FAMILY

Second album from 1969 named Family entertaiment of the mighty Family band. This second album I think is a little better then the first one, the ideas and the playing are more consistent then on previous one and even better then a couple of next albums at least for me. One of the most underrated bands from the old school, strange because they've done some incredible albums in the late '60 and early '70's. They never reached the vame like others bands from that period, trying to survive in the shadow of big names, they are not even in the same pantheon with Van Der Graaf Generator, it's a shame. With all that they recorded at least 4 classics (first 4) and essential albums for every serious listner. One of them is Family entertaiment, this album is one of my favourite albums of them. Explaining why, because i really love the voice of Roger Chapman, his unique way and manner of interpretation and the musicianship is very ok . The best pieces are The Weaver's Answer , the instrumental Summer '67 and How-Hi- The-Li a strange but very unique piece. So a big 3 stars for this one, good to my collection and maybe for some of you. Many of the conoseurs of prog stay away from this band because of Roger Chapman's voice, strange but very unique in same time.3 stars, a good album for sure, nothing close to a masterpiece but a pleasent and very entertaining album in the end.

A great poetic mix between Folk, Jazz, Psychedelia, Blues, Rock, Soul, POP and Beat! Ladies and gentleman...: 'Music In A Doll's House'!

That I love not only because 'Music In A Doll's House' is one of my first Prog purchases in 1998 but because 'Music In A Dolls House' is a great piece of Prog that anticipates 'In The Court Of The Crimson King'!

The music is not Prog because Prog but it is Prog because innovative. Basically is POP with Soul and Rock but with insertion of a great mix about Folk, Psychedelia, Blues, Jazz and Beat. This mix transform the poetic halo that reign in the mind of John Whithey and Roger Chapman. Then the perfect Soul vibrato voice of Roger Chapman is the rest of this poetry! The songs are all magical, also because not pushed into difficulties, often supported by heavy arrangements but never intrusive, honests but bastards that are an integral part of writing. So it is difficult to see a defect in 'Music In A Dolls House' writing (P.s.: 'Never Like This' is by Dave Mason of Traffic that is also the album producer).

Speaking of sound: the structure of songs are really simple. Basically a not powerful Rhythm section is implemented by the Black vibrato voice of Chapman plus the other instruments. Interesting is the idea of the three 'Variations On A Theme of...', short re-arrangement of 'Hey Mr. Policeman', 'The breeze' and 'Me, My Friend'.

But if I speak about the songs I speak about a simple songs. The general description of songs is already written. Certainly 'Music In A Doll's House' is an album to listen because the words fail to be effective for groped to describe this masterpiece.

In my opinion 'Music In A Doll's House' is Prog at the same level of 'In The Court Of The Crimson King' but with more poetry and magic.

This boxset which includes the first two studio albums from British rock act Family was released in 1999. In addition to all the original tracks from the two albums, the two first tracks on CD1 are bonus tracks taken of a Family single release. Both Scene Through The Eye Of A Lens and Gypsy Woman are typical Family songs in the slightly psychadelic/ experimental rock style that they played.

Music In A Doll's House:

Music In A Doll's House is the debut studio album from Family. I had never heard about Family before listening to this album and what a shame that is. This is an absolutely wonderful album and an excellent addition to my collection.

The music is a bit hard to describe as there are influences from many genres present on Music In A Doll's House. I would say that the most dominant genre is bluesy rock´n´roll but mind you that it´s done in a sophisticated way that includes sax, flute and even what sounds like a mellotron at times. There is also a healthy dose of psychadelic rock and a bit of jazz and folk thrown in for good measure. The songs are pretty basic rock tunes but with the aforementioned features this makes for a great listening experience.

One of the greatest things on the album is Roger Chapman´s voice which is really distict and powerful. He sometimes sound a bit like Peter Gabriel when he sings most loud but a singer like Bernardo Lanzetti from Premiata Forneria Marconi also comes to mind. This is mostly due to the extreme vibrato both singers possess and use extensively. I´m sometimes reminded of another british band and that´s Audience who has a similar eclectic style.

The musicianship is great and the raw sixties production fits the music well.

This album is a winner in my book and I´ll glady rate it 4 stars. I´ll be looking forward to listening to more music from Family in the future.

Family Entertainment:

Family Entertainment is the second album from british rock act Family. I was really impressed with the debut album from Family called Music In A Doll's House from 1968. It´s a great psychadelic and eclectic rock album that falls under the catagory mildy progressive. With this second album Family has moved away from the psychadelic tendencies which were a big part of their sound on Music In A Doll's House. Family Entertainment is a much more polished and commercial effort.

Family´s music is not easily put into a catagory. It contains elements from both rock, jazz, blues, classical music and folk/ country. A truly eclectic band. One of the biggest assets on this album is Roger Chapman´s vocals which I find very charming and powerful. He has a very raw voice and he would have made a great hard rock vocalist. This fact is very evident in the only hard rocking track on the album Second Generation Woman, which by the way is a bit out of place IMO. Most songs on the album are pretty good and a few are above average. I like Observations From A Hill and the instrumental Summer ´67 while some of the more folk/ country elements that also sneak into some of the songs are not that interesting to me. The eclectic approach to music reminds me a bit of another british band called Audience.

The musicianship is one of the greatest assets on the album. Great violin and sax playing, but the rythm section also prove themselves throughout the album.

The production is very polished compared to the raw debut. It will be an aquired taste if this is something you´ll appreciate. Personally I prefer the raw sound of the debut.

Family Entertainment is a good album but I do miss the raw approach that was so enjoyable on the debut and for me Family Entertainment is a 3 star album. Family is still an intriguing band though and I´ll be looking forward to reviewing the rest of their discography.

Conclusion:

Music In A Doll's House is my favorite Family album and if you can get this boxset for a good price I would just see the inclusion of Family Entertainment as a bonus. If you have to pay full double CD price for this release I would seek out the remastered 2003 version of Music In A Doll's House instead. My rating reflects my deep love for Music In A Doll's House and even though Family Entertainment isn´t nearly as exciting I still think this boxset deserves a 4 star rating.

The last Family album features very few fine moments. One of these is the 10CC oriented title track. It really sounds as if it were coming out of the head of Godley & Creme, or Goldman & Stewart if you prefer. It features lots of inventive background sounds and displays a very positive mood. A fine opener to be honest.

But there won't be many songs like this. The painful and country Leroy is probably one of their weakest ever. Chapman is also more discreet in his vocal parts; he sounds more as an unplugged goat (in comparison with the his nickname: the electric goat). Even if he is excellent again during Buffet For Two (but heavy orchestrations were not needed IMO).

Actually, he seemed to have been connected to a plug again during Boom Bang. A song with no beat during the verses and which only shines thanks to Roger.

The inspiration sounds completely out of steam for this album, inexistent during Boots 'n' Roots: some sort of a cabaret song. This album has not much to offer, I'm afraid. Little rock, little prog, little avant- garde. Nothing great is left in this case.

The Banger bluesy instrumental affair is hard to bear. But in these cases, you know what to do. The only problem is only that the next songs aren't worth either.

Family was an original band, which is maybe the reason they are featured on this site, but never truly progressive. This work should just be best forgotten. One star.

A nice and inventive packaging is not always the guarantee that the inside would be on par. This is the least that I can say about this album.

I have never been a devoted fan of this band but the talent of such a great vocalist as Chapman is of course immense and deserves the most profound respect. But the music that they offered at least in the studio; because the band was much better while playing live, has never exceeded the good rating as far as I'm concerned (meaning three stars). This album won't be an exception and I can't even think of more than two stars to catalogue it.

There is some heavy blues on this album, some funk as well. These are not really the genres that I embrace. But even so, I have to say that Broken Nose is probably one of the best track of this album. A deadly funky and wild beat throughout, for sure. Not very prog, is it?

The other favourite of mine is the excellent opening track Burlesque. But none of the other tracks are really fascinating: the mellow and countryside My Friend The Sun is just a press next type of songs.

Even if this album is not their last one, it sounds as if the end was near (and so was it). String arrangements just don't speak to me (Glove). On the contrary, most of the time, they just ruin it all. In all, I don't like this album. It just failed of sinking completely thanks to a couple of songs (Burlesque and Broken Nose) but the funky feeling is too strong (Ready To Go). Is this funky-prog???

Some good blues-rock with Top Of The Hill...Ok, it is my preferred song from this offering. Is it necessary to tell that the heart and soul Chapman is just wonderful? And that strings are not welcome in my opinion? Anyway, this song is a very good closing number. But there weren't many good ones before it.

Family has never been a truly prog band IMO. They were quite different and exceptional in the proper sense of the wording. Which means out of the normal: an exception.

Even if none of their albums could claim for the masterpiece status, each of them had this so typical British flavour mostly thanks to their great front man. There are few examples of such a good band which was so much in the shadow of their leader: Roger Chapman.

For some obvious reasons (if you have read some other reviews of mine), my favourite song of this album is Spanish Tide. Indeed a very much Spanish feeling thanks to the acoustic guitar. The fantastic second part holds an incredible beat which features superb keyboards (not very common for Family to say the least).

Some songs are rocking alright and I surely include Take Your Partners as one of the best songs from Fearless. The band is showing a great ability to perform, a great cohesion and offer a fine moment of music. This feeling is totally destroyed by Children which is just a colourless tune with no texture at all. Press next, really.

Most of the surprising moments are all gone. There are little to none surprises with this album. Actually, it is an average effort: no outstanding numbers to tell the truth. This might well be a legendary band, but this is no legendary album and it features no legendary tracks.

Two stars.

A Song For Me is the third full length studio album from Family. I´m very fond of their debut album Music in a Doll´s House while my hopes for another great album from the band was somewhat lowered after listening to their second album Family Entertainment. It´s a good album but it never met my high expectations after listening to the excellent debut. A Song For Me is better than the way too polished Family Entertainment, but not as good as the debut. Less can do it in this case though.

The music from Family is characterised by holding elements from many different genres and even though the main element is rock there are also elements from Classical music, jazz and folk/ country. A very interesting mix of genres that generally works well.

There are some really great songs on A Song For Me and album opener Drowned in Wine is one of the best and most powerful tracks on the album. Love is a Sleeper introduces a new element in Family´s sound which are Vibes. A good song that one too. Wheels is a great eclectic and progressive song. There are also a couple of fillers that don´t mean much to me. Stop For The Traffic-Through The Heart Of Me is one such song. The album ends with the hard rocking title track which reminds me a bit about Led Zeppelin. It´s a bit too long and repetitive though ( The repetitive element is also something Led Zeppelin could be accused of having in some of their songs).

One of the biggest assets to Family´s sound is without a doubt singer Roger Chapman. His vocals are outstanding and compared to his performance on Family Entertainment his performance on A Song For Me are much stronger and even crazy sometimes. The rest of the band are also excellent and well playing musicians.

The production is excellent. A bit more raw than on Family Entertainment and that´s exactly what was needed for Family. A bit more attitude and bite.

A Song For Me is a good album but and my rating lies somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. I´ll give it a BIG 3 star rating.

This album is a good introduction to the band's best side: live on stage. Of course, the audience might have been surprised to listen to several unknown songs but when your hear them cheering, no doubt that they must have appreciated.

And how can't you appreciate such a monster track as Good News, Bad News. This is an extremely heavy song, which is not far away of some Led Zep ones (it evokes Dazed & Confused at times). Chapman vocals are really phenomenal: such a power is astonishing. He was already brilliant in the studio, but on stage, man!

I already mentioned in my review of their debut album, that I saw the band on the Belgian TV in 1971 or so. They mini-concert played live in the studio was really impressive and I have ever since remembered this band in the back of my head.

Chapman can also be emotive and full of tact. His vocal range is really vast, and the sweet Willow Tree, although it is not a great song, is the perfect example of Roger's ability. Not all songs are great, even if played live. The country-rock Holding The Compass is such one as well.

The electric goat is again the highlight during the powerful Strange Band. It was their last single at the time and it is another feat. The beat is again rather wild and destructive.

Family music was complex to apprehend. Not truly progressive, it combined lots of musical genres. The second part of this album is highlighting this aspect. The funky-rock Part Of The Load is the first example.

It was also pretty obvious that the studio tracks would sound a bit flat (if you bear in mind the two fantastic Good Times. and Strange Band). Some fine music, difficult to catalogue like the jazzy instrumental Normans.

My favourite studio track is the good closing number Lives & Ladies. A fine r'&'b song tinted with a good rock base. Efficient piano play and of course, Chapman. But Chapman is everywhere.

The live experience is prolonged on the CD version and it shows sufficiently how well studio are raised to a much higher level while played on stage (Part Of The Load and Lives & Ladies).

Three stars for this work. What a shame that it was never possible to experience of full live album from Family!

Family Entertainment is the second album from british rock act Family. I was really impressed with the debut album from Family called Music In A Doll's House from 1968. It´s a great psychadelic and eclectic rock album that falls under the catagory mildy progressive. With this second album Family has moved away from the psychadelic tendencies which were a big part of their sound on Music In A Doll's House. Family Entertainment is a much more polished and commercial effort.

Family´s music is not easily put into a catagory. It contains elements from both rock, jazz, blues, classical music and folk/ country. A truly eclectic band. One of the biggest assets on this album is Roger Chapman´s vocals which I find very charming and powerful. He has a very raw voice and he would have made a great hard rock vocalist. This fact is very evident in the only hard rocking track on the album Second Generation Woman, which by the way is a bit out of place IMO. Most songs on the album are pretty good and a few are above average. I like Observations From A Hill and the instrumental Summer ´67 while some of the more folk/ country elements that also sneak into some of the songs are not that interesting to me. The eclectic approach to music reminds me a bit of another british band called Audience.

The musicianship is one of the greatest assets on the album. Great violin and sax playing, but the rythm section also prove themselves throughout the album.

The production is very polished compared to the raw debut. It will be an aquired taste if this is something you´ll appreciate. Personally I prefer the raw sound of the debut.

Family Entertainment is a good album but I do miss the raw approach that was so enjoyable on the debut and for me Family Entertainment is a 3 star album. Family is still an intriguing band though and I´ll be looking forward to reviewing the rest of their discography.

I quite prefer this album to Family Entertainment.

The personnel changes doesn't seem to have affected the band too much; especially when I listen to the very good opening song Drowned In Wine. I'm maybe too much attracted by the title, but this song features a great Chapman on the lead vocals and some fine flute as well.

Flute has a more prominent role on this album (which is fine with me), and the violin play is a fine add on as well even if Song For Sinking Lovers sounds a bit folkish.

The major attraction IMHHO, is the fantastic vocal performance from the electric goat. Roger is really excellent from start to finish; even during softer and more delicate songs (Some Poor Soul).

Of course, when the beat catches up, his powerful organ (I mean his voice), brings you on the border of heaven. Have a listen to Love Is A Sleeper to be convinced. Not only by his voice, but also for the great vibes.

This shouldn't prevent me to say that some tracks are not really good like the country-style The Cat and the Rat (but I have never liked country music).

Therefore, 93's OK J is welcome; it is a pleasant track holding some very good acoustic guitar work which is sustained by strong percussion. Some fine Spanish atmosphere comes out from it; it is a bit unexpected from Family, but it works very well.

The long closing number is a serious piece of music which holds lots of frenetic violin and an amazing and crazy finale: totally wild and devastating. It might though be a bit too long and repetitive, but A Song For Me is one of the best number from this album.

Three stars. Maybe not as inspired as their debut, but better than their sophomore album.