Tracklist
The Grooves- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Liner Notes
Family's fourth album, released in November 1970, was originally meant to be a full live album — possibly a double — drawn from a Fairfield Halls Croydon recording. The band shied away. As Robert M. Corich would later put it, they "felt they should not inflict songs like 'The Weaver's Answer,' 'Hung Up Down' or 'Drowned In Wine' on the general public once again." The compromise — one live side, one studio side — gave Anyway its peculiar shape: a record that opens with the Mk IV Family on stage and walks them straight into Olympic Sound to put four new songs on tape. It reached UK #7, the band's third top-ten LP in a row.
The live side wasn't the considered statement they'd hoped for. Engineer George Chkiantz set up the gear in the back room of the Croydon hall while fans were already filing in for a homecoming show; "by the time all the flight cases arrived, we didn't really have time to do anything." Holding the Compass, four minutes of one of Whitney's finest amplified-acoustic figures, had barely been played at all in this new 'country-fied' arrangement. Townsend remembered it bluntly: "Charlie and myself were standing in the wings waiting to go on, and I said, 'what shall we do?' Charlie said, 'Holding The Compass.' We'd hardly played it, but of course Charlie's attitude was: you'll soon get it, don't worry." It is, as it happens, one of the strongest things on the album — a quiet vindication of the band's instinct that under-rehearsed wasn't always under-realised.
The studio side, cut at Olympic with Chkiantz, finds Family at their tightest as the Mk IV unit they'd be for one more record. Anyway itself took its title from a verbal tic Palmer remembered in Weider — "John would go to say something, and just say 'Anyway' and walk away." Chapman, interviewed by Keith Altham for Record Mirror on the eve of release, told a complementary version: there was "a transparent cigarette box on Ian Ralfini's desk bearing the words 'The Loving Spoonful love Ian Ralfini'. I used to have one saying they loved me. Talking to John Sebastian a few days ago I discovered he never got one and he's a bit cut up about it. Anyway… which is why they chose that word for the next Family album title." (See Getting in the Family way — Keith Altham, Record Mirror, 24 October 1970.) Normans drafted a pub-song shape around Weider's fiddle and Whitney's flute, with Palmer building a waltz-time middle and Chapman scatting a "la la la la" across it; it remains one of the strangest things in the catalogue, and the only Anyway track Palmer is co-credited on. Lives and Ladies closes the record with what Michael Watts would later call the band's gift for "juxtaposing nostalgia, delicate affection and stridency without a jarring note."
Critics caught the split. Beat Instrumental's verdict — "the live side is a bit of a disaster, but the studio side is better" — was typical of the British weeklies, who thought the band's electronic musicianship hadn't survived the Fairfield Halls capture. Time Out's Clive Lowless heard it differently: "one of the most effective live rock recordings I've heard; it's off like a drag race, blazing with so much vocal and instrumental power that you think the band's just going to fly apart at any moment." John Peel had set the table earlier, with a one-line preview in Disc and Music Echo that has aged into an unintended elegy: "Family: Another of the very best. Complex arrangements brilliantly reproduced on stage. Will probably end up in the grip of the Americans." A 12-date UK tour for promoters John and Tony Smith — Glasgow Green's Playhouse, Manchester Free Trade Hall, Newcastle City Hall, Cardiff Sophia Gardens, Bristol Colston Hall, Bournemouth Winter Gardens, Portsmouth Guildhall, Sheffield City Hall, Birmingham Town Hall, Brighton Dome, the Royal Albert Hall, and a hometown De Montfort Hall finish — carried the record through November and December.
The American release was its own slow-motion disaster. Family had moved from Reprise to United Artists after two unhappy US trips; UA chose to push Fearless ahead of Anyway in the States, then quietly let Anyway vanish. Trouser Press later reconstructed what happened: "the album was supposedly released at this time (late 1970 – early 1971), but no store had the record. Calls to the company only brought denials of its existence." A pressing eventually surfaced months later, with the band's In My Own Time hit appended.
By then the lineup that made the album was already breaking up. Weider left for Stud in June 1971, replaced on bass and vocals by John Wetton for Fearless. Stud's lineup at the time also included Jim Cregan — who would in his own turn join Family two albums later for It's Only A Movie. The cover — Leonardo da Vinci's Mortars With Explosive Projectiles sketch, licensed from the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan — started looking like a quiet metaphor. This was the last record before the explosion.
Credits. Produced by Family for Bradgate Bush Ltd. Engineer: George Chkiantz. Co-ordination: Tony Gourvish. Sleeve design: Hamish & Gustav. All compositions published by Dukeslodge Enterprises Ltd, except Normans (Palmer / Dukeslodge).
Sources. Anyway sleeve notes — Robert M. Corich, Essential! CD reissue ESMCD615 (1998) · A rare kind of Family — Kevin Henry, Manchester Evening News, 16 October 1970 · In The Talk-In: Charlie Whitney — Jerry Gilbert, Sounds, 15 January 1972 · Getting in the Family way — Keith Altham, Record Mirror, 24 October 1970 · In Their Own Time — An Outline of the Band — Michael Watts, Phonograph Record Magazine, November 1971.
Album Reviews2
Reviews gathered with this release and kept on the album page rather than in the general Press Archive.
Anyway — contemporary review roundup (1970)
Full text of the contemporary reviews as reproduced in Galactic Ramble.
Record Retailer — 7 November 1970
Family demonstrate once again that they’re one of the more musically intelligent bands in Britain. One side is recorded live before a huge and enthusiastic audience at Fairfield Hall, the other in the studio. Both make excellent use of the special characteristics of each locale. On the studio sessions tracks are smoothly linked with instrumental segues.
Disc & Music Echo — 14 November 1970
Suddenly one of our most popular live bands has crashed through with a magnificent piece of musical togetherness… They are so tight and together that it could be one brain controlling the whole thing. No praise is too high for this band, for which the word ‘progressive’ might have been coined.
Sounds — 14 November 1970
To capture the full enjoyment and power of the band, there had to be a live album sooner or later, as previous studio cuts have always lacked some of the natural Family excitement. Having said that, the side they cut in Olympic Studios outweighs the live side, but the entire album is better than anything the group have produced on their three earlier albums… It’s a record which needs to be played loud, although I personally enjoy the quieter, more melodic side of Family.
Music Business Weekly — 21 November 1970
An excellent, novelly packaged new set from the group, currently on a nationwide concert tour. It is certainly their finest album to date – one side is recorded live at Croydon’s Fairfield Halls, and the other has superb studio-recorded tracks.
Time Out — 28 November 1970
Their new album, which has one side recorded live at the Fairfield Hall, the other at Olympic Studios) is probably the best thing they’ve done to date, and shows how an imaginative set of rock musicians can sock it to you in the brain as well as in the butt… Sometimes the group’s ever-so-clever dynamics and humour just don’t come off, as in ‘Good News, Bad News’ and the instrumental ‘Normans’. Still, the album never really gets bogged down with the sort of ponderously precise arrangements that characterise a lot of so-called progressive music… In fact, the group’s only indulgence remains Roger Chapman.
Beat Instrumental — December 1970
Half of this is live and half studio; the studio side is far better, mainly because the excellent musicianship of this group does not completely get across via live sounds… In fact, I think one could go further and say that the live side is a bit of a disaster.
Friends — 11 December 1970
Their music has evolved in a natural way, without destroying the basic essence of their sound. Chapman’s voice and Weider’s violin-hacking are two of their trademarks, but the guitar seems to have taken on a new life, and some vigorously funky little numbers are emerging with it. It makes the music easier to listen to than of old – you can get into it more comfortably, even though the rhythms still change and swell and fade.
Anyway — At The Barrier expanded-edition review
Expanded-edition review. John Barlass returns to Anyway as one of Family’s defining records. The live side moves from the slow-building force of “Good News Bad News” through the folk-rooted “Willow Tree” and “Holding the Compass” to a ferocious “Strange Band,” capturing a group able to shift between delicacy and controlled chaos.
The studio side is quieter but no less individual, ranging from the touring narrative of “Part of the Load” to the percussion-led title track and the jazz-inflected “Normans.” The remastered edition’s second disc of BBC material strengthens the case, preserving Family at a creative and performing peak. Barlass’s response is openly personal, but its enthusiasm is grounded in close attention to the album’s unusual construction and the character of the performances.
Reissue Sleeve Notes1
Essays and contextual notes originally prepared for later editions of this album.
Anyway — sleeve notes (ESMCD615 reissue)
Sleeve essay accompanying the Essential! Records CD reissue of Anyway (ESMCD615, January 1998), the second of Robert M. Corich’s Family-catalogue remasters.
Anyway was Family’s fourth album. Released in November 1970, it was to contain the band’s first commercially available live recordings. The band had previously bounced around the idea of a live recording and Anyway was originally destined to be a full live album, possibly a double. What an excellent addition to the catalogue that would have been! The band had recorded a gig at the Fairfield Halls in Croydon, South London, a venue that has always been a favourite among touring musicians because of its great acoustics. The band eventually shied away from releasing that double live album (now lost forever, unfortunately) because they felt they should not inflict songs like The Weaver’s Answer, Hung Up Down or Drowned In Wine on the general public once again. After all, they had the studio albums, didn’t they?
However, because the band already had several newly recorded studio tracks in the can, which conveniently made up the side of an LP, it was decided that they could possibly issue an album with one side of studio material and one side live — the live side eventually containing hitherto unreleased songs as well. That idea evolved into the album Anyway, and it worked very well. Anyway is a great album, but I, along with many other aficionados of Family, would have loved the double live as well! They recorded great music in the studio, but live — they really were the business!
By 1970, Family were hugely successful in Europe, especially in Germany and the Scandinavian countries. They were also immensely popular on their home turf, as their appearance at the Isle Of Wight Festival was to show. If ever the time was right for a live album, it would have been at this stage of their career.
When this twelve-inch sliver of vinyl was released, the fans were treated to a powerful presentation of the band live and in the studio. Side one featured four of the live tracks recorded at Fairfield Halls including Holding The Compass (listen to Charlie Whitney’s guitar playing and see if you hear the similarities to *Led Zeppelin’s White Summer**). The live side also contained an amazing version of Strange Band, a track from the highly successful EP released prior to Anyway. The EP reached No.11, and stayed in the charts for three months! It also included re-mixed versions of two very popular tracks from the Family Entertainment album: The Weaver’s Answer and Hung Up Down*.
Side two of Anyway contained four new studio recordings. Although most admirers of Family would have loved that ‘lost’ live album, no one can doubt the brilliance of Anyway, right down to the clever sleeve design and the copy of a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, called Mortars With Explosive Projectiles. This signified yet more improvement to the already lavish and innovative LP covers that became synonymous with the band for the rest of their career. Unfortunately, most of these sleeves are almost impossible to produce with the same effect for CD that a twelve-inch LP could portray, hence the vinyl retains its value quite nicely.
It was the same line-up for A Song For Me, the previous album, that recorded Anyway: Chapman, Whitney, Townsend, Weider and Palmer. This was, however, going to be the last album that included Weider on bass. He was to depart in June 1971 to join Stud, a band that featured a future Family member, Jim Cregan. Weider was replaced for the fifth Family album, Fearless, by John Wetton. Wetton was to stay for two albums before being replaced by guess who? Jim Cregan. A serious case of musical chairs if there ever was one, but that’s rock’n’roll for you.
Anyway, coined after a catch-phrase of the band members, reached No.7 in the UK album charts. With the consistent success of their albums and singles, no one could dispute that this band were a top UK and European attraction. All they had to do now was crack America.
While working on the Family re-master programme we have tried to include relevant bonus releases where possible, and Anyway is no exception. For this release we have included another single that preceded the album. In fact, it preceded the aforementioned Strange Band EP as well. Released in April 1970, Today, backed by Song For Lots, was a great single, but it failed to do very much as far as the charts were concerned. Re-mastered along with the album, these two extra tracks will enhance an already enjoyable collection of songs.
As the band would say… “Anyway, I hope you like it!”
The Family story is continued in the next release, Fearless.
— © 1998 Robert M. Corich
Original LP credits:
Tracks 1–5 recorded live at Fairfield Halls, London. Tracks 6–10 recorded at Olympic Sound Studio. Produced by Family for Bradgate Bush Ltd. Engineer: George Chkiantz. 2nd Engineers: Steve, Chris, Anton, Skinhead Dave, Jock and Topper. Co-ordination: Tony Gourvish. Road Gang: Stan, Claude, Gibbs S.R. and Handsome Harvey. Original sleeve design: Hamish & Gustav. Picture “Mortars with explosive projectiles” by Leonardo da Vinci courtesy of Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan. All tracks published by Dukeslodge Enterprises Ltd, except Normans (John Michael Palmer / Dukeslodge Enterprises Ltd).
Reissue credits (ESMCD615, 1998):
Revised sleeve notes prepared by Red Steel Productions for Essential!. Original LP courtesy of Linda at Little Wing. Research & co-ordination: Robert M. Corich. Project co-ordinators: Mick Carpenter & Lorraine Bromley. All tracks re-mastered by Richard Roy and Robert M. Corich, January 1998. Reissue design: Albert de Gouveia.
All Pressings42
Every known issue, variant, reissue, and repress across all countries and formats. Identical catalogue entries with multiple Discogs listings are grouped into a single row.
Variant Tracklists7 variants
Pressings that add bonus tracks or replace the canonical programme. Pressings sharing the same variant content are grouped.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 9
Tracks 1–5 = original live side (Fairfield Halls, Croydon): Good News - Bad News / Willow Tree / Holding The Compass / Strange Band / Part Of The Load. Tracks 6–8 = original studio side (Olympic Sound): Anyway / Normans / Lives And Ladies. Bonus tracks restored from the 30 April 1970 Reprise standalone single: 9. Today (Chapman / Whitney / Weider) / 10. Song For Lots (B-side, Chapman / Whitney) / 11. Today {Radio Edit}.
- 9
- 10
- 11Today — Radio Edit
- 9Strange Band — Alternative Live Version
- 10Part of the Load — Live
- 11Lives and Ladies — Live
- 9Strange Band — Studio Version
- 10
- 11
- 1Strange Band — Studio Version
- 2The Weaver's Answer — 1970 Single Version
- 3Hung Up Down — 1970 Single Version
- 4Normans — American LP Edit
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7Processions / No Mule's Fool
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Gallery46 images
Covers, labels, inserts, and press material across all pressings. Click any image to view full-size.
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