Name: Free Will
Brand: Imports
SKU: 56652199
Price: 28.96 USD
Availability: InStock

Free Will

Rating

Album: Free Will
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Free Will	More Info...
2)	The Middle of the Day	More Info...
3)	The Get Out of the Ghetto Blues	More Info...
4)	Speed Kills	More Info...
5)	Did You Hear What They Said?	More Info...
6)	The King Alfred Plan	More Info...
7)	No Knock	More Info...
8)	Wiggy	More Info...
9)	Ain't No New Thing	More Info...
10)	Billy Green Is Dead	More Info...
11)	Sex Education: Ghetto Style	More Info...
12)	And Then He Wrote Meditations	More Info...
2)	The Middle of Your Day	More Info...	0:04
3)	The Get Out of the Ghetto Blues	More Info...	0:05
4)	Speed Kills	More Info...	0:03
5)	Did You Here What They Said?	More Info...	0:03
6)	The King Alfred Plan	More Info...	0:02
7)	No Knock	More Info...	0:02
8)	Wiggy	More Info...	0:01
9)	Ain't No New Thing	More Info...	0:04
10)	Billy Green Is Dead	More Info...	0:01
11)	Sex Education: Ghetto Style	More Info...	0:01
12)	... And Then He Wrote Meditations	More Info...	0:03

Album: Free Will
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Free Will	More Info...
2)	The Middle of the Day	More Info...
3)	The Get Out of the Ghetto Blues	More Info...
4)	Speed Kills	More Info...
5)	Did You Hear What They Said?	More Info...
6)	The King Alfred Plan	More Info...
7)	No Knock	More Info...
8)	Wiggy	More Info...
9)	Ain't No New Thing	More Info...
10)	Billy Green Is Dead	More Info...
11)	Sex Education: Ghetto Style	More Info...
12)	And Then He Wrote Meditations	More Info...
2)	The Middle of Your Day	More Info...	0:04
3)	The Get Out of the Ghetto Blues	More Info...	0:05
4)	Speed Kills	More Info...	0:03
5)	Did You Here What They Said?	More Info...	0:03
6)	The King Alfred Plan	More Info...	0:02
7)	No Knock	More Info...	0:02
8)	Wiggy	More Info...	0:01
9)	Ain't No New Thing	More Info...	0:04
10)	Billy Green Is Dead	More Info...	0:01
11)	Sex Education: Ghetto Style	More Info...	0:01
12)	... And Then He Wrote Meditations	More Info...	0:03

Performer Notes

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

Professional Reviews

Down Beat (12/01, p.90) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Establishing a funky backdrop, Gil sings/recites contemplative ghetto warnings and extols the virtues of Coltrane..."