''Highway'' is the fourth studio album by the English

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, the ability to act or change without constraint or restriction * Emancipate, attaining civil and political rights or equality * Free (''gratis''), free of charge * Gratis versus libre, the difference betw ...

. It was recorded extremely quickly in September 1970 following the band's success at the

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. Th ...

but with an attitude of relaxation, the band having achieved worldwide success with their previous album '' Fire and Water'' (26 June 1970) and the single "

All Right Now "All Right Now" is a song by English rock band Free, released on their third studio album, '' Fire and Water'' (1970). It was released by Island Records, a record label founded by Chris Blackwell. Released as the album's second single, "All R ...

". It is a low-key and introspective album compared with its predecessors.

Recording

From a writing point of view ''Highway'' continued in the same vein as previous albums, with vocalist

Paul Rodgers Paul Bernard Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is an English-Canadian singer. He was the lead vocalist of numerous successful rock bands, including Free (band), Free, Bad Company, The Firm (rock band), the Firm and The Law (English band), the L ...

and bassist

Andy Fraser Andrew McIan Fraser (3 July 1952 – 16 March 2015) was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the bassist and co-composer for the rock band Free, which he helped found in 1968 when he was 15. He also founded the rock band Sharks af ...

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. Guitarist

Paul Kossoff Paul Francis Kossoff (14 September 1950 – 19 March 1976) was an English guitarist, best known as the co-founder and guitarist of the rock band Free (band), Free. In 2010, he was ranked number 51 in ''Rolling Stone''s list of the "100 Greatest ...

however found sudden fame more difficult to deal with, and remembered the aftermath of "

" 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 Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

and the band's temporary split, from which it never truly recovered. Some, including drummer

Simon Kirke Simon Frederick St George Kirke (born 28 July 1949) is an English musician who was the co-founder, drummer, and only continuous member of the rock Supergroup (music), supergroup Bad Company. Prior to forming Bad Company he was the drummer and ...

, also cite the death of Kossoff's idol

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

(which occurred during the sessions for this album on 18 September 1970), as an important factor in his eventual breakdown.

Reception

Much to the band's disappointment, the album reached only No. 41 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

(the previous album '' Fire and Water'' had reached No. 2) and reached No. 190 in the US. The single release "The Stealer" failed in the UK also, but reached No. 49 in the US. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said of "The Stealer" that "The crucial follow-up to 'All Right Now' will most likely determine whether Free is for real or a flash in the pan. They sure sound for real—heavy number will most likely get up there." (Rodgers and Kirke re-recorded "The Stealer" with

Bad Company Bad Company were an English rock supergroup formed in London in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke (both ex- Free), guitarist Mick Ralphs (ex- Mott the Hoople) and bassist Boz Burrell (ex-King Crimson). Kirke was the only m ...

in 1975 during the sessions for band's third album '' Run with the Pack'' (1976), but the track was not included on the album).

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

and

The Faces Faces are an English rock band formed in London in 1969. They were formed by members of Small Faces after lead singer and guitarist Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie. The remaining Small Faces; Ian McLagan (keyboards), Ronnie Lane (bass, ...

also featured it regularly in their live set. The album received a lukewarm critical reaction. The single release "The Stealer" had not been

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

boss

Chris Blackwell Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell OJ (born 22 June 1937) is a Jamaican-British former record producer and the founder of Island Records, which has been called "one of Britain's great independent labels". According to the Rock and Roll Hall ...

's first choice: he had wanted to release "Ride on a Pony", but this was changed at the band's insistence. Some, such as engineer

Andy Johns Jeremy Andrew Johns (20 May 1950 – 7 April 2013) was a British sound engineer and record producer who worked on several well-known rock albums, including the Rolling Stones' '' Exile on Main St.'' (1972), Television's '' Marquee Moon'' (1977), ...

, blamed the album cover which was aesthetically flat compared to previous releases and did not prominently display the band's name. It was believed that some fans who otherwise would have bought the album failed to notice it because of this. One UK newspaper even reported the album as being recorded by "The Highway group" stating "it's a good album for a party or discotheque, with a touch of the Rolling Stones' influence." They returned to the studio in early 1971 and managed to record four tracks before they eventually split, after fulfilling contracted tour dates. These 'limbo' tracks included the UK No. 4 hit single " My Brother Jake";Free singles & albums charts at OfficialCharts.com
/ref> the other three have surfaced on various other albums over the years. A notable cover version in 1971 is "Be My Friend" by

Sylvia McNeill Sylvia McNeill (born 5 August 1947, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England) is a British pop and rock singer and songwriter. She began her career singing and playing bass guitar with various groups and bands. She went abroad for several years, tour ...

, produced by Tony Hall, on RCA 2058 (UK 45 rpm). "Be My Friend" was also covered in 1993 by

Baby Animals Baby Animals is an Australian hard rock band active from October 1989 to 1996 and reformed in 2007. The original line-up was Frank Celenza on drums; Suze DeMarchi on lead vocals and guitar; Dave Leslie on guitar and backing vocals; and Eddie ...

featuring vocalist Suze DeMarchi.

Track listing

All tracks written by

and

unless otherwise stated. ;Side one ;Side two

Bonus tracks

Personnel

Free

– vocals *

– lead guitar, rhythm guitar *

– bass guitar, acoustic guitar, piano *

– drums, percussion *

– engineer

Charts

References

* Strong, Martin C. ''The Great Rock Discography'', 6th edition. Edinburgh: Canongate Books 1994, 2002. pp. 392–3. * Sutcliffe, Phil. Notes to ''Highway'' by Free. Universal Island Records Ltd. 1970, 2002.

External links

Free – ''Highway'' (1970) album review by Dave Thompson, credits & releases
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Free – ''Highway'' (1970) album releases & credits
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

Free – ''Highway'' (1970, Remastered 2011 with Bonus Tracks) album to be listened
as stream on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

{{Authority control Free (band) albums Island Records albums 1970 albums Albums produced by Paul Rodgers Albums produced by Paul Kossoff Albums produced by Andy Fraser Albums produced by Simon Kirke