Bandstand (album)

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

Infobox Album
Name = Bandstand
Type = Album
Artist = Family


Released = September 1972
Recorded = 1972
Genre = Rock; Progressive rock
Length = n/a
Label = Reprise Records (UK), United Artists Records (US)
Producer = Family, George Chkiantz
Last album = Fearless
(1971)
This album = "Bandstand"
(1972)
Next album = It's Only a Movie
(1973) |

Family's lineup in 1972 was as follows:

*Roger Chapman: vocals and percussion
*Charlie Whitney: guitars
*Poli Palmer: keyboards, vibes, flute & percussion
*John Wetton: guitars, basses, vocals
*Rob Townsend: drums and percussion

Guest artist: Linda Lewis, backing vocals

Track listing

#Burlesque
#Bolero Babe
#Coronation (Whitney-Chapman-Wetton)
#Dark Eyes (Chapman-Palmer)
#Broken Nose
#My Friend The Sun
#Glove
#Ready To Go
#Top of the Hill

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

The album

"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 standardized in their songwriting, relying more on choruses and regular verse structure. Their sound was further conventionalized by British soul singer Linda Lewis contributing backing vocals.

"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 U.K., 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 neighbors and his own disheveled flat, and "Dark Eyes," a light, folkish 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 U.K., 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 favorable exposure from American critics and radio DJs and built up a small but loyal cult following in the U.S. as a result.

Trivia

"Bandstand" is the only Family album not to feature an instrumental track.

Chart positions

*Highest chart position (UK) - #15
*Highest chart position (USA) - #183