Search - Paul McCartney, Carl Aubut, Claudel String Qrt :: Family Way

Not the original soundtrack, but well worth a listen...

Classic Sitcoms | Los Angeles, CA United States | 12/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1967, Paul McCartney was asked to compose the theme music for "The Family Way," a film based on Bill Naughton's comic play, "All in Good Time." Perhaps intrigued by the challenge, McCartney took time off from his Beatle duties to write a hauntingly lyrical musical theme titled "Love in the Open Air." With a little help from longtime Beatle arranger and producer George Martin, McCartney then created (or authorized the creation of) a baker's dozen variations on this single melody. These thirteen versions of that theme were then used to score the entire film, to surprisingly good effect. At least partly seeking to capitalize on the Beatle connection, London records issued a "Family Way" soundtrack album, apparently unconcerned that the record would run a scant 24 minutes and contain thirteen versions of the same song. As was the case with most soundtrack albums of that era, "The Family Way" LP soon went out of print (although, interestingly enough, not before inspiring a handful of other artists to record their own instrumental cover versions of "Love in the Open Air" as singles on other labels.) Cut to thirty years later, when some enterprising person (perhaps McCartney himself?) got the idea to commission a new recording of the "Family Way" love theme as a classical suite for guitar and flute (a combination that also appeared prominently in George Martin's arrangements for the original soundtrack recording.) The CD offered here is the result of that brainstorm: yet another lovely collection of variations on that same durable McCartney tune, newly recorded and rearranged as a classical music suite entitled "The Family Way: Concertantes, Op 1 (Variations.)" Filled out with three companion pieces (which I suspect were included to bring the disc's running time to a respectable length,) the CD represents an excellent way for fans to obtain this essential piece of music from an obscure corner of the McCartney canon without having to track down a copy of the long out of print original soundtrack album."

Lush and Gorgeous

KittenWithaWhip | Los Angeles, CA USA | 05/31/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This isn't the sort of thing you'd expect from one of Rock and Roll's most enduring legends, but it IS the work of someone who understands the complexities of beautiful music. Originally composed as the theme for a sweet film about a newleywed couple's problems, the variations also evoke the bittersweet reminiscences and revelations experienced by the secondary characters. It isn't often that the soundtrack to a film seems so perfectly fitted to its celluloid counterpart; Often, it's just a collection of musical pieces that don't detract from what's going on onscreen. This one is different.Along with the variations on the original theme, this disc also contains several pieces of music that seem to have been added on to fill out the space on the disc. While they're technically excellent, only one or two will grab your attention the way track #1 does. After a while, they sort of bleed together and sound too much alike, so I'm not fond of them. This is the only reason I'm not giving it five stars.This disc is lovely to have playing during a dinner party, while you're in the bathtub surrounded by candles, or when you're in a meditative mood. There's no better music to listen to on those smokey, rainy evenings where it's just you, a mug of cocoa and an open window. There's some pleasure to be had in its esoteric value, as even die-hard fans might not know about it, but I would highly recommend owning it for the sheer pleasure of listening to the melancholy pieces. All in all, it's worth playing as well as worth posessing."