Family - BBC Radio Volume 1 1968-69

[Steve M.]

Just out from Hux Records in Britain and available on Amazon.co.uk - A new compilation of BBC radio perfromances from Family has been issued! These Radio One studio performances range from September 1968 through July 1969, with an extra edge only found in a live recording. Versions of "Drowned In Wine" and "The Weaver's Answer" not heard since the Beeb transmitted them, along with several songs performed before being commercially released, are represented by this compilation, along with a rare cover of bluesman J.B. Lenoir's "I Sing'Em The Way I Feel." The original lineup of Roger Chapman (vocals), Charlie Whitney (guitar), Jim King (saxophone, piano), Rick Grech (bass, violin) and Rob Townsend (drums) is represented, with the July 28, 1969 show featuring Grech's replacement, John Weider.

[Steve M.]

Want to learn more? Click here!

[Steve M.]

I just heard it tonight - it's great! The BBC album has far more surprises than last year's Live concert album issue!

[Steve M.]

One surprise is Rick Grech, whose bass playing is heavier and more upfront than usual. He was not only an accomplished bassist, he was classically trained on violin and cello, both of which he integrated into Family's rock sound flawlessly.

Sadly, Rick Grech is no longer with us. He died in 1990 after complications brought on by liver and kidney failure, a result of his heavy drug use in the sixties and seventies.

[Steve M.]

So let's discuss the tracks from the new Family CD one by one, shall we?

The first set of tracks were recorded for the BBC on September 3, 1968, for the Radio 1 show "Saturdady Club."

"See Through Windows" - Apart from a few lyrical changes, this version is identical to the arrangement offered on Music In a Doll's House. It's a good band performance, with some stunning psychedelic blues harmonica from Jim King.

[Steve M.]

"The Weaver's Answer" - I was hoping that this version of Family's signature song would be less in the style of the stately version on Family Entertainment and more in that of the heavy rock version that whipped the crowd into a frenzy at the 1970 Isle of Wight festival. No such luck; it's very much in keeping with the officially released version. It's still pretty good, though, and Roger Chapman's vocal has more punch here. Rick Grech's haunting violin never ceases to stir me.

[Steve M.]

"The Breeze" - Family mostly stayed musically faithful to the original arrangement with this Doll's House number, with its tick-tock metronome arrangement, but this version of "The Breeze" has completely different lyrics. More adventurous takes on their songs would follow.

[Steve M.]

Here's a shot of Rick Grech, concentrating on his music, during a recording session:

[Steve M.]

Jim King was an orignal Family member and the group's original lead singer. He played saxophone (tenor and soprano), harmonica, and the occasional piano. One song from Family's catalog bears a King lead vocal - "Observations From a Hill."



(Jim King playing soprano saxophone during an outdoor concert, presumably a show in London's Hyde Park.)

[Steve M.]

In November 1968, the main focus of rock fans was the pending release of the Beatles's new double album, which was going to be named A Doll's House until Family issued its debut album. Family chose this time to release a new single that would be included on their second album, due out in February. And so, on November 11, the group played the new single and two cuts from the coming album (to be called Family Entertainment) for the BBC Radio 1 show Top Gear. Each song had a different lead singer, with Rick Grech, Jim King, and Roger Chapman sharing frontman duties. These November 1968 performances showed a confident band plowing full speed ahead.

"Second Generation Woman" - The new single, this Rick Grech song was a fast Chuck Berry-style rocker that recalled the Beatles's "Paperback Writer." It was wilder here than it was on record, with Grech's cheeky vocal and Charlie Whitney's stinging guitar carrying the day. Not on the single was a shout from Grech as the band went into the first of two instrumental breaks - "SOCK IT TO ME!" Grech clearly had a thing for Aretha Franklin!

[ABlairican Pie]

Now you got me more interested in them!!! I wanna know what they sound like!!!

[Steve M.]

Originally posted by Captain ABlairica
Now you got me more interested in them!!! I wanna know what they sound like!!!

Al- RIGHT! Here's a site with two Family sound clips to check out - www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Alley/4950/family.htm. And for a full list of Family CD's for sale, go here, and here as well.

As noted, Hux Records sells the CD I'm currently reviewing. You can access their Web site on the second post of this thread.

[Steve M.]

"Observations From a Hill" - This song is played with the same arrangement and the same energy as on Family Entertainment. Jim King's lilting vocal is complemented by a rich acoustic guitar. The one weak spot is King's harmonies with Chapman on the line "These are observations from a hill" - they sound like they stepped back from the mikes. More likely a BBC studio glitch than anything else.

[Steve M.]

"Dim" - As with the other songs from Family's upcoming second album, the band previewed it on the BBC with an arrangement very faithful to what they'd gotten on record. Clearly, this highly experimental band wasn't interested in toying too much with their new songs, especially when they were three months away from release. "Dim" is a strightforward country rocker, and it's performed here with a crisp finger-pickin' riff from Charlie Whitney. Roger Chapman is in fine voice; he's holding back on his trademark "electric goat" vibrato, which would get a real workout on the Beeb soon enough. Special mention should go to Jim King for his spirited harmonica; he may very well have been the best blues harmonica player in Britain, and maybe even the best white blues harmonica player ever, bar Magic Dick Salwitz of the J. Geils Band.

[Steve M.]

Richard John Whitney - you can call him "Charlie" - was Family's lead guitarist for the band's entire existence.



While he wasn't as adept or as technically good as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, or Jimi Hendrix, Whitney could play six-string and and twelve-string with equal dexterity - hence his penchant for double-necked Gibsons - and he could make the strings on either neck roar ferociously when necessary. Whitney's work on the acoustic guitar in Family's folkish tunes was nothing short of breathtaking.