Paul Kossoff, "Back Street Crawler" (Island, 1973)

It's tough to write about guitarist Paul Kossoff without using words like "tragedy" and "self-destruction." Let's just say he was gone by age 25, leaving an impressive body of work for one who departed so young.

He's best-known, of course, for those couple of power chords on Free's "All Right Now," which constitue one of rock's great riffs. Had Free been a one-hit wonder - which, in effect, it was in the United States - Kossoff would be remembered in glowing terms for what he contributed to just that song.

Fortunately, many hours of his stellar playing are available, from Free's first recordings (when Kossoff was barely 18) to posthumous releases from his post-Free career. Among the selections is the lone solo album to emerge during his lifetime, "Back Street Crawler."

While Free had enjoyed a great deal of success, including four Top 10 albums in its native Britain, the band had a rather tumultuous half-decade ride, actually breaking up for the better part of a year right smack in the middle. Maybe the relative youth of the members had something to do with how they handled certain pressures; when "All Right Now" rocketed up the charts in the spring and summer of 1970, none of the quartet had yet turned 21.

At any rate, by the time the band recorded its final album "Heartbreaker," in 1972, original bass player Andy Fraser had departed and Kossoff was one step behind him, contributing on roughly half the songs. The title track, which vocalist Paul Rodgers wrote about Kossoff, is prescient: "You've always been a good friend of mine, but you're always saying farewell."

Kossoff wasn't even around for Free's final tour, but he pulled himself together enough to record at London's Island Studios with a floating assemblage of musicians. The result was "Back Street Crawler," which Island Records released toward the end of '73 to relatively little fanfare.

Perhaps one reason for the low profile can best be explained by the Kossoff album's contrast with the debut released a few months later by Bad Co., the project launched that year by Rodgers, Free drummer Simon Kirke, Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. "Bad Co.," which topped the U.S. charts, kicks off with Ralphs' infectious, minimalist rocker "Can't Get Enough."

Kossoff, on the other hand, chose to open his solo effort with a decidedly less commercial proposition: "Tuesday Morning," a 17 1/2-minute instrumental. Nevertheless, fans of quality guitar playing will enjoy hearing him cut loose through several distinctive sections, with his backing musicians - bassist Trevor Burton, formerly of the Move; keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick, later of the Who's touring band; and drummer Alan White, then of Yes - creating appropriate musical palettes for Paul to explore a variety of tones and tempos.

The entire album contains only five tracks, and two of the others, "Time Away" and "Back Street Crawler (Don't Need You No More)," are in a similar though more succint vein, with Kossoff taking full opportunity to display his guitar prowess in the company of well-matched musicians.

Another track, "I'm Ready," was composed by Jess Roden, who sings it, and keyboardist Jean Roussel. It's a rousing little slice of R&B, clocking in at just over two minutes, and features Kossoff playing a brief, rather restrained solo.

The remaining track is Free by another name: "Molton Gold" (aka "Molten Gold") features Rodgers, Fraser and Kirke in what serves as an epitaph for their old band. The song is a soul-wrencher, with Kossoff's melancholy guitar notes complementing haunting harmonies by Rodgers and Roden. Interestingly, a two-CD Free anthology issued in 1994 carries the title "Molten Gold."

Kossoff later adopted the title of his solo album as the name for his band, and Back Street Crawler went on to release two albums, "The Band Plays On" and "2nd Street." But he wasn't around anymore to enjoy the latter.

Let's just focus on the music he left for us to hear.