ALVIN LEE BAND – Freefall [AirMail Archive Japan miniLP digitally remastered +1] Out Of Print

Guitarist extraordinaire, singer / songwriter ALVIN LEE has a distinguished solo career. One of you asked for the very hard to find / out of print Japanese remastered reissues done by AirMail Archive presented in a miniLP replica. Here’s the ALVIN LEE BAND album “Freefall“, perhaps his more commercial and dradio friendly.

Indeed, Lee, known for his bluesy rockin’ shots, stats this album with a midtempo melodic rocker ready for FM radio of the era (1980). Titled ‘I Don’t Wanna Stop’, it sounds a bit like early Foreigner, and this new approach was done with the help of Alvin Lee Band’s second guitarist Steve Gould, former Rare Bird vocalist.
While there’s other similar smooth songs on the album, Lee is a bluesman, and he turns in some really tasty guitar and a nice, energetic vocal on “Stealin’.” There are even a few whoops and shrieks thrown in, and that’s OK, because the song deserves it.

So does “Ridin’ Truckin'” and “Sooner Or Later,” which has a cool horn flourish and a juicy little organ line by guest Al Kooper. The latter track is, in fact, one of the more successful mergers of Lee’s straight-ahead style with a complex arrangement, and shows the potential of the band.
The closer, “Dustbin City,” might even be worthy of some air guitar for those who are so inclined.

Alvin Lee goes AOR / poppy for “Freefall”? Not at all, maybe this is their most accessible record including smooth melodic songs, but balanced with classic Lee bluesy rockers.
The album is not easy to find, nor this Japanese AirMail Records remaster, which sounds very good.
Highly Recommended

Air Mail Archive Japan ～ 【AIRAC-1600】

01 – I Don’t Wanna Stop
02 – Take the Money
03 – One Lonely Hour
04 – Heartache
05 – Stealin’
06 – Ridin’ Truckin’
07 – No More Lonely Nights
08 – City Lights
09 – Sooner or Later
10 – Dustbin City
BONUS TRACK:
11 – Real Life Blues (Alternate Version)

Alvin Lee – vocals, guitars
Steve Gould – guitar, vocals
Mickey Feat – bass, vocals
Tom Compton – drums, percussion
Al Kooper – guest Hammond

Out Of Print
www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/DAKAIRAC-1600