Free as the Wind is a studio album by The Crusaders issued in 1977 on ABC Records. The album reached No. 8 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums chart.
Critical reception
Richard S. Ginell of AllMusic, where it received five stars out of five, wrote "When the material is this good, everything falls into place from there; the grooves are deeper, the soloing by all five Crusaders is more melodic and probing, and while Sample provides a few brass and string arrangements, this is just harmless decoration, neither a necessity nor a hindrance. This would be the Crusaders' high-water mark in the post-Wayne Henderson years, and it can stand tall with anything they've done."
Track listing Adapted from album's text.
Personnel Adapted from album's text.
The Crusaders Joe Sample – keyboards, horn and string orchestrations Larry Carlton – guitars Robert "Pops" Popwell – bass Stix Hooper – drums, percussion Wilton Felder – saxophones
Guest musicians Dean Parks – guitars Roland Bautista – guitars (5, 7) Arthur Adams – guitars (8) Ralph MacDonald – special percussion Paulinho da Costa – percussion (5)
Production Stewart Levine – producer The Crusaders – associate producers Rik Pekkonen – engineer, mixing Bernie Grundman – mastering at A&M Studios (Hollywood, California) Frank Mulvey – art direction Tim Ritchie – album design Ed Simpson – photography
Charts Chart Peakposition US Billboard Top LPs & Tape 41 US Top Soul LPs (Billboard) 9
References