The Weaver's Answer - Live Performances

Live Performances

Charlie Whitney and Roger Chapman were never satisfied with how "The Weaver's Answer" came out in the studio, finding the arrangement too mannered. When bassist/violinist John Weider and multi-instrumentalist John "Poli" Palmer respectively replaced Grech and King, Family redid The Weaver's Answer as a loud, violent song in concert. Palmer offered a fiery flute solo in the instrumental break that replaced King's saxophone, and Whitney's guitar became more vicious; both of these changes in the arrangement brought the song into Jethro Tull territory. The most notable differences were Chapman's voice, as he punctuated his delivery with bloodcurdling screams, while Townsend's drum patterns became more devastating. Subsequent personnel changes after 1971 forced Family to alter this arrangement slightly - Weider's departure that June precluded them from employing the violin that had become integral to the song - but "The Weaver's Answer" never lost its popularity with Family fans.
In June 2006 Roger Chapman performed the song with a new orchestral arrangement. It was specially written by the German composer and arranger Ingo Laufs for the open-air concert Bridges to Classic at Haendel-Festival in Halle/Germany.