Free - Walk In My Shadow 1968

| Black Cat Bones 1966-68 | Free Live! 1968-72 | Free, Sydney 1971 | Gigs 1968-73 | Paul Kossoff Guitars | Posters | Walk In My Shadow 1968 | Wishing Well 1972 |

1. A classic riff

The very first song I ever wrote with Free was Walk in My Shadow (Paul Rogers 2020)

Undoubtedly the writer's favourite Free song is Walk in My Shadow off the Tons of Sobs album, recorded sometime during October or December 1968 at Morgan Studios, London and released in the UK by Island Records on 4 March 1969. It is a classic blues riff in G (C & D) transformed into a driving rock song by the band, comprising Paul Kossoff (Gibson Les Paul Custom 1957 and Les Paul Standard 1960 guitars), Andy Fraser (Gibson SG bass), Simon Kirke (drums) and Paul Rogers (vocals). Overlaid on the background riff are fills by Kossoff in the G octaves. His use of double stops and interlaced power chords provides a heaviness to the song that takes the riff out of being a simple blues and into the realm of early heavy metal, even before the term was coined. Kossoff's lead fills and solos in the song introduced the world at large to his distinctive and unique tremolo bends, full of so much emotion. His use of a Gibson Les Paul and Marshall amplification at volume became a trademark of his work with the band Free between April 1968 and his last gigs with them at the end of 1972.

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2. Recordings - Studio & Live

* 15 July 1968, BBC Top Gear program, London. YouTube, 13 October 2015, duration: 11.51 minutes. Live radio session. Tracks: 1. Walk in My Shadow 3.35, 2. Moonshine, 3. Free Me, 4. Waiting on You 2.22.

* October - December 1968 - Walk In My Shadow, Free Band / Island Records / Universal Music, YouTube, 14 December 2018, duration: 3.36 minutes. Original 1968 studio recording, stereo mix.

* April 1969, Walk in My Shadow, Golf Drouot, Paris, France. YouTube, duration: 4.38 minutes. Audience bootleg.

* 27 July 1969, Boston Tea Party, Boston. YouTube, duration: 17.25 minutes. Live in concert. Tracks: 1. Walk in my Shadow 4.10, 2. Moonshine, 3. Songs of Yesterday. Mono and stereo soundboard recording.

* 13 September 1970, Walk in My Shadow, Fairfield Hall, Croydon, UK. YouTube, duration: 4.15 minutes. Island remote live recording.

* April 2007, Walk in My Shadow, Joe Bonamassa, Djurs Bluesland, Denmark. YouTube, duration: 6.12 minutes. Slow blues version.

* 4-5 November 2011, Walk in My Shadow, Paul Roger and Joe Bonamassa, Beacon Theatre, New York. Live. YouTube, duration: 4.58 minutes.

* 18 February 2015, Walk in My Shadow, The Nick Harless Band, YouTube, duration: 6.07 minutes. Slow blues version.

* 3 April 2020, Walk in My Shadow, YouTube, duration: 3.39 minutes. Live. A soul version with horns.

* 18 January 2020, Walk in My Shadow, Rockport Blues. YouTube, duration: 3.01 minutes.

* 21 April 2021, Walk in My Shadow, Joe Bonamassa Band, Live from the Ryman Auditorium, Nashville. YouTube, duration: 4.32 minutes. Traditional blues version.

* 5 February 2023, Walk in My Shadow, The Brian Rawson Band, Tyne Bar, UK. YouTube, duration: 3.21 minutes. Live pub gig.

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3. Lessons

* Walk in My Shadow - Guitar Tutorial, Andre Heiji Kozuma, 12 July 2021, YouTube, duration: 18.09 minutes.

* A Classic Kossoff solo - Walk in My Shadow, John Robson Guitarist, 14 September 2021, YouTube, duration: 12.08 minutes.

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| Black Cat Bones 1966-68 | Free Live! 1968-72 | Free, Sydney 1971 | Gigs 1968-73 | Paul Kossoff Guitars | Posters | Walk In My Shadow 1968 | Wishing Well 1972 |

Last updated: 16 August 2024

Michael Organ, Australia

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