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FAMILY - BBC RADIO - VOLUME THREE

Stuart Jefferson | San Diego,Ca | 07/27/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One disc 77 minutes in length approximately. The sound on the first two tracks is up to the usual BBC standards. The remaining tracks were recorded "off-air" from private tapes,and the sound suffers somewhat. Overall the sound on these tracks is a bit distant and slightly distorted-think of a pretty good bootleg album and you have it in a nutshell. The "star" rating is for the music,not the recording quality. However,for the FAMILY fan (of which I'm one) the sound problems can be overlooked,for the performances are fairly ferocious,as usual for this band. FAMILY,on these tracks consist of Roger Chapman-vocals,John "Charlie" Whitney-guitars and bass,"Poli" Palmer-flute,vibes,and piano,John Weider-bass,violin,and guitar,and Rob Townsend-drums.



These tracks were recorded in 1970,when FAMILY had two albums out-"Anyway" and "Song For Me". This volume is also the first "radio" recordings of Poli Palmer with the band. The tracks were ones the band featured in their then live set. It's nice to have good recorded instrumentals from the band-"93's OK J" and "Here Comes the Grin". The first is an all acoustic track with minimal drums and no bass. The second features violin,vibes,guitar,bass,and drums all in their turn. These two tracks are on CD for the first time. The rest is the usual mixture of slower tracks and the ferocious tunes that fans remember. All the tracks have an edge-being played live. Even the tracks that have been released in different versions on other albums in the past have their own sound and "grittiness". The booklet is very informative-giving insight into the band during this time period,along with a number of black and white photographs from the period.



Is this the place for first-time listeners to start? No. This release is for the died-in-the-wool FAMILY listener who wants everything this wonderful and greatly under-rated band released. For those who own the previous two live BBC albums,this will fit in with them (except for the sound) neatly. This band should have been more well known than it was. With these recordings the band proves that point."