Back Street Crawler

Back Street Crawler, despite being Paul Kossoff's first post-Free album, contains contributions from all members of that band. "Molten Gold," the most accessible song on the album, features the talent of Free vocalist Paul Rodgers, and is an overlooked shoulda-been hit. Otherwise, the album is highlighted by Kossoff's blues- and rock-based guitar. "Time Away" is a haunting, atmospheric instrumental duet with avant folk-jazz guitarist/singer John Martyn that originally registered 18 minutes in length. The full version was eventually released on the Free box set Songs of Yesterday, but here is edited down significantly in favor of the 17-minute A-side track "Tuesday Morning," a more upbeat but less interesting choice. Regardless of this fault, this is one of those albums that deserves a place in the pantheon of classic rock. ~ Rob Caldwell