The family way

chronology
The family way
Studio album by George Martin and Paul McCartney
Publication ; (s)	January 6, 1967
Label (s)	Decca Records (GB); London Records (USA);
Format (s)	LP , CD , download
Genre (s)	pop
Title (number)	13
running time	24 min 59 s
occupation	George Martin : orchestra leader, arranger; Studio musician;
production	George Martin
Studio (s)	CTS Studios, London

The Family Way is the first studio album with new compositions by a member of the Beatles . It is not considered a solo studio album by Paul McCartney , as he only contributed the compositions. The album was released on January 6, 1967 in the UK and on June 12, 1967 in the USA .

Emergence

In the late summer of 1966, Roy and John Boulting asked Paul McCartney whether he would be willing to compose the score for the feature film The Family Way (German title: Honigmond '67 ). McCartney agreed and wrote the main film themes Love in the Open Air and Theme from the Family , which were recorded in several variations by studio musicians and orchestrated and produced under the direction of George Martin in November 1966.

Paul McCartney did not take part in the recording as a recording artist. However, it was the first McCartney compositions that were not published under the Lennon / McCartney partnership. In the CD booklet of the re-release from 2003 there is an interview with Paul McCartney in which he explains that in 1966 he and John Lennon each did a "little solo thing", such as John Lennon in the film How I Won the War (German title: How I won the war ) as a supporting actor and McCartney composed the soundtrack for The Family Way . This was done by mutual agreement.

The album could not place in the UK or the US in the charts.

The film premiere took place on December 18, 1966 in London , Paul McCartney and George Martin were present at the film premiere.

In December 1995, the Canadian guitarist Carl Debut released a reinterpretation of the soundtrack on a CD entitled The Family Way - Variations Concertantes Opus 1 .

Track list

page 1

1st Movement - 2:12
2nd Movement - 1:15
3rd Movement - 1:17
4th Movement - 1:33
5th Movement - 3:32
6th Movement - 3:04

Page 2

7th Movement - 2:16
8th Movement - 1:27
9th Movement - 1:10
10th Movement - 1:48
11th Movement - 1:06
12th Movement - 2:55
13th Movement - 4:00

Single releases

On December 23, 1966, the single Love in the Open Air / Theme from the Family Way was released in Great Britain under the stage name The Tudor Minstrels , which could not place in the charts. The A-side is identical to song 6th Movement on the album, while the B-side was merged from the songs 1st Movement and 13th Movement . In the US, the single was released in March 1967, also without a chart placement.

In the USA, the single Love in the Open Air / Bahama Sound was released on April 24, 1967 , but this is a new recording by the George Martin Orchestra, which was recorded in the Abbey Road Studios in early February . The B-side is a composition by George Martin. This single could not be placed in the charts either.

Re-releases

On July 22, 2003, the album was first released on CD as a mono mix . As a bonus, the album includes the re-recording of the 1995 Carl Debut soundtrack and three songs by the 1999 La Flute Enchantee Quartet, which also interpret the theme of the soundtrack.
Another release took place on July 25, 2011 in the remastered original stereo mix with the bonus titles Love in the Open Air and A Theme from the Family Way .
In July 2011 the album was released in download format.

literature

Chip Madinger and Mark Easter: Eight Arms to Hold You - The Solo Compendium . 44.1 Productions 2000, ISBN 0-615-11724-4 (pp. 151-152).
CD booklet from 2003.
CD booklet from 2011.