Free (Concrete Blonde Album)
| Free | ||||
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| Studio album by Concrete Blonde | ||||
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Publication |
April 24, 1989 |
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| Label (s) | IRS Records / EMI Electrola | |||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP, MC |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
33:25 |
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| occupation |
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Concrete blonde |
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Studio (s) |
Earle Mankey, Thousand Oaks near Los Angeles |
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Free is the second music album by the American alternative rock band Concrete Blonde . Worked on it with the first and only time Alan "Al" Bloch, instead of Johnette Napolitano the bass played. The MTV show for Alternative Rock 120 Minutes broadcast the video clip for God Is a Bullet several times, which helped Concrete Blonde to gain greater insider awareness.
Track list
- God Is a Bullet (James Mankey, Johnette Napolitano) - 4:24
- Run Run Run (Johnette Napolitano) - 4:00
- It's Only Money ( Phil Lynott ) - 2:45
- Help Me (Johnette Napolitano) - 2:42
- Sun (Johnette Napolitano) - 2:46
- Roses Grow (Johnette Napolitano) - 3:15
- Scene of a Perfect Crime (Johnette Napolitano) - 4:42
- Happy Birthday (Johnette Napolitano) - 2:22
- Little Conversations (Johnette Napolitano) - 2:48
- Carry Me Away (Johnette Napolitano) - 3:42
Only on CD re-release from 2004:
- Free (Johnette Napolitano) - 3:10
- Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix) - 4:13
Song info
Negative situations or moods carry the album. The opener God Is a Bullet is about gun victims, the next track, Run Run Run , is about drug addiction . It's Only Money is a Thin Lizzy cover version. In the following songs Napolitano is sometimes desperate ( Help Me ), sometimes resigned ( Little Conversations ), sometimes escaping the world ( Happy Birthday ), sometimes wistful ( Scene of a Perfect Crime ), sometimes melancholy ( Carry Me Away ). Even if the "growing roses" are not trip phenomena, but a metaphor for what is actually beautiful and good, the bright spots in the dim, vicious nightlife of Los Angeles , the song Roses Grow is one of the abysmal because of its partial gutter language . However, due to its instrumentation, it is a musical exception: Napolitano's voice is accompanied by percussion , while street noise in the background creates the necessary atmosphere . The only “positive” song is Sun , which is about someone who is able to lighten a sinister mood . Napolitano admits that the first three Concrete Blonde albums were dark and the accusation that it was "suicide music" is justified.
Was Docked God Is a Bullet (the vinyl maxi with the two leftovers Free and Little Wing as a bonus) and Happy Birthday (combined with the album track Run Run Run and Maxi again with the degraded to the filler theme song Free ) .
Artwork
The front cover has a black background like a night sky . The bright colors of the ornaments drawn on it are reminiscent of stained glass - church windows . However, they are more detailed, more precisely ornate. In the upper quarter there is an orange-red banner with the group name in black cursive . A sun and a (only slightly smaller) moon, each with a face, are inserted between the name parts “Concrete” and “Blonde”. In the lower quarter there is another banner with the album title in unconnected black cursive capital letters. Underneath, a naked angel sitting in a cloud of air and flowers spreads his arms. The figures drawn in between occupy the largest space. There are individual representations of the zodiac signs Scorpio, Gemini, Virgo and Leo. The scorpion stands for Rushakoff, born on November 17, 1959, the twins for Mankey, born on May 23, 1952, the virgin for Napolitano, born on September 22, 1957, and consequently, the lion for Bloch. Small five-pointed red and yellow stars are scattered over the cover, clear clusters are grouped around the zodiac figures.
On the back cover, blue, purple and brown tones blur like watercolors . In the upper quarter is a kind of fool the legged shown, the stem of a Sense with a flower crosses. At the point where the zodiac signs are placed on the front, there are four black and white photos in the shape of a church window, which show the musicians from head to thigh . The zodiac symbols form the frame of these photos, supplemented below by smaller, more abstract interpretations of the zodiac. While the lion now appears as a chimera , but can still be recognized as such, the implementation of the Virgo in the form of two palms requires some imagination. The song titles are handwritten in orange in the lower part.
Framed by the four corner drawings of a flower vase, a tree, a pair of eyes, a sun's face, which are connected by tendrils and game symbols, there is a quote from Leon Russell on the inner sleeve , which Napolitano and Mankey once accompanied musically, which was a pessimistic one Throws a glance at the rulers.
There is no reference to the lyrics of the zodiac or the politician scolding .
Johnette Napolitano developed the concept together with Anne Sperling, who also carried out the implementation.
With the CD edition with its printable round data carrier, the application of a zodiac was an option.
reception
The Internet platform Allmusic awarded 3 out of 5 stars.