RIP Andy Fraser

[Galactic Bulldozer]

http://news.yahoo.com/free-bassist-a...hVJGQAEtEnnIlQ

[mogrooves]

Sorry to hear this. An under-recognized bassist and a pretty good songwriter.
RIP........

[JeffCarney]

Sad day for music. Quite an extraordinary bassist. Frankly, nobody ever really sounded like him. He was really able to work within the spaces in quite a unique fashion. I think his bass was a huge part of Free's overall sound.

That he apparently wrote the music for "All Right Now" at 17 is remarkable.

[spacefreak]

Very good backbone player and ultra talented songwriter. RIP.

[Squigelyfox]

So sorry to hear this sad news.

Such a talented writer and bass player. Really loved his unusual style.

R I P Andy.

[Paulrus]

Sad day for music. Quite an extraordinary bassist. Frankly, nobody ever really sounded like him. He was really able to work within the spaces in quite a unique fashion. I think his bass was a huge part of Free's overall sound.

That he apparently wrote the music for "All Right Now" at 17 is remarkable.

Yes, but which came first? "All Right Now" or "Space Truckin"?

RIP

[Jerjo]

RIP Andy, a fine player and an underrated songwriter

The cause of death is not yet known and remains under investigation.

Well, he's had AIDS for quite a while and been battling cancer so it's not like it's a mystery.

[spellbound]

Rest in peace, Andy. This article was sent to me this morning:

TEMECULA: Free bassist Andy Fraser dead at 62

[grego]

Rest in Peace. Andy Fraser..He was good, original bassist, and talented author. I absolutely don't like the overpraised All Right Now, though - Fraser wrote a lot of much more worthy songs in his Free days. (Mr Big, Be My Friend, Heavy Load, Bodie, etc..)

[progmeister]

Also an excellent vocalist who's vocal tone was coincidentally very Paul Rodgers. Check out the Andy Fraser Band and while you're at it Sharks.

[Trane]

RIP Mr Fraser

[calyx]

None of these tributes seem to mention specifically that Fraser also wrote "Every Kinda People" which was one of Robert Palmer's biggest hits.

[mogrooves]

Always dug this one, which he wrote for the great Frankie Miller:

[Enid]

It's very sad to hear about his death. His life as a musician didn't revolve around "tow the line" concepts. When he joined Free...he steered the band clear of being another Jeff Beck Group or Faces and told the members of Free that he wanted to focus more on writing songs than covering the Blues Masters pieces and endlessly jamming. I believe Andy Fraser's idea to focus more on songwriting during the British Blues movement was very influential to bands around him. Andy Fraser was a very important person because he contributed to changing stylistically how Rock music could be written. His idea combined with his talent produced a very unique sound and style...unlike anyone else connected to the Blues scene in London. It's very sad to see him go. He was one of the original innovators of the British Blues scene. R.I.P. Andy Fraser

[Pekka]

Always dug this one, which he wrote for the great Frankie Miller:

He didn't wrote it especially for Frankie or if he did he recorded it first for his second solo album "In Your Eyes". Frankie's version is better 'though and he also did a great job with Andy's "Double Heart Trouble" from "Andy Fraser Band" album released in 1975.

Robert Palmer also recorded Andy penned "Mean On World" on "Secrets" album and Andy played bass on two songs on "Clues".

His bass playing was very unique and his ability to combine space with unusual choice of notes was very special. His style made Free groove in a fascinating way.

I agree about his vocals 'though he sounds a bit like Rodgers junior but it's not a fair comparison to anyone is it.

[strawberrybrick]

Somewhere I have his solo lp Fine Line? Great record, great artist.

[bob_32_116]

It hasn't been a good week for people named Fraser.