Not many musicians can have a career that is has spanned being a members of an 80's synth pop group (he was a member of Shalamar, remember "
Dancing in the Sheets" from
Footloose), then join a hard driving metal band (Crown of Thorns), have association with having worked with Gene and Paul from
Kiss (he was discovered by Simmons), go on to create several Native American music releases, and then revert to a hard rock solo career, playing straight ahead guitar based material.
Taking a 360-degree turn from his days playing along side Jody Watley, Free plays music that is a blend of Hendrix, King's X, and Eric Johnson, with a sub-psychedelic vibe largely laden with heavy crunch that amounts to an ethereal feel, delivering straight ahead metallic cuts such as "
Razor blade," and "
Chemical Imbalance" and moody, atmospheric trippy tracks such as the acoustic "
Mother Earth," the Lenny Kravitz reminiscent "
Callin an Angel" and the blues inspired "
Love Child." The level of heaviness switches around on
Experience, where his guitar tone brings forth the "wall of Marshalls" heaviness to glistening chorus laden plectonics, running through virtuoso shredding to complex phrasing to more subdued blues soloing, packing stylistic variation with the right of emotion and power balanced together.
His music provides all the riffs and hook lines, putting catchiness at the forefront and soulfullnes where it counts; several guitarists like him are missing from the scene these days, he really provides a more metal approach to blues and psych elements that few even want to do these days, but he sets an example to be followed.
Written by
Hashman Tuesday, September 13, 2005
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