“Free Forever” DVD Review
Bringing forth a mighty brand of blues-rock in the early 1970s, Free was a critical piece of foundation in hard rock’s roots. On March 23, Eagle Rock Entertainment will celebrate their career with the release of the Free Forever 2DVD set. One of the most heralded bands of the 1970s, Free Forever amasses archival video footage, interviews, audio, memorabilia, and other bits of the band’s history to create the ultimate fan package. Featuring the powerhouse combination of a young Paul Rodgers’ gravelly vocals, Simon Kirke’s solid drums, Paul Kossoff’s infamous guitar leads, and Andy Fraser’s groove-infused bass lines, Free laid the foundation for a blues-rock revolution.
Synopsis
This set features live performances from the Beat Club in Germany and UK’s Granada TV. The second disc boasts full audio from their set at the legendary 1970 Isle of Wight festival (which also featured Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and The Doors), littered with a collection of band photos, posters, artwork, and unearthed video footage of tracks “Be My Friend,” “Mr. Big,” and “All Right Now.” Bonus features include original and brand new edits of these Isle of Wight videos with split-screen views. Interviews and special feature “The Freelist,” which contains a Top of the Pops appearance, Australian interviews, and other bits, is also included. Disbanding in 1973, the members went on to enjoy continued success, both in acts such as Bad Company and Queen, and in solo careers. Sadly, Kossoff passed away in 1976. Yet, even in this short time, Free made a lasting impact that has influenced musicians and garnered countless fans. Eagle Rock is proud to capture the essence of this ground-breaking act and present it with the release of Free Forever.
Usually when I get these music/concert DVD/Blu’s to review, I’m at a loss for who the band even was. Having not even come close to being born when this group was around originally, I was not only surprised but also quite pleased to see that this wasn’t the usual concert release from Eagle Rock—no, instead of just concert after concert (of which we do get, rest assured) there is also a collection of extras that focus solely on the band themselves. Plus it even includes new insight from the living band members, which is always a must when you have a retrospective documentary/concert combo set like this.
It should be noted that this release appears to be a re-issue, as the first was back in 2006 and has since apparently gone out of print (or is at least mildly difficult to find). Obviously since this is the first I’ve heard of the band I haven’t seen the previous release to compare the two but since both were two-disc sets, I’d say it’s a safe bet that if you own the original release then you already own this one too. But there really is a lot to check out here and while it’s not the most cohesive bit of storytelling (it can get to be too much like a clip show at times), it is still pretty loaded. The main focus of this set is, of course, the nearly 40 year old concerts that kick started the band. Spread across two discs we get a myriad of different performances which include:
Disc #1
Beat Club – Germany, 1970
1.) Mr. Big
2.) Fire and Water
3.) All Right Now
Doin’ Their Thing – Granada TV, July 1970
4.) Ride On Pony
5.) Mr. Big
6.) Songs of Yesterday
7.) I’ll Be Creepin’
8.) All Right Now
Original Videos
9.) All Right Now
10.) The Stealer
11.)My Brother Jake
12.) Love You So
13.) Wishing Well
Disc #2
Isle of Wight Audio 1970
1.) Ride On Pony
2.) Woman
3.) The Stealer
4.) Be My Friend
5.) Mr. Big
6.) Fire and Water
7.) I’m A Mover
8.) The Hunter
9.) All Right Now
10.) Crossroads
Isle of Wight Videos
1.) Be My Friend
2.) Mr. Big
3.) All Right Now
Notice a pattern? Yeah, there are five different performances of “All Right Now” included and it got kind of old at the end. Of course it was their biggest hit, but still…it got to be a bit redundant. As a newbie to this band, my knowledge of how complete a package or strong a representation of the band is presented here is very minimal…but judging by the accolades this set alone has received through various reviews and fan comments over the years since it was originally released it’s clear that this is a Recommended set for fans to not only check out but to own as well.
The DVD
The set arrives in a rather fancy and deluxe slipcase set, with dual digi-pak trays and a very nicely put together package. It’s mostly a bright white package, but there are splashes of color here and there, especially on the fold-out packaging. It definitely looks like a fancy and expensive set, but, again, if you own the 2006 release then it’s unlikely you’ll find anything new here from Eagle Rock’s release. It should also be noted this is a region free release as well.
Video is a mixed bag, mainly because it’s a lot of footage pulled from archives. And, again, some of the material here is three to four decades old so the chances of it looking overly pristine were already slim to none. But it’s adequate enough and is even quite surprising at times due to how good it looks and sounds. Audio tracks include 5.1 DTS Surround and 2.0 Dolby Surround; it’s a mixed bad since the 2.0 is more “natural” sounding, since the 5.1 DTS just doesn’t lend well to old footage.
Extras include:
Interviews
The Freelist
Camera Access
Brand New Edit & Original Edit From The Isle of Wight with Split-Screen Views
Multi-Angles
The above are listed as “extras,” but considering there’s so much on this set other than just the concerts themselves it’s hard to really account the new interviews and the like as extras—it’s almost required content for this kind of release. Of course with so many different concerts on the set, it’s a Recommended release for fans anyway, regardless if they check out the informative extras. That is, of course, you don’t already own it.
Free Forever arrives on DVD on March 23rd.