Customer Reviews

Song for Me

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Simply put I regard this disc as one of the best albums ever to emerge from the space in time we now know as the 1970's .Everything about this disc is perfect, from the sleeve onwards we are invited into a world where progressive rock did not mean the Moody Blues.Like some sort of drunken,lysergic chamber group Family open the doors to perception and plug in.
The combination of Poli Palmer's vibes and Charlie Whitney's 12 string is captivating and mesmerising (try "Love is a sleeper").I know this is not as accesible as "Bandstand"( also a glorious moment in rock music) but this is the real deal.Roger Chapman sounds as though he just cannot restrain himself and decides he didn't really want to anyway!.This is Family at their most adventurous and most assured,this is the sound of young men breaking all the rules and having one hell of a time doing it.
With it's Barouqe elements it's jazzy swing and rocky excesses you know you need this disc!.

This page is a mess; it's for the wrong album! The track listing above is NOT for "Anyway"! It is for the album "A Song for Me", and the reviews seem to refer also to "A Song for Me". Very confusing! The title at top pf page is "Anyway" (1970); it's the 1993 Castle UK remaster, as stated in the details, NOT a 1998 remaster, as stated in the entirely irrelevant "Editorial Review". It has the original eight tracks (no bonuses). Tracks: Good News Bad News; Willow Tree; Holding the Compass; Strange Band; Part of the Load; Anyway; Normans; Lives and Ladies.

This can't be corrected through Amazon's largely useless "Catalog Update Form", and contacting them does no good, so I'm posting the correct information here.

Long-time fans of the late, great English band Family know something many other folks do not. Simply, Family was perhaps the greatest rock and roll band ever. Take this one step further, and you must conclude the Roger Chapman and Charlie Whitney were one of the greatest songwriter duos ever.

"Song for Me" was released shortly after the band's initial line up imploded when bassist Rick Grech departed for the short-lived Blind Faith and reedman and song arranger Jim King either left--or was asked to leave. Of the two defections, King's had the greatest immediate impact on the group's sound. They were replaced with two excellent additions, however, John Weider on guitar and bass and Poli Palmer on vibes, flute, keyboards, and synthesizers.

Yet because King had arranged many of the songs on this recording---the absence of his stellar sax and falsetto backing vocals lingers on many tracks, particularly on Drowned in Wine and the title cut---Palmer's flute sounds thin and out of place at times. Weider's bass lines are not as clean as Grech's and sometimes get lost in the mix. (Some of these songs, including Song for Me, are available on some of the live Family recordings from this time. It's worth listening to how much more powerful that song sounds with King compared with the studio version.)

Regardless, Family proceeds to march through another varied, eclectic set that hits every range from the slow ballad Some Poor Soul to the all-out rockers such as Love Is a Sleeper to The Cat and the Rat. The only filler here is one of the two bonus tracks, Good Friend of Mine. The other, No Mule's Fool, remains to this day one of lead singer Chapman's favorites.

Whitney tears up the guitar on the rockers and lulls you into a peaceful, contemplative state on the soft numbers. Rob Townsend, the other stalwart member of the group, provides an excellent foundation for the group's sound with his crisp, powerful drumming. Chapman shines on this recording, hitting full power on the rockers and imbuing the softer tracks with raw emotion.

I would not recommend "Song for Me" as the gateway recording for those new to Family. It is essential listening but seems less accessible than "Fearless," "Bandstand," "Entertainment," or even "Music from a Doll's House." Instead, those new to Family might first listen to any of those four CDs. Regardless, once you start understanding why the critics and European audiences loved Family, you won't stop until you've added all their recordings to your collection. And most of your other early '70s recordings will likely collect dust for a couple of years as you savor the music of Family.

i'd say that the first is the best, the second second best. this album contains some of their best work but isnt quite at the level of its predecessors. drowned in wine is one of their greatest tunes and has to be heard i just can;'t describe it to you although i guess you could say that it partly sounds like circus music at ear splitting level! the title track is another classic , as is song for sinking lovers , a ballad with fine violin and interesting vocalizing. wheels is another great cut dating from when ric grech was in the band. some of the other cuts arent very intriguing but overall its a good though not great album worth really a 3.5 rating.

From one album to the next, you could never be sure what you'd get from these guys -- but they never sounded like aynyone else. Anyway was released as 1/2 live & 1/2 studio, but all new material. The live tracks are mostly excellent songs (I could do without "Willow Tree"), well performed, but the recording quality is mediocre. Given the paucity of live Familiy recordings, it's best not to quibble.

The studio tracks from the original release almost flow together as a suite of the unusual, challenging but very rewarding songs that typified Family. If there is a quintessential Family song in the unreal variety of their work, that song may be the title track of Anyway. The vocal and instrumental backing seem to be going in 2 different directions, both complex, with an unusual rhythm to boot. Yet it does hold together beautifully. Lots of violin (apparently John Weider) touches, a bit of vibes & Roger Chapman alternatively bellowing & crooning.

All in all, certainly one of my Family favorites. No one who enjoys Family should be without this one.