Released: November 1970
Highest UK chart position: 7
Anyway was a stopgap album between A Song for Me and Fearless, evenly divided between a concert side and a studio side. The record was originally meant to be a double live album, but the band felt the available recordings weren’t up to par; the Fairfield Halls (July 26, 1970) performances were meant to satisfy fans who wanted an example of their concert work on disc. Apart from a studio recording of “Strange Band” issued on an EP, none of the songs performed live, in fact, had ever been released in any form.
Tracklisting
All tracks written by John Whitney and Roger Chapman, except as noted.
Side One
1. “Good News Bad News” 8:06
2. “Willow Tree” 4:40
3. “Holding the Compass” 4:28
4. “Strange Band“ (Whitney, Chapman, Williamson) 3:35
Side Two
1. “Part of the Load” 4:41
2. “Anyway” 3:28
3. “Normans” (Palmer, Weider) 4:22
4. “Lives and Ladies” 6:37
Personnel
Side One: Fairfield Halls, Croydon
- Roger Chapman – vocals and percussion
- Charlie Whitney – electric and acoustic guitars, bass on track 2
- John Weider – acoustic guitar, bass on tracks 1 and 4, violin on tracks 2 and 4
- Poli Palmer – percussion, keyboards, and vibes
- Rob Townsend – drums and percussion
Side Two: Olympic Studios
- Roger Chapman – vocals and percussion
- Charlie Whitney – guitars, bass on track 2
- John Weider – bass and violin
- Poli Palmer – piano, vibes, drums and percussion
- Rob Townsend – drums and percussion
Credits
- Produced by Family for Bradgate Bush Ltd.
- Engineer: George Chkiantz
- 2nd engineers: Steve, Chris, Anton, Skinhead Dave, Jock and Topper
- Coordination: Tony Gourvish
- Road gang: Stan, Claude, Gibbs S.R. and Handsome Harvey
- Sleeve design: Hamish & Gustav
- Cover: “Mortars with Explosive Projectiles” by Leonardo da Vinci, courtesy of Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milan
Trivia
- Family’s single “In My Own Time” was added to the American edition of Anyway when it was released by United Artists Records in 1971.
In addition to “In My Own Time,” the American U.A. vinyl album’s coda to “Lives And Ladies” is a little longer in the fadeout, and there is a bit of stereo panning going on during the final seconds. This has never appeared on CD … yet. Hoping it will some day.
Very interesting trivia! Thanks for sharing…will need to look out for the LP copy.