Family Bandstand (1972)

From progarchives.com

Review by jamesbaldwin

Just as after the experimental and progressive “Music From a Doll’s House” a more classic album has arrived (“Entertainment”), even after the creative effort of Fearless’s eccentric art-rock arrangements, a much more conventional album has arrived, Bandstand.

The Family entrusted Del Newmann with the orchestral arrangement of the strings, and limited themselves to producing rock songs with the classic strophe-refrain structure showing off the technical virtuosity of their singer, Roger Chapman, and of all the musicians. The songs on this album are split between prog songs and blues-funk songs.

“Burlesque” is a syncopated funk (vote 7,5/8), with a lazy rhythm, which comes alive thanks to the Whitney guitar and the hoarse and vibrato singing of Chapman. This initial song brings the disc to the black sound that characterizes half of his songs, and heralds the style that Chapman and Whitney will adopt in the Streetwalkers, the group that they will create after the breakup of the Family. “Bolero Babe” (vote 7+) completely changes sound and mood, being a slow progressive orechestral ballad, where the arrangements are a simple accompaniment of Chapman’s voice in the verses, then “pump” the refrain.

“Coronation” (vote 7+) is more spontaneous and less constructed than Bolero Babe and sees John Wetton’s collaboration in writing, usually left to Chapman-Whitney. It is a progressive ballad with a rather bare arrangement, which gives the best of itself in the refrain. Until now, the album has shown three songs of medium-slow rhythm, the first aggressive, the other romantic and subdued. At this point comes “Dark Eyes”, an abortive song, one minute and 46 seconds, that fades without being developed, after a good intro of Palmer’s piano (no vote).

“Broken nose” (vote 7,5) reshuffles the tone of the album thanks to a frenzied, almost noisy, funky rhythm, supported by some frenetic chorus, in which Linda Lewis takes part. The song has a paroxysmal “crescendo” a bit forced, which becomes sensational (in this as in two other songs on the album) thanks to the sound of the keyboards (synth?) and piano.

Here ends a first non-memorable side.

“My Freind the Sun” is a prog-folk song (vote 8+) with in the foreground the voice of Chapman, here splendidly delicate, tender, and the acoustic guitar. Wetton sings the harmony vocals. The song is simple but very inspired. “Glove” is one of the top rockblues of the Family (vote 8,5). It’s a piece that has little of progressive and a lot of the singing of black shouters. With a progression of piano, drums and electric guitar where even the bass is high in volume, the track reaches a remarkable pathos, penalized only by the fact that the sensational production due to the “wall of sound” of the arrangements prevents the voice of Chapman (which rises in a fantastic performance) to be fully audible. “Ready to Go” is another funky piece, very supported, without the excesses of “Broken Nose”, more conventional (vote 7,5) but well done.

The last song, “Top of the Hill” (vote 8+) is the longest, and also the most progressive song of the Lp. The first minute, instrumental, is interlocutory, and seems like a way to increase its duration. then, when the piece explodes, we listen to another song with a sensationalist progression (where in the background it seems to me to hear the vibraphone), and where the strings support an ever more engaging rhythm that ends with a great climax. With this song ends a great second side.

Bandstand is an album only partly progressive, however, equipped with 8 very good songs, partly rock, partly blues / funk, with a good first side and an excellent second side. The Family seems that with this effort they have exhausted their creativity, their repertoire and, in fact, after being one of the progressive antesignan groups with their debut masterpiece (1968), only 4 years later, in a year where the progressive has broken the charts and touched perhaps its maximum splendor (1972), they give us a more conventional album, although very good, which seems to archive their most progressive and experimental phase. In fact, undecided about which direction to take, so eclectic to risk being without a true identity, with the next album “It’s Only A Move” (1973) will definitely come out of the world of progressive rock and will melt for lack of inspiration.

Review by Easy Livin

Released in 1972, “Bandstand” is the second album recorded by the line up which made “Fearless” a year earlier. While the ever present Roger Chapman’s voice is of course the band’s signature, it is perhaps surprising that the continuing presence of journeyman John Wetton is largely low key; apart from one co-credit he does not even contribute to the song writing. Wetton would in fact leave the band after this album, heading for King Crimson.

The single “Burlesque” opens the album, a dirty, funky piece of magic with slightly risqué lyrics, and a wonderful vocal performance by Chapman. The album as a whole though is not as aggressive as previous offerings, the reflectively harmonic “Bolero babe” being more representative of the mood. Del Newman’s string arrangements are unobtrusive, but nonetheless uncharacteristic for a Family album. The downbeat mood continues on “Coronation” where Chapman’s higher range vocals sound a little odd. The track benefits from the addition of some synth and violin and a more spirited chorus. “Dark eyes” is a brief Poli Palmer (who was also to leave the band) contribution, in very much the same vein as its predecessors on the album. The track rather strangely fades in mid verse.

“Broken nose” finally returns us to the heavier and noisier sounds we expect from the band. This story of unrequited love across the classes has a rather messy melody and some of the most obvious synthesiser the band have added to a song.

“My friend the sun” was perhaps too different to their previous releases to succeed as a single. The song is a soft acoustic ballad with CSN like harmonies, and accordion backing. “Glove” sets out as a quiet blues featuring just vocal and piano. As the song develops, it becomes a more orthodox Family song, with some nice lead guitar and ever more dominant strings. The final choruses have a sing-a-long anthem feel.

“Ready to go” is a sort of back to basics affair, with acidic lyrics. Whitney and Chapman are clearly getting something off their chests here, but rather at the expense of a decent tune. The closing “Top of the hill” is a mid paced traditional Family song, with a simple melody. The arrangement is reasonably lavish, accentuated by the ubiquitous strings.

Unlike “Fearless”, “Bandstand” is very much a single mood album. This gives it a more coherent feel, but also a measure of dullness. There are some highlights, especially the opening “Burlesque”, but overall I find the album to be undistinguished.