FREE WILL | Mint (M) Mint (M)

BRAND NEW

Label:    BGP Records – HIQLP 023
Format:    Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Stereo
Country:    UK
Released:    2014
Genre:    Funk / Soul
Style:    Soul, Funk

A1        Free Will    3:30
A2        The Middle Of Your Day    4:30
A3        The Get Out Of The Ghetto Blues    5:04
A4        Speed Kills    3:15
A5        Did You Hear What They Said?    3:28
B1        The King Alfred Plan    2:45
B2        No Knock    2:12
B3        Wiggy    1:38
B4        Ain't No New Thing    4:29
B5        Billy Green Is Dead    1:30
B6        Sex Education: Ghetto Style    0:50
B7        ... And Then He Wrote Meditations    3:14

Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Flying Dutchman Records
Licensed To – Ace Records Ltd.
Published By – Carlin Music Corp.
Published By – Brouhaha Music
Published By – peermusic (UK) Ltd
Marketed By – Ace
Distributed By – Ace
Lacquer Cut At – Finyl Tweek
Design – Haig Adishian
Mixed By [Sound Mixer] – Bob Simpson
Photography By [Back Cover & Liner Photos] – Ray Ross*
Photography By [Cover Photo] – Charles Stewart*
Producer – Bob Thiele
Producer [Assistant Producer] – Lillian Seyfert
Written-By – Brian Jackson (tracks: A1 to A4), Gil Scott-Heron
On labels and back cover:
Made in the EU
Barcode: 029667002219

Personnel: Gil Scott-Heron (vocals, spoken vocals); Horace Ott (conductor); Brian Jackson (vocals, flute, acoustic & electric pianos, bells); Hubert Laws (piccolo, flute); David Spinozza (guitar); Gerry Jemmott (bass); Bernard "Pretty" Purdie (drums); Eddie Knowles, Charlie Saunders (congas, bongos, cowbell, agogo). Producer: Bob Thiele. Reissue producer: Ben Young. Recorded at RCA Studios, New York, New York on March 2-3, 1972. Originally released on Flying Dutchman (10153). Includes original liner notes by Gil Scott-Heron and reissue liner notes by Robin D. G. Kelley. Digitally remastered by Michael O. Drexler. This is part of Bluebird's First Editions series. Gil Scott-Heron's third album is split down the middle, the first side being a purely musical experience with a full band (including flutist Hubert Laws and drummer Pretty Purdie), the second functioning more as a live rap session with collaborator Brian Jackson on flute and a few friends on percussion. For side one, although he's overly tentative on the ballad "The Middle of Your Day," Scott-Heron excels on the title track and the third song, "The Get Out of the Ghetto Blues," one of his best, best-known performances. The second side is more of an impromptu performance, with Scott-Heron often explaining his tracks by way of introduction ("No Knock" referred to a new police policy whereby knocking was no longer required before entering a house, "And Then He Wrote Meditations" being Scott-Heron's tribute to John Coltrane). His first exploration of pure music-making, Free Will functions as one of Scott-Heron's most visceral performance, displaying a maturing artist who still draws on the raw feeling of his youth. The Bluebird reissue from 2001 includes eight alternate takes, best being an alternate of the title track. ~ John Bush

• Media Condition: Mint (M)
• Sleeve Condition: Mint (M)
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: FUNK
• Format Type: LP
• Released: 10/07/2014