Now out from Hux - the second volume of Family's sessions for BBC's Radio 1, covering the period from March 1971 to May 1973! There are some fine performances here, as the group weathered various personnel changes, but they always managed to stay rock solid!

By 1970, Family were already a different band from the one that stunned the U.K. with their landmark debut album Music In a Doll's House only two years earlier. With new members John Weider on bass and Poli Palmer on keyboards, flute, and vibes, the band from Leicester could tackle any kind of music - rock, jazz, country, blues, and even a little bit of classical - with great dexterity and authenticity! Weider's replacement, John Wetton (you might have heard of him! :) ), was especially adept at keeping Family's reputation alive with his economical bass playing. And the BBC sessions they undertook in the early seventies certainly bear all this out! Included here are killer versions of their classic songs "Part of the Load," "Save Some For Thee," "In My Own Time," and Between Blue and Me."

So without further ado, we have Volume 2! :)

Well, just link to it here! (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?s=&threadid=115622&perpage=15&pagenumber=1) :cool:

Plus, you can go here (http://www.huxrecords.com/cdsales60.htm) for more information on this CD - from the Hux Records page itself! :D

With all of that out of the way, we pick up the story where we left off back in August! (Yeah, I know, I promised I'd be back in October, but hey, better late than never! :D )

Family spent 1970 putting out two classic albums, A Song For Me and the half-live, half-studio Anyway, playing at the legendary Kralingen festival in Rotterdam in June, and appearing at the third and final Isle of Wight festival in August. They even found time to play gigs here in the U.S. of A., and they went better than their disastrous April 1969 American debut at the Fillmore East. By the end of 1970, Family were one of the top progressive bands in Britain, and their fame extended to Germany, Belgium, Holland, and the Scandinavian countries. But the biggest prize still eluded them - making it big in America.

All of this activity in 1970 meant that Family didn't have much time for radio performances on the Beeb's Radio 1. They'd make up for that in the new year, 1971, a year that would also see them obtain a new bassist and record their greatest album. :cool:

On March 16, 1971, Family went to the BBC studios and recorded five songs for British broadcasting legend Bob Harris. While they tended to use their radio show appearances to preview new material, this time they did songs from their most recent album and even did a couple of tunes from the Rick Grech era. So here's the first of them:

"Strange Band": This autobiographically titled number was available in studio form as a single and in live form on Anyway. Powerfully delivered on the latter record, this BBC version is faithful to the group's original arrangement but sounds a little bit reserved. Nothing really wrong with this performance of "Strange Band" - certainly nothing wrong with John Weider's violin solo - but it lacks the rawness of the concert version on Anyway. But it's still Family as we know them, nothing to sneeze at. Least of all where Roger Chapman is concerned. ;)

Poli Palmer's vibes stand out here, and Chapman cleverly melds the first half of one verse with the second half of another toward the end of the song.

"Hometown": Originally the B-side of Family's November 1968 single "Second Generation Woman," the studio version is a rarity. I've never heard it, so I can't compare it to this BBC version. The BBC version is quite compelling, though, as Chappo laments the desctruction urban renewal has wrought on his hometown of Leicester, with Charlie Whitney providing some solid acoustic guitar riffs and Rob Townsend offering up some lively bongos. The song picks up in intensity a little, and it ends abruptly with Chapman pretty much resigned to his hometown's fate. Strong, intense folk rock that almost rivals Fairport Convention alumnus Richard Thompson's best work. :)

"Medley: Processions / No Mule's Fool": This is an interesting experiment that Family had already tried before on a Belgian television appearance - melding a song from their second album with their first charting single, the chords of both being somewhat similar. (For details on these songs, see the BBC Radio Volume 1 thread.) The medley is played at a slow, dreamy, hypnotic pace; the childhood dreams of one song blend perfectly with the laid-back happiness of the other. John Weider provides a stirring violin solo, and Poli Palmer alternates between the vibraphone and the flute with amazing dexterity. Chapman takes it easy a bit, but he gets very emotionally involved in the words.

"Part of the Load": This is a crisp, driving variation on their song about toruing America, with Chappo in fine form and anchored by Poli Palmer's vibes and Rob Townsend's subtle drumming. The song is carried entirely along John Weider's sly bass line (Bmm b-bmm, bmm-b-bmm, bmm-bmm-m), but Charlie Whitney also gets in on the act with a sharp, biting guitar solo more developed than the one on the familiar version of "Part of the Load" from Anyway. And the end of this take, Family plays an extended instrumental passage, followed by a band repetition of Weider's bass riff. It gets softer and softer (a little bit softer now, a little bit softer now) each time, then the band plays it

REALLY LOUD

to close the song! :lol: (The tune fades out on Anyway.)

"Lives and Ladies": This antiwar song, made more relevant these days by the conflict in Iraq, crackles with an electric arrangement, more so than the similar but less gritty version on Anyway. This take is centered more on Charlie Whitney's biting guitar than on the record, and Chappo economizes his voice, saving his heavier bleats for the more accusatory lyrics against the "masters of war" he addresses.

Bob Harris is the most important British rock deejay / presenter whose name isn't John Peel.

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(Bob Harris, on the set of his TV show The Old Grey Whistle Test.)

A knowledgable expert on popular music, Harris was the first host of BBC2 Television's The Old Grey Whistle Test, which ran from 1971 to 1987. The series presented performances from the most artistically relevant popsters and rockers of the seenties and eighties. He was already becoming a broadcasting legend when he presented Family on BBC Radio 1 in the sprng of 1971.

Harris began The Old Grey Whistle Test in September of that year, and one of the first bands to perform on the program was - you guessed it - Family. :)

Today Harris hosts Friday and Saturday night programs on the Beeb's Radio 2, as well as a show on the high-tech station 6 Digital.

After a triumphant appearance at the Glastonbury rock festival in June 1971 (yes, they still had rock festivals as late as then!), Family suffered a setback when bassist John Weider left the group. They were not able to find a replacement right away, so in this July 1971 session for Top Gear they performed as a quartet, with Charlie Whitney playing occasional bass or Poli Palmer approximating bass lines on his synthesizer, Ray Manzarek style, to fill the bass guitar parts. On July 2, Family previewed four new songs, two of which would be soon released as a single; the other two would appear on their upcoming album, Fearless.

Here's the first song! :)

"Burning Bridges": Family's song about being taunted by spirits, which would close Fearless, gets a very rough reading here - the sound is grainy and almost claustrophobic - but key elements, such as Charlie Whitney's mandolin and the overall creepy vibe, were already in place. Whitney also creates some effectively moody slide guitar lines, and Poli Palmer throws in a few offhand piano flourishes that wouldn't make the final version. Roger Chapman sings as if he's still familiarizing himself with the lyrics, though, and he has yet to perfect the Peter Gabriel-style vocal that he would use to great effect on record.

"Save Some For Thee": On Fearless, this song would start up and slow down between verses, giving it what I call "pop style without the pop sound," and it was anchored by John Wetton's lead vocals and augmented by a brass ensemble. For Radio 1, with Wetton not in the band yet, Family offered up a distinctly different arrangement; the tempo is slightly quicker and more consistent, giving the song more of a spirited boogie feel. Roger Chapman sings a gruff lead vocal throughout, and Poli Palmer provides a bass synthesizer line along which Charlie Whitney plays guitar in a more pronounced fashion than the way he would on record. Rob Townsend, of course, keeps everyone on track with his perfect timekeeping. A good, steady performance all around.

"In My Own Time:" A difficult song to play and sing, Family nailed it on the Beeb with a performance as sharp and crisp as the single version. The arrangement is very close to what Family would achieve with it in the studio; this is one song the group didn't have to tinker with much. High energy from Roger Chapman on vocals complements Rob Townsend's steady drumming; Charlie Whitney plays the bass here with a steady hand. "In My Own Time" was Family's biggest hit single in Britain, peaking at number four. :)

"Seasons": This would become the B-side of "In My Own Time," and here Family performed a more upbeat version on the Beeb than the arrangement that would be used on record. It's a slow folk rock song, but still an enjoyable listen; Chapman croons (for lack of a better word) a lyircal cycle of the sesaons, from the beginning of winter to the end of autumn, with some moving music . Poli Palmer conrtributes flute, vibes, and piano. :)

Poli Palmer was neither a member of Family's original nor final lineup, yet in the three years he was in the group, he left an indelible impression on Family and contributed a great deal to their music.

http://members.aol.com/gabihol/fam/polishop.jpg

(John "Poli" Palmer in an undated photo.)

Palmer played a wide array of instruments - piano, flute, vibraphone, synthesizer - and excelled at all of them. His mastery at several instruments and his high-cailber musicianship allowed Family to become more experimental and daring - which helped make 1970's A Song For Me and 1971's Fearless perfect albums from beginning to end. :)

Believe it or not, rock festivals were still going on in the early seventies, albeit on a smaller scale from those of Woodstock or the Isle of Wight. The Glastonbury rock festival, which took place in June 1971, was a spirited affair, with lots of dreamy-looking British hippie girls and a big balloon everyone pushed up in the air, and Family were one of the headliners.

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That's the bundle of high-strung nerves known as Roger Chapman fronting the band through a razor-sharp performance of "Drowned In Wine!" :cool:

This was one of Family's last appearances before John Weider left the group later that month.

An up-close shot of the man whose voice rock critic Robert Christgau said could kill small game at a hundred yards! :lol: John Weider is right behind Chapman.

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The iconoclastic Charlie Whitney, taking a studious approach to his double-necked Gibson guitar, at the Glastonbury rock festival. John Weider is behind him, playing a violin solo. :cool:

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Here's a picture sleeve for Family's single, "In My Own Time," their most successful in the United Kingdom! It charted at number four in 1971! :)

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(The German picture sleeve for "In My Own Time." From left - Charlie Whitney, Rob Townsend, Roger Chapman, Poli Palmer, John Weider.)

In the summer of 1971, Family found a replacement for John Weider - John Wetton, a 22-year-old guitarist/bassist from an obscure pub band called Mogul Thrash. Like Weider and Rick Grech, Wetton would eventually leave Family for other career opportunities, and his name would be associated with numerous seventies and eighties bands. For now, though, Wetton lent his vocal and instrumental talents to Family, which improved their sound tremendously.

The new lineup appeared on Bob Harris's Radio One show in November 1971 to promote the group's fifth album, Fearless,, released the previous month. Fearless would prove to be the best album Family ever made, and on Harris's programme (couldn't resist the British spelling, there, mates!), they performed two of the album's best songs. Here's one of them:

"Children:" This is a Crosby, Stills and Nash-style acoustic number, in which Roger Chapman shows his gentle side against a low-key but spirited guitar backdrop. The version here is a little more upbeat than the LP recording, with some nice harmonizing toward the end.

"Between Blue And Me": This was the very first Family song I ever heard - when I first cued Fearless on my stereo - and I've heard several live versions of it since, but none better and crisper than this one. Chapman is in full control of his voice, and he puts the right amount of grit and potency in the lyrics, and Whitney's guitar playing is sharper than sharp. For this take on "Between Blue and Me" alone, this BBC album is essential. :)

I gotta hear more of them!!

I gotta hear more of them!!

Cap'n - You can go to Mystic Records (http://www.mysticrecords.co.uk) or Amazon.com's British site (http://www.amazon.co.uk), where you're certain to find several Family records on sale! :) :cool: :thumbsup:

John Wetton was with Family at their most creative period. He was with the group for two albums, 1971's Fearless and 1972's Bandstand. In this group photo, taken for a 45 picture sleeve, he poses second from left, with his arms folded. Left to right - Roger Chapman, Wetton, Charlie Whitney, Poli Palmer, Rob Townsend. :)

http://members.aol.com/songforme/singles/single5.jpg

There are no 1972 BBC performances on this CD. I don't know whether that's because Family didn't appear on the Beeb that year or because there are no recordings from that year that survive - but the former explanation is the more likely. Family were pretty busy in 1972, and it's likely they had no time to pay a visit to Radio 1. A brief explanation of their 1972 activity, though, is necessary before we get to the next and final set of BBC Radio 1 tapes. :)

1972 was one of Family's biggest years. That year they released "Burlesque," a gut-busting single driven by Poli Palmer's synthesizer and John Wetton's subtle bass work. Everyone in the British pop scene expected it to be a big hit in the U.K., and it was. (A sleeve for the single is pictured below.) On the B-side was a tribute to fifites rock and roll, "The Rockin' R's," which took its punning title from the name of one of Roger Chapman's early bands.

http://members.aol.com/songforme/singles/burl.jpg

"Burlesque" was followed by the group's sixth album, Bandstand, a more straightforward rock album than Fearless. It got up to number fifteen in the U.K. ,which was actually considered a disappointment, and up to number 183 in the U.S., which was actually pretty good! :eek:

Family actually enjoyed their best year in America. Their record label, United Artists, promoted them heavily, and hipster DJ's across the lower forty-eight played cuts from Fearless and Bandstand. Family cemented their admittedly small foothold in America by touring the U.S. as the warmup act for Elton John in the fall of 1972. Chapman was pleased with their progress in America but admitted, "If we don't return next year, we'll lose everything we've gained."

The seeds for their split, however, had already been planted. John Wetton left in early September to join King Crimson; Jim Cregan replaced him just prior to the Elton John tour. When they got home, Poli Palmer left to start a new group with fellow Family alumnus Rick Grech (which never got off the ground). Palmer was replaced by keyboardist Tony Ashton before the group honored December concert dates in England.

Family entered 1973 with a new lineup and renewed hope. By the end of the new year, however, they'd be history. :(

Roger Chapman at the height of Family's popularity!

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Family's guitarist in a rare moment - playing a single-necked electric guitar! :lol: Here, Charlie's playing a Telecaster. :cool:

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Here's another picture of Roger Chapman, from a 1972 concert! :cool: Rob Townsend is barely visible behind him, on the drums.

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These BBC sessions would prove to be Family's last. By 1973, it was clear that the group was running out of steam. A single released that April, "Boom Bang," failed to chart, and a proposed U.S. tour fell through. Also, Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney felt that their songwriting was geting more formulaic. It was decided that the group's upcoming album It's Only A Movie would be their swan song. A brief farewell tour of England would follow its September 1973 release.

For this final BBC appearance, hosted by the late, great British radio personality John Peel, Family played three songs, including "Boom Bang." All of them would appear on It's Only A Movie.

So here we go, to discuss the last Family BBC session, starting with the first song:

"Boom Bang": This was never a good song, and it boggles my mind why Family chose to release it as a single. A lyrically vulgar rocker about the way male animals of various species get sexually excited, it offers some fiery music, with some howling vocals from Roger Chapman. It's performed here in the same arrangement as the single but, like the record, the music can't save the song. Give Family credit for trying to make something out of it, though. The only difference betwen this performance and the record is the absence of British R&B singer Linda Lewis - Jim Cregan's then-girlfriend - on the BBC tape; her astonshingly scorching backing vocals from the 45 are worth a mention.

"Buffet Tea For Two": A straightforward pop-rock song about leaving a doomed relationship and starting over, "Buffet Tea For Two" is driven by a strong guitar riff and Tony Ashton's dexterous piano soloing. Chapman is a little hesitant with the lyrics, though. The arrangement is identical to the one that would be used on It's Only A Movie, though a grandiose orchestral score would be included on record to flesh it out.

"Check Out": This is, appropriately, the last song on this second of two Family BBC Radio albums - and, it's also the closing cut on It's Only A Movie,. A gritty rocker about an escaped convict on the run, it's propelled by a Kieth Richards-style guitar riff, along with some meaty, overamplified bass by Jim Cregan and some shimmering Hammond organ from Tony Ashton. Chapman handles lead vocals - with gusto - along with some callback voclas from Cregan.

The arrangement of "Check Out" would add backing vocals from Linda Lewis, but otherwise would remain the same as it is here. On this John Peel show, the song teasingly has a false ending or two, as if Family didn't want to bring the song to an end, knowing that this would be their last hurrah on Radio 1.

And it was. :(

But we're not finished yet - I still have a few more pics to post! :D

Jim Cregan was Family's fourth and final bass player. A rhythm guitarist first and foremost, he'd never played the bass in his life before joining Family and hasn't played it since - but he could adapt to the bass because it's a rhythmic instrument.

http://members.aol.com/fampics/cregway.jpg

And, as the picture above indicates, Cregan routinely switched between rhythm guitar and bass in concert with Family with this double-neck guitar/bass combo.

Cregan came from the group Stud - the very band that John Weider, ironically, left Family to join. Follwing Family's breakup, Cregan joined a revamped version of glam rocker Steve Harley's backing group, Cockney Rebel, and he was with Harley's band when they enjoyed a number-one hit in the U.K. in 1975, "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me"). In 1977, Cregan joined Rod Stewart's backing group, and remained there for eighteen years; he helped Stewart write some of his biggest hits.

Edward Anthony Ashton was Family's last keyboard player, and perhaps the most accomplished pianist ever to play in that band.

http://www.deeppurple.blueage.it/stampa/pagine_internet/Tony%20Ashton/tonyash1.jpg

Best known to Americans as a Deep Purple sideman, Tony Ashton first achieved prominence in the United Kingdom as a member of the Remo Four, then as part of the trio Ashton, Gardner, and Dyke. Their single "Resurrection Shuffle" hit number three in the U.K. in 1970.

Ashton joined Family in 1972 as the replacement for Poli Palmer. He distinguished himself with his accomplished keyboard playing, especially his ability to play the piano in various styles. His work on the group's last album, It's Only A Movie, was that record's biggest highlight. :)

After Family broke up, Ashton formed a trio named for its members, with Deep Purple veterans Ian Paice and Jon Lord - Paice, Ashton and Lord - and he later worked on Lord's solo albums and with John Entwhistle of the Who, among others. Sadly, Ashton died of cancer in the spring of 2001. He was 55. :(

John Peel, the BBC radio host who presented Family on thier last Radio 1 appearance, was the greatest rock DJ in the history of British radio.

http://www.livingstonemusic.net/hangman_files/johnpeel.jpg

Many progressive bands and solo artists got much-needed exposure on Peel's shows. He was the leading tastemaker in seventies British rock.

Peel kept up to date with all the new sounds for his entire radio career, into the new millenium. He died in October 2004 at the age of 65. :(

Here's one of the last group shots of one of the best British rock bands ever, from the picture sleeve of their final single, "Sweet Desiree." From left: Rob Townsend, Tony Ashton, Jim Cregan, Charlie Whitney, Roger Chapman.

http://members.aol.com/songforme/singles/desi.jpg

"Sweet Desiree," a standard blues rocker, was a peculiar choice for a swan song single. However, the B-side, "Drink To You," an anthem empathizing with those who live their lives in despair, left this final tip of the hat that seemed appropriate, and perhaps even too final. . . .

"So for all of you who are passing on / In a time of life's long flight / As you lie in bed with your aching head / And you're staring at the light / It's to you I'm gonna drink, to you I'm gonna drink tonight!" :thumbsup:

On October 13, 1973, Family played their very last concert in Leicester on the campus of the Leicester Polytechnic (now DeMontfort University), which was one of the wildest farewell performances ever. Roger Chapman even fell off the stage singing "Burlesque." :lol:

The after-show party at the nearby Holiday Inn was no less riotous, with food flying everywhere and folks jumping into the pool. Those who did not jump were pushed in! :eek:

It was in that anarchic spirit of rock and roll that the Family era was brought to a spectacular close.

But their raucous energy and expert musicianship live on in these twin colections of BBC Radio 1 tapes.

LONG LIVE FAMILY! ROCK ON!!

:guitar: :rock: