Search - Paul Kossoff :: Kossoff / Kirke / Tetsu / Rabbit (Dig)

Kossoff shines without Free

mrpitiful57 | New Brighton , PA. | 04/12/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Contrary to what the above profile says , this album dates from 1973 , not 1977. After Free crashed and burned the first time , Paul Rodgers went on to a trio called 'Peace' and Andy Fraser went on to a power trio called 'Toby'. Neither of these conglomerations released any product so this is the only recorded project after Free's first break-up(actually Peace released one song on the 'Free Story'). This is not all that bad either , the production is weak and Rabbits arrangements are lifeless, but all parties did thier best to let the spotlight shine on Kossoff. He plays some excellent lead on "Just for the box" , "Yellow House" & "Sammy's Alright". Simon Kirke gets to debut his future Bad Company chestnut "Anna". Considering Kossoff only released four non-Free LP's , we have to make do with what we have. Not his Best , but far from his worst. I enjoy this LP often , and wish there was more."

Solid album from spin-off of Free

Wayne Klein | My Little Blue Window, USA | 08/23/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Free's main songwriters Andy Fraser and Paul Rodgers stopped talking, decided they couldn't stand each other and the band splintered due to stress and the impact of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle. Drummer Simon Kirke and the late guitarist Paul Kossoff elected to continue on and this spin-off eventually became (with Paul Rodgers back on board) Free for the band's last album. While the album doesn't have material as strong as the songwriting of Fraser & Rodgers, "KKTR" is a fine album that mixes elements of the Free sound with the influence of The Band (not a surprise since they were an influence on Free's album "Highway" the one just before this).



What "KKTS" lacks is a strong singer. Rabbit and Kirke are adequate singers but can't match the golden pipes of Paul Rodgers or even Andy Fraser (who has a voice similar to Rodgers but without the range). The songwriting has a strong gospel vibe in addition to the influence of Free and The Band. Rabbit's vocals sound a bit like Levon Helm but not quite as distinctive.



The remaster sounds nice BUT its clear that No Noise was used on it which flattens out the sound of the album and leaves it with less depth, presence and softens detail. I haven't heard the other masters but I have heard the original vinyl. It's not quite as good as the vinyl but does sound decent. Fans of Free will want to pick this up because it is kind of an unoffical Free album since this entire line up ended up working with Rodgers on the band's last album."