MUSIC FROM FREE CREEK

Linda's not for jamming

"Music from Free Creek" is a very strange and bizarre album. Quite how or why it came about is something of a mystery. It was recorded in new York in the new Record Plant recording studios in 1969. About 50 musicians were involved in this "behind closed doors" affair, many of whom were either famous at the time, or have gone on to find fame. Reportedly, none have ever been paid for their contribution. Two performers, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, were not named on the original release for contractual reasons, but this still leaves the likes of Keith Emerson, Delaney Bramlett, Todd Rundgren, Chris Wood, and Linda Ronstadt.

The album is essentially a "Super session" primarily consisting of jams based on sometimes well known songs. About half a dozen different artists lead a session of three or four songs. These range from the jazz orientated Emerson session, to the country folk of Linda Ronstadt. Apart from the occasional overdub, the music is pretty much as it was recorded, warts and all. Songs such as "Hey Jude", "Lay lady lay", "Mother nature's son" etc., are all given airings. Some are reasonably faithful to the originals, "Hey Jude" being little more than an organ rendition with a big brass ending. "Mother nature's son" on the other hand becomes a delicate flute led piece. The Linda Ronstadt recordings, which involve little if any improvisation, sound rather out of place from the rest of the album, but despite this they are fine performances.

At times, the unstructured nature of the sessions becomes apparent, a young Moogy Klingman doing his best to keep in order the major artists he had been thrown in a the deep end with. Elsewhere though, a burst of thrilling lead guitar by Jeff Beck on "Big city woman" for example makes this simply indispensable, especially when Tommy Cosgrove adds a fine vocal to this wonderful piece of blues.

For presumably inextricably complex copyright reasons, the album is now very difficult to find. It was never officially released in the US despite being recorded there, rendering it a desirable import from the UK. Even in the UK, it took three years to sort out the legal situation to the extent that the album could be released, finally appearing in 1973. A CD version offered via Klingman's website is taken from a "pristine vinyl recording"!

Not an album I would recommend searching for as some sort of Holy grail, but should you come across it, it's certainly well worth a listen.

MUSIC FROM FREE CREEK is one of those strange releases that only could've come out in the free spirit era of the late 1960s / early 1970s. This various artists album went under the fictitious band name FREE CREEK but in reality was a collection of session recordings from 1969 that included dozens of musicians including the famous names Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Keith Emerson, Buzz Felten, Mitch Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt and Dr. John.

This album featured 18 tracks, each with a different set of musicians basically performing jamming sessions on various themes and sometimes cover songs from famous bands such as The Beatles' "Mother Nature's Son" which inadvertently caused a logically nightmare concerning copyrights and other legal wrangling. The sessions were recorded in 1969 but wouldn't find an actually release until 1973 in England on Charisma Records and in the US on Buddha Records as a double-vinyl set. Lake Eerie Records finally rereleased a remastered CD in 2006.

This is basically a show up and let loose set of material here. All these impromptu showcases a diverse set of musicians in the moment with no worries or pressures from record company execs. Given the rather spontaneous nature of the whole thing, these tracks turned out pretty damn good i must admit with particular kudos to Keith Emerson's amazing adaptability to craft keyboard solos around virtually anything. The album is mostly instrumental but a few vocal parts do occur.

Most of the tunes are based on a bluesy rock style with soloing and period organ sounds but Linda Ronstadt offers some country rock tunes which have been universally deemed as sounding out of place and break's the otherwise seamless flow of the album's constant nature. I tend to agree with these although for country rock songs Linda does an amazing job and the musicians are quite competent as well. My favorite tracks are more of the boogie shuffle styled ones such as "Earl's Shuffle" featuring Harvey Mandel on lead guitar and Jimmy Greespoon playing a mean organ while augmented by an excellent slide guitar.

Tracks like "Getting Back To Molly" exemplify the free spirit mood on this release. With a jamming bluesy groove of Eric Clapton on guitar with Dr John joining in as a second guitarist, the baritone vocal deliveries of Earl Down and the backing Free Creeks Singers offer the perfect glimpse into the sounds of an undisclosed bayou in Louisiana as if Parliament, Three Dog Night and Taj Mahal had secretly gotten together to record. There are also rumors that many other artists participated in these sessions but due to legal reasons remained anonymous. Such names that are brandished about in Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan.

Apparently the then 19-year old organist Moogy Klingman provided an interview for the booklet on the reissue recounting the tales of working in these projects. This is certainly one of those albums that gives a glimpse into a less controlled aspect of the music industry for the era it was crafted since by 1969 rock music had become the dominant music form and controlled by the record industry with an iron fist. I wouldn't call this album essential by any means but it is a much more brilliant and pleasing to the ears experience than i expected it to be. Well worth checking out despite the rather ridiculous album cover art of a chained young Tarzan(?) waiting to be consumed by a bird of prey! Definitely one for the anomalous release in the history book!