Scott-Heron's 1971 album "Pieces of a Man" used more conventional song structures than the loose, spoken-word feel of "Small Talk". He was joined by Jackson, Johnny Pate as conductor, Ron Carter on bass and bass guitar, drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, Burt Jones playing electric guitar, and Hubert Laws on flute and saxophone, with Thiele producing again. Scott-Heron's third album, "Free Will", was released in 1972. Jackson, Purdie, Laws, Knowles, and Saunders all returned to play on "Free Will" and were joined by Jerry Jemmott playing bass, David Spinozza on guitar, and Horace Ott (arranger and conductor). Carter later said about Scott-Heron's voice: "He wasn't a great singer, but, with that voice, if he had whispered it would have been dynamic. It was a voice like you would have for Shakespeare."