BEST OF FAMILY

An unusual vinyl compilation by Tony Gourvish released after the band split up following the disappointing "It's Only A Movie", though they deserved much greater recognition than this compilation album issued by Reprise/WEA in 1974, known by some as the "Football" album due to the group depicted as footballers on the cover painted by Bryon Harvey. I wonder if it was supposed to resemble a "Boy's Own Annual" theme I'm not sure, though I guess the band may have been pleased with the cover, and those great legs!! Perhaps they could have just called the album "Spot the Ball"...?

The tracks seem to be a bit of a jumble, they include singles and odd album tracks fairly representative of their "greatest hits" (even "Its Only A Movie" is in there) but not their best, this was thankfully rectified by later CD compilations which gave you a broader picture. To my mind no Family compilation would be complete without "Spanish Tide", but i guess most fans will have all their studio albums anyway, though I do believe compilations are a good way of finding out about a "new" band without busting the bank account, and should be viewed more seriously by record companies for that reason - today's compilation buyer is next month's back-catalogue builder!

A reasonable addition to any Family fan's collection, if only for the aforementioned legs!!