Bandstand (album)

Bandstand is the sixth studio album by the British progressive rock band Family. Released in 1972, it was the second and last album to chart in the United States. The original album cover was die-cut in the shape of a Bush TV22 television set, with a black-and-white image of the band onscreen.

Bandstand
Studio album by
Family
ReleasedSeptember 1972
Recorded1972
StudioOlympic Studios, London
GenreProgressive rock, psychedelic rock, hard rock
Length37:49
LabelReprise (UK), United Artists (US)
ProducerFamily, George Chkiantz
Family chronology
Fearless
(1971)		 Bandstand
(1972)		 It's Only a Movie
(1973)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

Background

Bandstand marked a notable change of direction for the band. Family's sound had become more mainstream and somewhat more conventional. By Roger Chapman's own admission, he and Charlie Whitney were getting more standardised in their songwriting, relying more on choruses and regular verse structure. Their sound was brought closer to the mainstream by British soul singer Linda Lewis contributing backing vocals, and Del Newman string arrangements.

Bandstand opened with "Burlesque", a straight rocker about a bar of that name in Chapman and Whitney's hometown of Leicester, England. Released as a single in the UK, it got up to number thirteen on the charts. Heavier songs on Bandstand included "Broken Nose", an angry sexual rant involving the British class structure, and "Ready To Go", a swipe at Family's detractors in the British rock press. Family also were becoming more adept with introspective tunes like "Coronation", about an apartment dweller ruminating about his neighbours and his own dishevelled flat, and "Dark Eyes," an atmospheric, sensual ballad Chapman wrote with Poli Palmer. Many Family fans cited "Glove", a soulful power ballad about meeting a woman through an act of chivalry, as one of their best songs ever. "My Friend the Sun", a straight acoustic ballad, displayed a tenderness previously absent in Chapman's vocal style. It was also issued as a single in the UK, but did not chart.

Bandstand was the last Family album to feature John Wetton. Having joined the band only a year earlier and being a large vocal and instrumental presence on Fearless, Wetton's role in the band was reduced on Bandstand, and he left to join King Crimson. He was replaced by Jim Cregan, and the group toured North America with Elton John immediately after Bandstand's release . They received favourable exposure from American critics and radio DJs and built up a small but loyal cult following in the US as a result.

Bandstand is the only Family album not to feature an instrumental track. Spectacles Records issued a glow in the dark picture disc version of this album, the album reissued as a double with the Family compilation "Old Songs, New Songs" on sepia coloured transparent vinyl. This rare double album, in a clear plastic sleeve, regularly reaches up to $4000 when it turns up at auction.

Track listing

All selections are by Charlie Whitney and Roger Chapman except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Burlesque" 4:04
2."Bolero Babe" 4:36
3."Coronation"Whitney, Chapman, Wetton3:50
4."Dark Eyes"Chapman, Palmer1:46
5."Broken Nose" 4:09
6."My Friend the Sun" 4:20
7."Glove" 4:49
8."Ready To Go" 4:36
9."Top of the Hill" 5:39
The CD release on Mystic Records also contains the following bonus tracks:
No.TitleLength
10."The Rockin Rs" (original B-side of "Burlesque") 
11."No Mule's Fool" (live) 
12."Good News – Bad News" (live) 
13."The Weaver's Answer" (live) 
The 2013 "Deluxe" CD release contains the following bonus tracks:
No.TitleLength
10."My Friend the Sun" (Demo) 
11."Glove" (Demo) 
12."Coronation" (Demo) 
13."Bolero Babe" (Demo) 

Personnel

Family

Guest artists
  • Linda Lewis – backing vocals (5)
  • Del Newman – string arrangements

Song cover versions

The song "My Friend the Sun" was later covered by Linda Lewis for her 1977 album Woman Overboard, with harmonica by Peter Hope Evans and keyboards by Max Middleton.[4]

Chart positions
  • Highest chart position (UK) – #15[5]
  • Highest chart position (USA) – No. 183
gollark: It's an interesting idea but I'm not exactly hugely convinced.
gollark: I think they were an American mobile network.
gollark: hełłø
gollark: The trains here are sometimes 5 minutes late or more and nobody does much.
gollark: See? The automatic train routing algorithm was right all along. Submit. Submit to the algorithm.

References
  1. Dougan, John (2011). "Bandstand – Family | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: F". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 24 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  4. "Linda Lewis - Woman Overboard". Discogs.com. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  5. "The Official Charts Company – The Family – Bandstand". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 January 2010.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.