Loggins and Messina "Be Free" chords?

I searched for this and found one query and no answers.

Anyone know the chord progression for Loggins and Messina's "Be Free"?

Thanks.

Wow. Can't help with the chords, but it back memories of worn-out, well-played record albums with cool album art.

I too would like to find these cords. Had any luck anywhere?

I too am stumped. I did my usual google and found lyrics only, no chords. And the lyrics weren't really ringing a bell, so I thought I would take a listen at youtube. Nice mandolin intro, and more throughout. In fact, it's pretty nice all over. I wonder how this slipped under my radar.

Well, if I don't find the chords by searching, I may take a stab at figuring it out myself over the next couple of days. I'll tell you right now though - you are on your own with the long instrumental passage! :))

Haven't heard this nice song in a while, let's see..


Dm - Dm/addEb

Dm - Ebmaj7
Dm - Ebmaj7 - Fmaj7 - (C)

ch)
G - C - Ebmaj7 - G
G - C- Ebmaj7 - Fmaj7

bridge
G - C - F - C
G - C - F - G - C

quiet vamp in G/G7

Ah, sounds like there's the Dm - Ebmaj7 figure vamped in there between the bridge and the quiet G/F vamp

and then there's the fast little mando section G - F, then a celtic like section, again G - F, then finally G - D - G

then

G - C

then another little vamp variation, then back to top

Thank you, just now saw this!

I have seen Jim Messina perform "Be Free" and here are the first two chords he plays on mandolin:

G9sus2 (played twice)

G D A E
| | | |
0 0 0 1


Gm7#5

G D A E
| | | |
0 1 1 1

Welcome to the Café! :mandosmiley: And thanks for solving a ten-year-old mystery, the answer to which has been sitting there in plain sight (or hearing) all this time. Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees, And those are some nice trees in the video. ;)

I'm reluctant to name odd chords on the mandolin, as they often involve being the result of an inversion. For instance, the second chord is what I normally think of as an Eb9 (or Eb add9, if you prefer). But just because that is the name of a chord which contains those notes, that doesn't necessarily mean that it is that chord, as often one key determining factor is context. That is, how does a chord relate to the ones before it, after it, and in a string of chords. So I wouldn't call this chord in this context an Eb9, unless the first chord is some sort of D chord, as that hints at the way these two chords relate to each other, to my ears. Which might make the first chord a Dm sus4. :confused: The temptation is to name chords basing the root on the lowest-pitched string. That's not always the case.

Essentially, the first chord sounds minor to me, and the second one major.

I have a feeling Jim was fooling around with a mandolin one day and went strum ... strum ... hey, that sounds groovy. :whistling:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MarkDL

I have seen Jim Messina perform "Be Free" and here are the first two chords he plays on mandolin:

G9sus2 (played twice)

G D A E
| | | |
0 0 0 1


Gm7#5

G D A E
| | | |
0 1 1 1

---

Ah, I forgot about my G string! :( Thanks for the correction.

I have the entire book for the Mother Lode album stashed somewhere - I'll do some digging. I was privileged to see Loggins and Messina on one of their last tours, maybe their last - and it was truly a memorable event.

I agree there are multiple names for chords, especially Mandolin chords. I think to put those first two opening chords into context, we will need to see the chord arrangement for the entire song. I see Rick Jones posted that he has the music book for the entire Motherlode album, so hopefully he can help us with the full set of chords. I also have the Mandolin tab for the start of the instrumental interlude in Be Free that I will post soon.

Ya I don't know how I came up w how I named those! - seems like after I decided I didn't go back to check - I was writing it down as I was listening. With the exception of those misnamed chords the rest of it is fairly accurate (F maj not maj7)

Here is the Mandolin tab to the first instrumental interlude. This tab starts right after the lyrics, "I've seen the universe unfold..."

E |---3-------------3------------3-----------3-------------1-----------1-------------1------------1----------
A |----------5-------------5-----------5------------5------------3------------3-------------3-----------3----
D |------0------0------0-----0-----0-----0-----0------0-----0-----0-----0------0------0-----0-----0-------
G |-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Rick,
If you can find your Motherlode music book, please post the chord sequence. It will greatly help us decipher this song. From watching Loggins & Messina perform Be Free onstage, I noticed that Kenny Loggins plays an acoustic guitar with a capo at the third fret. To me, that implies this song is in the key of G based upon Kenny frequently using the E-chord shape at the third fret. Many thanks for your help!

Rick,

Any luck in finding your chord book for the Motherlode album?

Thanks,
Mark

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rick Jones

I have the entire book for the Mother Lode album stashed somewhere - I'll do some digging. I was privileged to see Loggins and Messina on one of their last tours, maybe their last - and it was truly a memorable event.

---

Bump...
I would really appreciate it if someone had the tabs to Be Free as played by Jim Messina.
Specifically, his solo picking around 03:20 +/_
Thanks and forgive me for ressurecting this older thread but I'm new to the forum and Mandoline.
L