!!!!Please note! These photos are the actual item for sale and not copies of other items!!!!!!!

Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions regarding this item or any other items that I have listed!

I HAVE 100% POSITIVE FEEDBACK SO PLEASE BID WITH TOTAL CONFIDANCE!!!!

SHIPPING TO THE USA IS 11.76GBP INCLUDES INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR DELIVERY WITH INSURANCE AND TRACKING

SHIPPING TO EUROPE IS 8.76GBP INCLUDES INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR DELIVERY WITH INSURANCE AND TRACKING

POSTAGE WITHIN ENGLAND IS 3.90 SENT BY RECORDED DELIVERY

Please note! All items are now despatched by signed for 1st class delivery!!!! I normally despatch within the next working day on receipt of cleared funds!!!!!

All items are despatched securely with ample reinforcement!!!!!!

I offer a postage discount for multiple purchases!!!,, but i do insist that the buyer pay for the items as they are won! I can not any longer allow winning bidders to run up a large bill and then not pay! I do not have a problem with holding the goods to be despatched untill they are ready (at the buyers request), for multiple items purchased!!!!!

MY NEW POLICY! Because of the unfortunate recent problems that I have had with non payments, Any new ebayers with low,poor or no real history,  Please do not bid on my records without first contacting me! These bids will be cancelled and the bidder will be blocked from further attempts to bid on my items.   

PLEASE LOOK AT MY OTHER RARE 1ST UK PRESSINGS LISTED NOW!!!! (click the link bellow)

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PLEASE LOOK AT MY OTHER RARE 1ST UK PRESSINGS LISTED NOW!!!! (click the link bellow)

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