Micki Free
By Mike O’Cull
Grammy-winning blues/rock guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Micki Free channels his old-school influences into relevant, modern original songs on his new album Turquoise Blue. Out on the Dark Idol Music imprint, the record contains 13 deeply-felt new tunes written under the specter of Covid and the rest of the turmoil of the last two years. It’s a strong showing for Free, who was a founding member of 80s hitmakers Shalamar. He was a ripping blues/rock guitarist in the Jimi tradition underneath his commercial R&B format in those days and is now fully able to let his true self speak to the world.
The new set was captured, mixed, and mastered by Ken Riley at Rio Grande Studios in Albuquerque, New Mexico and also includes stellar guest appearances from the likes of Gary Clark Jr., Steve Stevens, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and Cindy Blackman-Santana. The record is well-conceived and boldly performed, giving off the aura of a song cycle that’s about to break out big time.
Micki Free began life in West Texas and is of mixed-blood Cherokee/Comanche Native American and Irish Heritage. He spent his childhood in Germany, where his father, an Army sergeant, was stationed. His older sister took him to see a Jimi Hendrix show there, an event that blew the young Free’s mind and put him on the rock and roll path. Since that time, Free has become an accomplished musician and performer who has worked with stars including Gene Simmons of Kiss, the Rolling Stones’ Bill Wyman, Janet Jackson, Diana Ross, Prince, Little Steven, Sam Moore, Cheap Trick, Billy Gibbons, Carlos Santana, and Jean Beauvior of The Plasmatics. With Shalamar, Free had a Top 20 hit with the song “Dancin’ in the Streets” and won a Grammy in 1985 for “Don’t Get Stopped in Beverly Hills” from the Beverly Hills Cop film soundtrack. He’s one of those people who has literally done it all.
Micki opens Turquoise Blue with the driving and plain-spoken “Bye 2020,” a hard rock send-off to a terrible year. Free sounds angry and world-weary over all the nonsense we all had to endure then, which is perfectly understandable, and brings in guitar hero Steve Stevens for a gassed-up guitar solo. Free also plays some hot licks on this one and will for sure quicken your pulse.
“World On Fire” is a Latin rock protest song that features Free’s Santana family Cindy Blackman-Santana on drums, Andy Vargas on lead vocals, and Karl Perazzo on percussion. Lyrically, the track is a plea to save humanity from the many threats it faces now and is musically rendered in the Carlos style. Free speaks the Santana language fluently and smoothly combines it with his own ideas and energy.
A righteously heavy mid-tempo shuffle that will move every bone in your body, “Judicator Blues” features special guest Christone “Kingfish” Ingram who shows up to deliver a stinging guitar solo and add his presence to the proceedings. Ingram is a true legend building his career in real time as we watch and, in conjunction with Free, makes up half of an impressive two-guitar situation. The same can be said about the edgy blues “Woman,” a tight track that spotlights Free working with the always-formidable Gary Clark Jr. The two players send the song over the moon with guitar power and make it one of the set’s best cuts.
Turquoise Blue is full of highlights and outstanding performances by everyone involved. Be sure you get down with “Spring Fever,” “Heaven Or Heroin,” and Free’s cover of the iconic Dylan/Hendrix jammer “All Along The Watchtower.” Micki Free has been creating hits and slinging guitar for a long time and his commitment to making cool music is audible in everything he does. Spin this one a few times and let Micki put his magic on you.
“Judicator Blues”
Micki Free website
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