Search - Family :: Fearless/Family Live

Fearless Is Peerless

loce_the_wizard | Lilburn, GA USA | 05/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a serious fan of early '70s music---the real stuff, not radio fodder or fad junk---most likely you have some Family in your collection. If not, then "Fearless" is a superb starting point, a recording that endures as perhaps the strongest testimony to what was once the most-loved band in rural England and a band that valued creativity above trends.

Some folks consider this to be Family's "quite" album. Maybe, but that is a relative matter. The range of material is actually quite staggering from the contemplative opening cut Between Blue and Me to the gutsy Blind (by the way, the weird sound is a piece of pipe looped through a string that Poli Palmer is whirling overhead) to the gentle Children. It's almost worth the price of the CD just to hear Spanish Tide, one of the best cuts on any Family album. Three songs in particular-the smoldering Burning Bridges, feisty Take Your Partners, and aforementioned Blind-showcase the group's flat out rock and roll style. Sat D-Y Barfly further cements Chappo's legend as the greatest rock vocalist. The production here is a step up from some of the earlier Family recordings and this ensemble is as tight as that on the group's legendary first album. Having John Wetton in the mix really anchored the band's sound, and he is often front and center instead of being relegated to a supporting role. Charlie Whitney once more turns in virtuoso performances on every song, leaving one to wonder why he never enjoyed the success of more one-dimensional guitarists such as Jeff Beck or Eric Clapton. Roger Chapman is, well, there has never been a vocalist quite like the fellow whose delivery some have likened to an electric sheep's bleating or an elephant's gargling. With power and range that exceeded such peers as Robert Plant or Joe Cocker, he can be remarkably expressive and contained at times but sound like Zeus having a tantrum at others. Rob Townsend, one of the three mainstays of the group, is another underrated member of Family. His flawless drumming powers the group along. Listen to him on Save Some for Thee to get an idea of how good this guy was (actually is, for he still plays skins for the Blues Band and the Manfreds). If there is any weakness, then some of Palmer's eccentric synthesizer might sound quaint to those steeped in modern electronic modes of music. But Chappo and Whitney, the leaders of Family, show, once again, why they serve all of the respect they were never afforded and this fine recording highlights the failings of FM radio, both then and now, as an artists' medium.

I've worn out 2 LPs of Fearless and used to break out my better copy only a couple of times a year before getting the CD. If you already have the 2000 release of Fearless on a remastered CD with bonus tracks and the just recently released, long hoped for Family Live CD then you will everything here save the live bonus track called Sing 'Em the Way I Feel. One has to hope that all this bonus live material will find its way to a Family Live, Two, disc in the future."

One of Many Great Family Discs

Michael Strom | Chicago, IL USA | 04/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Family was easily the most creative & most unjustly neglected Rock group ever. Over the course of several albums in the '60s & '70s, Family not only didn't copy anyone else, they never repeated themselves. No small accomplishment, since their own work was so unique & idiosyncratic. You won't find 2 similar songs in their entire recorded output. Most of Family's albums were so consistently exceptional that it is hard to select 1 or 2 that stand out as their "best." Fearless is certainly one of the contenders. At times, it's tuneful, at other times, virtually atonal (but still fun). The melodies, instrumentation, arrangements - thoroughly unique. In an era where high harmonies were the standard, "Larf and Sing" features probably the lowest pitched harmonies in history. Most of these songs really can't be adequately described in words since there is no one else to whom Family can be compared. Anyone who enjoys challenging, quality rock should check out Family. Serious music by a group that never took themselves too seriously. As for the "extra tracks," buyers of the old vinyl Family releases will recognize In My Own Time, but not from this album. It was tucked into the American version of Anyway. You'd think they would have put it back with Anyway (another great album in its own right), but noooooo. It is one Family's very few worthwhile non-album track singles. As for the other non-live extra track, Seasons, let's just say that you'll have no reason to hear it a second time. For those who pine for thye B sides, just buy the 2000 release, Anthology, a generous and economical 2 CD set with all the singles & B-sides anyone would ever need. Apparently, lots of Family albums are now being re-re-reissued with live tracks. If you have any interest in these guys live, the 2004 release "Live" (not much imagination in the marketing department, I guess) is most worthwhile and long overdue. Don't rebuy Fearless yet again for the live tracks, get the live album instead."

"Rock as Art" Unleashed

Kenneth J. Nessing | 12/09/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Fearless", originally released in 1971, is "rock music" in the sense that the instruments are mostly electric and the musicians look the part; conventional references end there, save one: Similar to "Ziggy", or "Sgt. Pepper", the songs' sequence enhance the album's enjoyment. After one complete listening, you will understand why "Burning Bridges" could not occur anywhere else but at the closing. Family has always been difficult to categorize let alone describe; the songs have a visual, "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" quality in that they are more depictions than descriptions. This is a masterpiece from a band whose unique yet melodic and stunningly dramatic music is enhanced by its skill at altering its sound, both vocally and tonally, in artful complement; except for the addition of the Ladbroke Horns on several cuts, the instrumentation is routine rock four-piece; combined with its skillfully crafted songs, Family's protean style is arguably its hallmark achievement.



Consider "Between Blue and Me" which opens the album. Beginning as a seafarer's ballad of loneliness and separation, it gently unwinds as bass guitar and bass drum mournfully toll behind acoustic guitar and Roger Chapman's deceptively tender vocal. At once, the tolling becomes menacing, pounding, dirge-like; Chapman, now wailing, berates a father, "a sailor and a traveling man", and a mother, "...a lady who forgets she's a wife", for shirking their duty to "one small boy."



Prepare for tales of barroom high jinks; the anguish of literal and metaphorical blindness (social commentary, that); the joy of friendship; a toast, in stunning harmony, to growing old; a child's innocence and promise; and each song presented within a distinctive sound palate for which Chapman's range, both vocally and emotionally, is custom made. "Fearless" stands as a testament to the liberating influence of Sgt. Pepper on rock music. If that seminal recording is, as mentioned in other reviews on this site, "when rock became art", "Fearless" is that art further unleashed. Yes, it's that good.

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