Fearless is a fifth album from the Family, released back in 1971. This expanded version truly offers the most bang for your buck. Not only do you get the album in the remastered version, but there are two additional discs of Family treasure. The second disc includes the BBC Sessions material, and the third has a BBC Radio One in Concert. All of the material was performed and recorded in the same time frame as the record, which makes this a complete package.
Family was a band riding on a wave of progress. Fearless is an interesting album, and the title truly reflects the spirit of the music. It was fearless, the band was exploring, and the rules were being created as they went along. It was a very exciting period in the history of rock music. The line of the Family at the time, included John Wetton on bass. Wetton of course went on find success with King Crimson, and later with Asia. Here he is as part of the unit. He’s not a driving force that he later became, but a very solid and reliable band member.
Fearless is a brave take on what was popular back in 1971. Here you see a band pursuing their own vision, and not compromising one bit. Vocalist, Roger Chapman, is in his prime here, and he sings with a lot of feel and emotion. The material certainly requires a fair amount of attention from the listener, but once you figure this record out, you enjoy it tremendously. The expanded edition will certainly fill an evening worth of music with the contents of all three discs. Add some fine tea, or a glass of wine, and you have yourself one great experience.
Mark Kadzielawa
No comments:
Post a Comment