Free Will (AAA Remastered Edition) (Vinyl LP)

Flying Dutchman

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The second and final album Gil Scott-Heron recorded for Flying Dutchman, Free Will landed in 1972, an album of two very distinct halves. Side A saw Scott-Heron return to the studio with his phenomenal band, including the likes of Brian Jackson, Huber Laws, and Bernard Purdie, for a more "song based" approach to recording. Side B came about as a compromise, when Scott-Heron's passion for poetry and writing found its place with a musical backing from members of his college group Black & Blues. Now, all these decades later, Free Will gets a full remaster and reissue, rebuilt from the original master by the Carvery's Frank Merritt, and pressed lovingly to 180 gram vinyl for your listening pleasure. - Flying Out

There is a reason why a full album of songs did not appear as a follow-up. Both Thiele and Scott-Heron’s writing partner Brian Jackson had been keen to move forward quickly with song-based material, but Scott-Heron saw himself first and foremost as a writer. A new novel, The N*gger Factory, would be published in 1972 and he also enrolled for writing seminars at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

With this is mind we have embarked on a series of all analogue re-mastering projects, to bring the listener as close to the sound captured on tape as possible. Our first release was Gil Scott-Heron’s “Pieces Of A Man” which was released early in 2023 and this second outing is “Free Will”. We took the original master tape to Frank Merritt at the Carvery who transferred the audio and mastered it before making this new cut himself. We then had it pressed on 180 gram vinyl and our only wish now is that you drop the needle, sit back and go back to 1972 to enjoy Gil Scott-Heron in his prime.