For the first time in B-format, this is a classic tale of rock ‘n’ roll excess. Written by one of the US top rock journalists, Rosen paints the tale of the bluesy Free and their demise following the heroin-related death of guitarist Paul Kossoff. Mutating into the rock gods that were Bad Company, we follow Paul Rodgers and Company through to their stadium-filling days of the late ’70s.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Steven Rosen has been stalking the denizens of rock and roll for over twenty years. During that period he has written major features and cover stories for virtually every important music magazine including Rolling Stone, Musician, Creem, Circus and Guitar Player (including 16 cover stories), as well as Playboy and the LA Times. He is also the author of rock books about Bruce Springsteen and Prince, as well as the highly acclaimed Wheels of Confusion: The Story of Black Sabbath and recently The Beck Book (a documentary on guitarist Jeff Beck). Steven Rosen lives in the dangerous hills of Hollywood and when he is not off on some word-writing expedition, may be found at home sleeping, reading, or causing an electric guitar to howl in pain.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining overview of Free/Badco,
By A Customer
This review is from: Free At Last: The Story of Free and Bad Company (Paperback)
Rosen does a good job of keep the reader entertained documenting the exploits of Free and later Bad Company. Being a fan of both bands probably adds a bit of bias here. Free were ultimately the stronger of the two groups, Paul Kossoff's drug problems saddled the group and they came to a sputtering and less than glorious end in '73. Soon after, Rodgers convened Bad Company and went on the superstar success. Rosen's inside knowledge of the bands and of the players and his witty euphemisms and metaphors make the book very readable. However, Rosen has a tendency to repeat himself regarding Kossoff's demise. (He attempted to contact David Kossoff for the book though) Simon Kirke was available to Rosen throughout much of the book and this gives us some insights into the personalities involved: the volatile, jealous and loose tempered Rodgers, the mediating Kirke, the boy genius Fraser and the overtly sensitive Kossoff. In addition, Rosen gleans some comments from Sandhe Chard (Kossoff's girlfriend) which provide some interesting biographical material. Bad Company continue on (without all the original players, which is discussed here as well) and as recently as this past summer [2001] toured with Styx. Some limited dates are scheduled for 2002 and if anyone feels that their brand of 70's arena rock is dated, I suggest giving a good listen to Rodger's voice. In it you can still hear the echoes of Free's pain, despair and longing. Simplicity and economy isn't necessarily all that bad. (Check out David Clayton's "Heavy Load, Free" as well)
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Really should have been a Paul Kossoff biography,
By
This review is from: Free At Last: The Story of Free and Bad Company (Paperback)
Imagine a book about Free and Bad Company--two of the most seminal acts in rock and roll history--and then find out that the text is just over 200 pages long! That is the book that Steven Rosen has given us with Free at Last. Since brilliant singer Paul Rodger's solo career alone is worth 200 pages, the reader may feel somewhat cheated. Rosen does fill us in on the important details: the birth and later demise of Free, the rise of Bad Company, a short history of Swan Song records; all told in an overly economic style that leaves the reader wanting more. Aside from the occasional factual error (The Hendrix Set, Paul's Jimi Hendrix tribute recorded with Neal Schon, was done live, not in the studio), Rosen frustrates the reader with his inability to stick to one subject. Case in point: Paul Rodgers is repeatedly described as basically a nice guy subject to occasional fits of moodiness. Only when the book is almost complete does Rosen mention, almost in passing, the likely reason: Rodgers rages were probably fueled by alcohol. (He has since cleaned up his act and is "a picture of positivism" (sic)). Also, Bad Company is given short shrift in these pages. (They get less space, it seems, than Paul Kossoff's solo act Back Street Crawler.) Finally, Steve Rosen spends as much time on Kossoff as all the other principals in the book combined. This fact, coupled with the writer's obvious infatuation of the guitarist and his abilities, may lead the reader to conclude that Rosen really wanted to write a biography of Kossoff, but decided to expand his work to include Free and BadCo so it would sell. In short, basically a good read with some interesting anecdotes, but the definitive treatment of these two groups is yet to be written.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Decent overview of Free, marred by florid/turgid prose,
By
This review is from: Free At Last: The Story of Free and Bad Company (Paperback)
I almays knew that Free had much more to offer and should be remembered for more than "All Right Now." But while this book gives a decent look at the band, Rosen's writing style is overblown, shallow, and even embarrassing to its detriment.
He is clearly a huge admirer of the group (his first chapter on vocalist Paul Rodgers is called "If God Carried a Tune") and especially the gifted-but-doomed guitarist Paul Kossoff, with whom he seems almost obsessed and who dominates the tale. However, in his hagiography, he continually repeats empty factual platitudes with little insight (i.e. "Paul was out of it again. He blew a gig/session. The guys were angry"). However, he's on the money when talking about the music itself. The section on the much more successful Bad Company is simply an outline, but even then the writing is too grandiose. Here's what he says about the group's first record: "It was an absolute landmark in the chronology of rock music. At the heart of it were the majestic pop/rock tunes orchestrated with elementary guitar/bass/vocal arrangements. And yet the arrangements and the harmonic content lent an aura of musicality never before touched upon by electrically driven bands." YEEEESH! Rosen does get credit for original research and some fresh comments (of varying cooperation) from all Free/Bad Co. members, and as the writer of an early '70s Rolling Stone cover on the latter, clearly knows his stuff with a diehard's apprecation. But overall, think of this book as merely an appetizer on the bands to whet interest and - most importantly -drive readers to the music itself.
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