About
The
Album

"Free Spirit" is the earliest album I've made available on this website, so from this point of view I guess you could call it a "debut" album. It was recorded on an old analogue desk so there was no computer trickery involved; it was either get the take or try again. Hence there are moments that are slightly imperfect but I feel it adds to the charm.

At this stage I was very influenced by Red House Painters and long, drawn out songs, which is what this album is mostly made up of. Some of the songs are quite old too; "What I Have To Do" dates back to 1993 and there is a theme of nostalgia running through all the songs which makes it quite an evocative listen for me. Most of the tracks are predominantly acoustic based but a lot break out into electric sections, like the end of "Glass" and "Sacred Heart". "Glass" was a song I took around with me a bit and played at a lot of gigs, Hot Press reviewed the songs at the time and said the intro was too long (they said the same about "Pages & Pages") so I guess Hot Press have never listened to Pink Floyd.

The song "Free Spirit" is something I hadn't done before, or since for that matter - three sections joined together into one big long song. A lot of fun to do and one of my favourites. The version of "Lions" here, even though its the earliest recording, was the second arrangement and has some nice organ playing. "Lions", "Sand" and "Bon Voyage" were all recorded again in different forms since these versions were made.

There's quite a heavy, late night feel to these songs and I enjoy hearing them, flaws and all. Hopefully you will hear the starting points of a lot of ideas I would eventually develop on the later albums.

Credits
All songs by Robert Crosbie © 2007.

Recorded between Jan 2001 - August 2002 at Binn Eadair View Studios. Produced by Robert Crosbie.

Vocals, guitars, bass, drums, organ by Robert Crosbie.