Original Soundtrack - The Family Way

AUS Decca Mono LP, LKA-4847

First released 1967

01 - 13 (Untitled)

Bonus tracks (United Artists single UP 1165; Dec 1966)

14 - Love In The Open Air

15 - Theme From "The Family Way"

==About the album==

Review by Richard Ginell for allmusic.com...
"While on a break between Revolver and Sgt. Pepper's in late 1966, and with touring now out of the question and John Lennon off making the film How I Won the War, Paul McCartney tried his hand at a film score -- with a lot of help from Beatles arranger/producer George Martin. The rather pleasing result is one of the most elusive souvenirs of the Beatles' high tide in the '60s, long out of print, and commanding sky-high prices on the collectors' circuit. Only 24 minutes in length, Family Way is a collection of film cues based on a single McCartney tune, "Love in the Open Air," a plaintive melody reminiscent in some ways of "Here, There and Everywhere." (McCartney has since said that Johnny Mercer was planning to write lyrics for the song, but McCartney passed on it because at the time; he had never heard of Mercer.) The resourceful Martin then subjects McCartney's tune to variations and restatements in several kinds of orchestrations -- including, among other combinations, a proper British brass band; Duane Eddy-style guitar with soul organ; a small group with chamber strings, flutes, and classical guitar; and pre-echoes of Sgt. Pepper's-era trumpets. The whole project reflects McCartney's melodic and harmonic bents, as well as Martin's distinct orchestral personality -- along with some commercial touches that definitively date this score as a product of the '60s. It also should have pointed the way toward McCartney's classical collaborations with Martin, which might have produced some masterful work (McCartney, though, chose to work with other, less-simpatico orchestrators way off in the future). A United Artists single issued under the name of the George Martin Orchestra in 1967 offers a completely different, rock-edged treatment of "Love in the Open Air" -- even including some then-fashionable Tijuana Brass-style horns. This, too, will be difficult to locate."

==About this transfer==

Don't be put off by the fact that this copy was pressed in Australia; the metal parts were imported from the UK, so there's no generation loss as there would be were the album cut locally from a tape dupe. To that end, the original Australian release is closer to the master than the US release, which was cut from a tape dupe.

"The Family Way" is a very dynamic recording, ranging from around -30db to just under 0db. Fortunately, despite the frequent low volume, you will not hear much surface noise, apart from a mechanical hum that is inherent in the original pressing (you can hear it start and stop between tracks). I chose not to filter as it was thinning the bottom end too much. Indeed, to maintain the flow of the album I chose not to fade between tracks. Track splits correspond to the vinyl banding.

As an aside, it's worth noting that subsequent Australian reissues (on the blue and purple labels and with a redesigned sleeve) were recut in Australia, with copies on the later purple label actually being mono (despite all indications to the contrary)! While these later copies do not exhibit the hum inherent in the original pressing, they are not as crisp or clear either, presumably due to the use of tape dupes. It's for this reason that I transferred my original 1967 copy and not my later 1980s copy.

The two bonus tracks represent the December 1966 United Artists single release. At some point I hope to find a suitable copy of the single and make my own transfer, but in the meantime, I have used existing CD sources for these tracks. Unfortunately, "Theme From The Family Way" suffers the effects of noise reduction, making it sound a bit dull. I've made a slight EQ adjustment to lesson the effect. Still, it's the best source of the track that I've heard to date.

==Vinyl transfer and 24bit mastering by Q==

Source Matrices
01-06: 3W A XARL-7598-2A
07-13: 3W A XARL-7599-2A
14: Parlophone CD "Produced By George Martin" (remastered by Q)
15: Fred Records CD "The Complete Songs The Beatles Gave Away" (remastered by Q)

Hardware
- Project Xpression III Turntable
- Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge
- Project SpeedBox II Quartz-Generated Electronic Speed Regulator
- Denon PMA-700AE Integrated Amplifier

Software
- Audition 3.0.1 (audio capture and editing)
- ClickRepair (audio editing)
- iZotope RX Advanced (resampling and dithering to Red Book audio specifications)

Artwork included

CD Quality (99mb) 

Hi-Res (310mb)