FAMILY "Fearless" '71 UK REPRISE 1st PRESS N MINT AUDIO

	£		35
	$		46

 
FAMILY "Fearless" '71 UK REPRISE 1st PRESS N MINT AUDIO G&L 4 LEAF GF COVER w/LYRIC INSERT, LIGHT PLAY TOP COPY

FAMILY
Fearless

ORIGINAL UK REPRISE (K 54003) FIRST PRESSING (November 1971) OF FAMILY's "Fearless" LP IN LIGHTLY PLAYED CONDITION AND DELIVERING PRACTICALLY FLAWLESS AUDIO THROUGHOUT - CLEAN, SHARP AND DETAILED AND HOUSED IN A VERY CLEAN AND FRESH EXAMPLE OF THE DELICATE FOUR PANEL GATEFOLD SLEEVE - GREAT COPY

PRESSED WITH FIRST ISSUE REPRISE TAN LABELS (which have no WB Logo on the bottom rim text) AND NO "Made in UK' STATEMENT (which came later)
FIRST ISSUE MATRICES: K 54003 A1 / K 54003 B1
THE RECORD IS HOUSED IN THE ORIGINAL MATT SLEEVE WITH 4 FOLD-OUT LEAVES AND THICK STAPLED SPINE "Printed in England by Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd"
AND COMES COMPLETE WITH THE ORIGINAL RED LYRIC INSERT

Roger Chapman: vocals, guitars & percussion
Charlie Whitney: guitars, mandolin & percussion
John "Poli" Palmer: keyboards, vibes, vocals, flute & percussion
John Wetton: guitars (including basses), vocals, contracts & keyboards
Rob Townsend: drums, paiste cymbals, and percussion

Fearless is regarded as one of Family's most innovative albums by critics and fans. Its ten tracks were arranged with great care and complexity, and the lyrics and music take unexpected turns. The musicianship was of especially high caliber, as the bass and vocals of new member John Wetton added a new dimension to Family's sound.
"Between Blue and Me," the opening cut, set the pace for the album with a gentle introduction shattered by Charlie Whitney's piercing guitar solo and Roger Chapman's impassioned vocal bleats. Family do a commendable job of approximating other styles and making them a part of their own sound; "Sat'd'y Barfly," about getting drunk on a Saturday night, suggested a Faces outtake, while the closing cut, "Burning Bridges," drew comparisons to Genesis. (Chapman's vocal even sounded like Peter Gabriel.) "Save Some For Thee," dominated vocally by John Wetton, was a favourite on Fearless, with a piano arrangement that slowed and started up again throughout, filled in by a prickly guitar line and complemented by a marching band ensemble.
Family showed the occasional light touch with gentle fare like "Children," though Chapman's vocal delivery and the acoustic guitar backup were halting enough to keep it from sounding too soft. "Spanish Tide," a somewhat spooky folk rocker that employed heavy bass a Poli Palmer's organ-sounding vibes, was more in keeping with the album's adventurous spirit.
Fearless was, as always, entirely different from Family's earlier work, but it was just as warmly embraced, doing respectably well in the British album charts and garnering attention in the United States, where Family's fortunes had always been meagre at best.

Track Listing:
Side 1: Between Blue And Me / Sat'd'y Barfly / Larf And Sing / Spanish Tide / Save Some For Thee
Side 2: Take Your Partners / Children / Crinkly Grin / Blind / Burning Bridges

LABELS: Clean, bright, fresh and unmarked labels with barely any spindle traces and the spindle hole is still quite tight - NEAR MINT
VINYL Visual: The vinyl surfaces still retain their original deep, glossy sheen and are practically unmarked - some light brush marks only which have no audio consequence - playback is superb - visually EXCELLENT+
VINYL Audio: Outstanding audio with a clean, clear, crisp and deep detailed complex sound and on playback at a loud volume it sounds wonderful with no scratches, no clicks or pops and no surface noise - tremendous sound quality. This is one of Family's more challenging (and rewarding) albums with complex song structures and arrangements which contain many quiet moments but even these quieter sections play as beautifully and quietly as vinyl possible can. Critically graded NEAR MINT for audio this is a very fine copy indeed
SLEEVE: The original sleeve, with the four stapled fold-out leaves is also in great condition (which is incredibly rare for this very easily worn cover). The front is clean and white with hardly any damage to any of the die-cut portions (one or two very small 'nicks' - hardly noticeable) and just a small crease to the bottom corner and the thick spine is sharp with clean staples and all text clear and bold overall, an EXCELLENT example of this delicate complex sleeve
LYRIC INSERT: The thin paper lyric insert is in clean, fresh and unmarked with little signs of ever being handled - MINT

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