All three of Family's 1970 BBC sessions (all of them previously unreleased) are on this 77-minute CD, all of them dating from the time when Poli Palmer had joined the band to fill out its sound on flute, piano, vibes, and percussion. Only the first of the three sessions is taken from the master tapes, with the other two surviving only in the form of the off-air recordings that served as sources for this CD. Also, that first session (from January 1, 1970) wasn't a typical performance by the group, given that -- because singer Roger Chapman was ill -- the band performed two instrumentals (one of which, the jazzy Here Comes the Grin, makes its first appearance here). But while the back cover notes take pains to emphasize that most of this material is from off-air tapes and not of the highest technical quality, it's really erring on the side of caution -- the off-air tapes basically sound fine, if not as pristine as the session from the original tape, and are highly listenable. Understandably, the songs rendered on these sessions tended toward the tunes included on their 1970 album Anyway, with two versions apiece of Holding the Compass (done with a more electric arrangement than the one on the LP) and Lives and Ladies. Some tracks from their earlier records do appear in BBC versions here as well, including their epic The Weaver's Answer and a medley of two songs that originally appeared separately (Procession and No Mule's Fool). There's also a bluesy jam-sounding instrumental, Blow by Blow, that has never appeared elsewhere in any form. True, these tracks don't show a side of the band seriously different enough from its studio recordings of the era to make this CD a necessary addition to the Family fan's collection. But for the very serious Family fan, it (as well as the previous two Hux collections of BBC Family sessions) is a highly recommended and well-played document of the band in a live setting, with excellent and thorough liner notes. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

1		93's OK J
2		Here Comes the Grin
3		Holding the Compass
4		Lives and Ladies
5		Good News Bad News
6		Drowned in Wine
7		Sheels
8		Procession/No Mule's Fool
9		Holding the Compass
10		Lives and Ladies
11		Strange Band
12		The Weaver's Answer
13		Blow by Blow