Free Design

Continuing the reissue series of the Free Design’s complete discography, Seattle’s Light in the Attic label have remastered and made the band’s final three albums available on CD for the first time ever. Each release features extensive liner notes written by band members and exclusive bonus tracks are tacked onto the end of Sing and One by One. 1970’s Sing is for children, with a number of the band’s own light and airy handpicked originals ("Bubbles,” "Little Cowboy”), covers (the Sesame Street theme) and bonus jingles recorded for a Chapstick ad. One by One, released a year later, find’s the group in a much different state of mind, adopting the popular Motown sound as a blueprint and bringing their own style of funk and R&B to the Doors’ "Light My Fire,” and their most radical track in their songbook, the mildy-aggressive "Go Lean on a River.” An additional five unreleased and pristine live cuts with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra are included, which easily make this the most valuable reissue in the series. There is a Song, the band’s final album from 1972, has virtually ceased to exist until now. Returning to their soft roots, it’s a fond farewell to their career. Hinting at Chris Dedrick’s permanent relocation to our native land in "Canada in Springtime,” there is a real nature-hugging air to the music found most obviously in their rendition of "Kum Ba Yah.” LITA has also unleashed the second Redesigned twelve-inch EP, featuring modern acts remixing the band’s soft-psych pop for the new millennium. The likes of Danger Mouse & Murs, Super Furry Animals and Nobody are featured, however most attractive are the Stereolab/High Llamas (two acts born to redesign these legends) treatment of "Harve Daley Hix” and Caribou’s epic free-jazz transformation of "Dorian Benediction.” The Free Design library is now fully and finally open for everyone to enjoy.