BANDSTAND

On Family's sixth album, The band peaked with their most endearing recording. "Bandstand" is an improvement on even its predecessor "Fearless", showing this incarnation's best qualities with literally no weak moment. The songs here are a precussor to Roger Chapman and "Charlie" Whitney's next project The Streetwalkers, but yet the music here sounds more fresh and more invigorating in its approach, which had few peers. Sadly this line-up would exhaust its time together with John Wetton leaving to join King Crimson and "Poli" Palmer pursuing other musical interests. The great and innovative band we know as Family would have one more studio release, but "Bandstand" would be the group's best album.

Charles