Consumer Guide Album

The Family: Bandstand [United Artists, 1972]
When they kick ass on "Burlesque" or "Glove" or "Broken Nose" they sound raw and abrasive in the great English hard rock tradition, but the discords are altogether more cunning, and on this album their stubborn lyricism finally finds suitable melodies on "Coronation" and "My Friend the Sun" and the bittersweet "Dark Eyes." Their sexual anger is class-conscious, always a plus, and their sadness usually a matter of time, which they get away with when the melody is very suitable. And just as they begin to get it together they break up. B+