Outstanding, a rare song in that it captures a deeper sense of what the band was really about; there's an unknown element to Chapman's voice that with the right song just enters a hidden dimension. As we Family fans know, John Wetton's incredible talents took him to pastures new with Fripp, UK, Asia to name a few, but surely he looked back on this as a milestone moment in his career. Simply a masterpiece that has stood the test of time.
I'm absolutely thrilled to find this, after enjoying this track in particular for decade. I'm a John Wetton fanboy at a ridiculous level, and this is a jewel of a post. Thank you!
Family were a good band. In fact one of my favourites. Watched them loads of times especially at Portsmouth in the early 70s. Never forgotten you. Thanks lads.
The harmonies were great on the Fearless album, and live they are too. Anyway, Fearless and Bandstand were albums I kept faithful to in a decade that delivered already so many other great pop and progrock. In 1971 I was reading a sci fi disaster novel - Ashes, ashes by Rene Barjavel - and played the Fearless album I had just bought all throughout, continuously, somehow the music fitted the story, and the story the music. In particular the last track, "Burrning Bridges", still gives me goosebumps. Apocalyps! Armageddon! It's indeed a quite dramatic song. I found Family so good that I bypassed Pink Floyd's amazing development in music in the early seventies, and had to catch up with them a few years later....
This is from Fearless ( Chappo's favourite Family album ) . John Wetton's powerful bass lines added even more gusto to their songs when played live . Brilliant band , sadly overlooked now .
Wetton is awesome! Little known fact: The lyric in this song at 1:47, "The brightest ring around the moon will darken as you cry" is very similar to the lyric, "The brightest ring around the moon will darken when I die" at 1:59 from the Asia song, Only Time Will Tell. John Wetton wrote both lyrics and sang on both songs but did not receive a writing credit for Spanish Tide.
12 years later, another fun fact. The middle section of Fallen Angel, was originally written by Wetton for Between Blue and Me, but again. No credit. Even the early lyrics for starless ended up on songs like U.K.’s Caesars Palace Blues.
Oh my. One of most favorite band and song. Wonderful! I don't think I know anyone who knows this band. I was buying the vinyl when it was released. So so good.
The studio version of this can be found on the FEARLESS album. Roger Chapman-vocals, "Charlie" Whitney-guitar, John Wetton-bass, guitar & vocal, Poli Palmer-keyboards & vibes, and Rob-Townshend-drums......
That's great. I was looking for some footage of Family with John Wetton. That exceeded my expectation, seeing Chapman and Wetton singing so well together.
это вообще что-то феноменальное, я довольно поздно их открыл для себя хотя музыку и разную и давно слушаю... просто Жемчужина и Неистовство, слов нет как описать
They always seem to pack in some powerful tunes in less than 5 mins with the exception on Weavers Answer which is one of the best prog /folk tunes ever
Saw them at Newcastle City Hall (November 13th 1971) two nights after Zeppelin - I was only 12 at the time but Family was a much more entertaining evening.
From the album fearless, such an eclectric group, relatively obscure but this song shows the progressive side of that album, worth a listen and a find.
Wetton doubling up on double neck with Whitney on also on double neck...Wetton doubling Chappos voices...wow lots of two timing here! Wetton in his prime
Everything I HATED as a 12 year old in 1977! Thank GOD for 'The Sex Pistols' ! I have really tried to listen to ; Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, Rush, Wishbone Ash, etc etc ! There are one or two tracks that I could listen to ( Owner of a lonely heart, Wish you were here, Living in the past, Fanfare for the common man) and God Bless Rick Wakeman for his early work with David Bowie, but as old as I am now, (58) I got into Heavy Rock/ Metal, R'n'B, Soul/ Motown/ Northern Soul, Disco, 80's pop ,Goth ,alternative ,Hip Hop, indie, etc after 'PUNK' , BUT , I could never be a fan of 'PROG'! dx
Saw them many times and got all the albums, didn't get into them till early 70's so always preferred the 'Anyway' onwards work..except of course for No mules and Weavers Answer ...Fearless was/is the best in my book though
"family-owned" i assume because i've never seen JW play this anywhere else but w/Family. please correct me if i'm wrong :) also: just love how JW's mouth goes a little sideways when he sings... super cute
Why didn't anyone tell me the singing was what this band was about mainly? Kind of an acquired taste, but man he's really rockin' for a folk rock singer! Wow! And Wetton there singing too, it's great.
I don't think of the singing as the band's strong suit. It's on par with the music, but not above. Their first two albums show the uniqueness of the band, and most of it is in the instrumentation and their approach to putting songs together.
"I don't think of the singing as the band's strong suit." I agree! Family only had one of the greatest (if not the greatest) rock singers ever as frontman. Nothing to be too terrible proud of!
I think what made Family was Mike Whitney, he really was the band leader and led all the songs with on stage prompts (that's him speaking the count in at the start). Not to take anything away from his cultured guitar playing, but If Mike was a 'flash 'arry on the guitar, then the band would not have been anywhere near as successful. He was their glue and always gave room/ showed respect for other guitarists like Wetton and Tench.I imagine Roger and the band were gutted when Wetton left, he was their 'one season at the club' star player.
This is a strange performance. They are playing along to tapes, as there are acoustic guitars and harpsichord heard (as there is on the album) - and Charlie's electric chords during the vibes solo from the album also coming thru ...... all the vocals are live. I think they'd have been better off w/o the tape, and just played the electrics instead of miming in the intro. Oh, well. Nice to see this incredible band at one of their peaks.
This was the best line-up. Unfortunately the first time I saw them Poli Palmer and John Wetton had been replaced by Tony Ashton and Jim Cregan and it was just not the same. Would be great if they did a "Mott The Hoople" and reformed with this line up for a series of shows.
I don't think this is live. Around 1:00 - 1:06 you hear acoustic guitars, but nobody is playing acoustic guitars. That's not a harpsichord that Poli's playing onstage. There's some slide guitar around 2:53 that's not being played by anyone on stage. It's really all note-for-note like the album. Maybe only Roger (or Roger and John's vocals) are live.
You're right, earlier Whistle Tests featured pre-recorded backing tracks with live vocals. One of the worst examples is SAHB's 'Faith Healer', a heavily-edited version of the album track. I believe it was Brinsley Schwarz who insisted on playing live which brought about the change to more totally live bands.
Outstanding, a rare song in that it captures a deeper sense of what the band was really about; there's an unknown element to Chapman's voice that with the right song just enters a hidden dimension. As we Family fans know, John Wetton's incredible talents took him to pastures new with Fripp, UK, Asia to name a few, but surely he looked back on this as a milestone moment in his career. Simply a masterpiece that has stood the test of time.
😊
Perhaps the most unique and undervalued band of their time. Esp this track.
Without a doubt
Crazy brilliant fucking band. This song is so dense and full of ideas, it's amazing.
RIP JOHN WETTON BASS PLAYERS NEVER WILL FIND OTHER INFLUENCE.
I'm absolutely thrilled to find this, after enjoying this track in particular for decade. I'm a John Wetton fanboy at a ridiculous level, and this is a jewel of a post. Thank you!
My god what an incredible singing! Even when the amazing John Wetton goes out of tune and the great Roger Chapman smiles with him.
Family: one of the classic prog bands, no question. never shy of breaking boundaries.
Never saw this at the time, but what a pleasure it is now
Family were a good band. In fact one of my favourites. Watched them loads of times especially at Portsmouth in the early 70s. Never forgotten you. Thanks lads.
I just learned about John Wetton passing, still can't believe it he did so much for pro music, from family to asia to is how solo albums., RIP
The harmonies were great on the Fearless album, and live they are too. Anyway, Fearless and Bandstand were albums I kept faithful to in a decade that delivered already so many other great pop and progrock. In 1971 I was reading a sci fi disaster novel - Ashes, ashes by Rene Barjavel - and played the Fearless album I had just bought all throughout, continuously, somehow the music fitted the story, and the story the music. In particular the last track, "Burrning Bridges", still gives me goosebumps. Apocalyps! Armageddon! It's indeed a quite dramatic song. I found Family so good that I bypassed Pink Floyd's amazing development in music in the early seventies, and had to catch up with them a few years later....
This band was amazing.
familys best lineup,without question
In top 10 of all songs I have ever heard. After 50 years, found this
ジョンが一人で歌ってあとからロジャーがかぶせてくるところ、最高にカッコイイですね。。喉から血が出そうな感じ🩸この曲よく聴きましたが、ジョンが歌っている認識ありませんでした。今あらためてスタジオ版聴き直しましたが確かにジョンウェットンでした👍🏼
Very British band great musicians, old songs new songs, part of the load, my friend the sun, many others ☀️✌️
I came to like Family a few years ago. So glad I did. Especially like their first three albums.
From Family to King Crimson to UK to ASIA... I always like Wetton's voice.
Daaaamn. Wetton has such a badass voice.
In my personal top 5 vocalists in rock.
I love these guys. Amazing everything. Thank you Family for all you gave.
Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for the best bass player ever!
? What does Stanley Clarke, Jack Bruce or Richard Davis have to do with this video? Wetton was an excellent bassist, tho'.
JOHN WETTON!!!!!
One of the best British bands EVER
those voices. I'll never get sick of hearing this track. miss you, JW.
Wow two double neck guitars! Great song and vocals by Chapman and Wettom!
The combination of their voice was always fantastic.
Should listen to chapman and tench omg
This is from Fearless ( Chappo's favourite Family album ) . John Wetton's powerful bass lines added even more gusto to their songs when played live . Brilliant band , sadly overlooked now .
Family's top line-up
The electric goat. Great Family....my teens...
Lead vocalist, Roger "Goat Boy" Chapman. Such a unique singer.
Very cool! I like this song, always have and getting to see them playing it is a rare treat.
Chapman and Wetton obviously brill , but what a great feckin tune there 😎👍
This is wonderful music. RIP John
Wetton is awesome! Little known fact: The lyric in this song at 1:47, "The brightest ring around the moon will darken as you cry" is very similar to the lyric, "The brightest ring around the moon will darken when I die" at 1:59 from the Asia song, Only Time Will Tell. John Wetton wrote both lyrics and sang on both songs but did not receive a writing credit for Spanish Tide.
12 years later, another fun fact. The middle section of Fallen Angel, was originally written by Wetton for Between Blue and Me, but again. No credit. Even the early lyrics for starless ended up on songs like U.K.’s Caesars Palace Blues.
i love the Chapman/Wetton sound. especially love the way they mesh on "Save Some for Thee." good times...
right at the end you can hear Bob say 'mmmm'.....clearly about to say 'mmmm nice'...happy innocent days!
Oh my. One of most favorite band and song. Wonderful! I don't think I know anyone who knows this band. I was buying the vinyl when it was released. So so good.
Wetton is a talented guy, done a lot of stuff in his time!
Just as Powerful and unique today No one quite like the Family at full throttle.
this is great... and John Wetton playing a double-neck (!)
Great song, great line-up! Who doesn't love a vibes solo. That coupled with the inimitable Roger Chapman make this a classic!
What a gem of a video! What a band!
absolutley brilliant. wetton is great. so is charley
... gotta love family! john wetton was really awesome. r i p john where ever you are?
This composition is so complex...well ahead of their time. Pretty Neat Stuff.
god I loved this band. Under-rated, and ahead of their time
The studio version of this can be found on the FEARLESS album. Roger Chapman-vocals, "Charlie" Whitney-guitar, John Wetton-bass, guitar & vocal, Poli Palmer-keyboards & vibes, and Rob-Townshend-drums......
Brilliant , great interplay and so much better than many more lauded bands from this era.
RIP John Wetton. Nobody like him. NOBODY!
I LIKE HIM :)RiP John and thank you for all great music.
They seem to be enjoying their craft. John and Roger
Indeed. He was genius.
Terrific guitarist and vocalist. God bless John.
Jack Bruce?
@slugnutty21
The whole "Fearless" album is pretty incredible. It was proof that in 1971 progressive rock could be unpretentious.
RIP John Wetton
R.I.P. Mr. Wetton…
This is STELLAR!!! A severely overlooked band in the US...of course, we tend to overlook a lot of things if it wont sell beer or blades.
A few of us got it though.
suena de maravilla. gracias por esta música.
Sheer Class !!!
That's great. I was looking for some footage of Family with John Wetton. That exceeded my expectation, seeing Chapman and Wetton singing so well together.
YEAH..so it WETTON on the double neck 6/4 string...Wetton from later ASIA!!!! what a great find! Thanks for the post!!!
you can hear the haunting of ASIA in the lyrics well before the band was even conceived with the reference to the "ring around the moon will darken"
Great observation
I could cry! HOW I love this song. Thank you.
это вообще что-то феноменальное, я довольно поздно их открыл для себя хотя музыку и разную и давно слушаю... просто Жемчужина и Неистовство, слов нет как описать
wetton the man on bass and vocals,
They always seem to pack in some powerful tunes in less than 5 mins with the exception on Weavers Answer which is one of the best prog /folk tunes ever
Saw them at Newcastle City Hall (November 13th 1971) two nights after Zeppelin -
I was only 12 at the time but Family was a much more entertaining evening.
very beautiful piece
From the album fearless, such an eclectric group, relatively obscure but this song shows the progressive side of that album, worth a listen and a find.
Fearless!
Thanks for posting! Great song!
Great song.
Where have this beautiful bassist/vocalist gone?
John Wetton should be doing the lead vocals dammitt!!!
I agree. Fearless itself is an eclectic album and too quickly dismissed standing in the company of Doll's House. In my opinion, of course.
Wetton doubling up on double neck with Whitney on also on double neck...Wetton doubling Chappos voices...wow lots of two timing here! Wetton in his prime
With John Wetton, it’s excellent.
this band...this band...wish they'd get back together.
Everything I HATED as a 12 year old in 1977! Thank GOD for 'The Sex Pistols' ! I have really tried to listen to ; Pink Floyd, Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull, Rush, Wishbone Ash, etc etc ! There are one or two tracks that I could listen to ( Owner of a lonely heart, Wish you were here, Living in the past, Fanfare for the common man) and God Bless Rick Wakeman for his early work with David Bowie, but as old as I am now, (58) I got into Heavy Rock/ Metal, R'n'B, Soul/ Motown/ Northern Soul, Disco, 80's pop ,Goth ,alternative ,Hip Hop, indie, etc after 'PUNK' , BUT , I could never be a fan of 'PROG'! dx
Saw them many times and got all the albums, didn't get into them till early 70's so always preferred the 'Anyway' onwards work..except of course for No mules and Weavers Answer ...Fearless was/is the best in my book though
Brilliant then, brilliant now.
Blend of King Crimson, Focus, Genesis ,and Return to Forever....
Just as poqerful and unique today
jeezuz....where did 43 years go??
Almost 50 years now
F Kin brilliant my Leicester boys!
You know, I've never heard this. So much stuff I missed back then. But thanks to OOBOOB, right?
Larf And Sing is the best!!!
Походу единственная группа, которой пригодились 2-х грифоны гитары не для понтов.
Always loved family. I don't know this sing tho
I think Wetton really wanted to be THEEEE lead singer. That's why he jumped ship to King Crimson.
Probably the best progressive band ever?
The wow and flutter- must be a cassette or VHS ? Still a brilliant sound!
Brilliant song...brilliant version....Gibson custom double-neck guitar porn....brilliant.....
And these guys couldn't quite cut it in the US . . . . What the hell were we thinking???
These guys wrote some seriously dense, original stuff.
"family-owned" i assume because i've never seen JW play this anywhere else but w/Family. please correct me if i'm wrong :)
also: just love how JW's mouth goes a little sideways when he sings... super cute
i agree. love Wetton, but Chappo rocks this
Wetton was great for a while. No denying it. But he sure went down pretty fast with the exception of "Same Time Next Week "with Phil Manzanera.
Why didn't anyone tell me the singing was what this band was about mainly? Kind of an acquired taste, but man he's really rockin' for a folk rock singer! Wow! And Wetton there singing too, it's great.
I don't think of the singing as the band's strong suit. It's on par with the music, but not above. Their first two albums show the uniqueness of the band, and most of it is in the instrumentation and their approach to putting songs together.
"I don't think of the singing as the band's strong suit."
I agree! Family only had one of the greatest (if not the greatest) rock singers ever as frontman. Nothing to be too terrible proud of!
I think what made Family was Mike Whitney, he really was the band leader and led all the songs with on stage prompts (that's him speaking the count in at the start). Not to take anything away from his cultured guitar playing, but If Mike was a 'flash 'arry on the guitar, then the band would not have been anywhere near as successful. He was their glue and always gave room/ showed respect for other guitarists like Wetton and Tench.I imagine Roger and the band were gutted when Wetton left, he was their 'one season at the club' star player.
@@musicplateau1 Not too sure who Mike Whitney was; presumably you mean Charlie 😁
@@godlessthefree2880 Sorry yes, Charlie :)
"Big Bottom talk bout bum cakes my girls gotta 'em" Spinal Tappish
John Wetton,antes de tocar no King Crimson
"Big Bottom talk bout bum cakes my girls gotta 'em"
This is a strange performance. They are playing along to tapes, as there are acoustic guitars and harpsichord heard (as there is on the album) - and Charlie's electric chords during the vibes solo from the album also coming thru ...... all the vocals are live. I think they'd have been better off w/o the tape, and just played the electrics instead of miming in the intro. Oh, well. Nice to see this incredible band at one of their peaks.
This was the best line-up. Unfortunately the first time I saw them Poli Palmer and John Wetton had been replaced by Tony Ashton and Jim Cregan and it was just not the same. Would be great if they did a "Mott The Hoople" and reformed with this line up for a series of shows.
Didn't know Whitney didn't use a pick.
I don't think this is live. Around 1:00 - 1:06 you hear acoustic guitars, but nobody is playing acoustic guitars. That's not a harpsichord that Poli's playing onstage. There's some slide guitar around 2:53 that's not being played by anyone on stage. It's really all note-for-note like the album. Maybe only Roger (or Roger and John's vocals) are live.
You're right, earlier Whistle Tests featured pre-recorded backing tracks with live vocals. One of the worst examples is SAHB's 'Faith Healer', a heavily-edited version of the album track. I believe it was Brinsley Schwarz who insisted on playing live which brought about the change to more totally live bands.
wetton,s voice far better