Totally mind numbing
Dazedcat | Earth | 07/22/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
"
Fire And Water was a classic rock album if ever there was one. Free was a great band and their legacy is well deserved.
My problem is with this deluxe release. It's mind numbing. How many versions or rehearsals of "Alright Now" or "Fire And Water" do you really need to hear? Yes, the original album is classic five stars like I said and the mastering on it is very fine indeed. However the BBC tunes on the rest of disc one are of borderline bootleg fidelity (and that's being kind). Disc two actually has great live tunes and a couple interesting remixes........but hey, let's have MORE All Right Now rehearsal takes?
Good grief enough already. As great an album as this was, listen to both of these CD's in one setting and you'll put the thing down for at least a year. This is total overkill. Like another reviewer said, keep it simple.
Collectors will have literally everything on this anyway; causal fans don't need much more than the original album.
Save your money."
Get the original
Critical Mystic | Boulder Colo | 08/04/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Why bother with this re-issue, get the original, instead of all these expensive extra tracks. It's 5 stars, baby. Keep it simple. Every track totally rocks, is mixed well, and the bluesy hard rock sounds great mid-tempo, or any other tempo,contrary to other reports."