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Family - Discography
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jamesbaldwin View Drop Down
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    Posted: December 26 2018 at 07:25
What do you think about the Family? Have you listened carefully to all their albums?
It's worth it for me.

I wrote the review of all Family albums 
and this is my ranking, giving them a rating from 1 to 10 (as used in Italy), then translated into stars.

1) Music in A Doll’s House: 9+  (Five stars) 

2) Fearless: 9  (Five stars)

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3) Entertainment: 8,5  (Four stars)

4) Song for Me: 8,5  (Four stars)

5) Bandstand:   8,5  (Four stars)

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6) Anyway: 7,5/8  (Three stars)

7) It’s Only a Movie: 7+  (Three stars)  


In my opinion, the Family is a great great prog rock group, unfortunately underrated. 

Here in PA there are very few reviews to their albums, which for me are, as you can see, mostly masterpieces or otherwise excellet albums.




Edited by jamesbaldwin - December 26 2018 at 09:20
"Happiness is real only when shared"
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AFlowerKingCrimson View Drop Down
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Points: 16147 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AFlowerKingCrimson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 26 2018 at 08:46
I only know the first two but "dolls house" in particular is a real classic(albeit not super well known)from the 60's. It's definitely one of those albums that set the stage for progressive rock and even at this early stage has a lot of the ingredients of the genre. 

Also, I think they were known as just Family(without "the")but maybe it was different in the UK.
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jamesbaldwin View Drop Down
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Points: 5744 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jamesbaldwin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 26 2018 at 09:22
Originally posted by AFlowerKingCrimson AFlowerKingCrimson wrote:

I only know the first two but "dolls house" in particular is a real classic(albeit not super well known)from the 60's. It's definitely one of those albums that set the stage for progressive rock and even at this early stage has a lot of the ingredients of the genre. 

Also, I think they were known as just Family(without "the")but maybe it was different in the UK.

I corrected: Family.

It is a typical, italian error. 
"Happiness is real only when shared"
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Sean Trane View Drop Down
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Points: 19597 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sean Trane Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 26 2018 at 14:44
Better ones:

Doll's House
Bandstand
Fearless

Ok, but no more:

Entertainment
Song For Me
Anyway
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moshkito View Drop Down
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Points: 16148 		Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote moshkito Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: December 26 2018 at 15:32
Hi,


I kinda like the band through its chronology, that went from what could/would be considered a left over from the psychedelic era, to a band that ended up working around Roger Chapman's strength on stage and ability to rock it out.

For me, it was "Good News/Bad News" that brought me to this band ... in a movie that was originally called STAMPING GROUND that also had some outstanding performances in it ... but that song, immediately showed that this was not just another song band, and that what they were doing was very well defined, even though seeing it on the stage, fresh, and unknowing who it was, would make it a very tough surprise that ... shocked ... your senses ... it was/is, an amazing performance that stood out, and listening to it today, on the album, is even better ... strong, with it, and very well performed and defined.

From that point on, for me, the band is magnificent. FEARLESS/BANDSTAND and IT'S ONLY A MOVIE are all magnificent albums, eclectic to a point, but all of them beautifully recorded and clean, and above all ... DIFFERENT ... and not a riff driven band ... a band that went after Roger Chapman's really well defined and done version of his singing the words.

The only sad ... thing for me, is the stuff AFTER this primary band, that also deserves the mention.  STREETWALKERS, and the next 3 albums (have to look now!) plus the LIVE album, continues the incredible well defined rock band, and the singing gets better, even if at times, we might even call it a bit more of blues in it and less of the experimentation that made the band interesting at the start, however the early material is not as beautifully put together as the later material was ... and I think that some of the "progressive" stuff in those days, made for a tough day in the studio, even though in the later albums, they certainly look beautifully rehearsed and ready to play and augment Roger's voice to an incredible degree, which I am not so sure was the case in the early material. 

I kinda think of GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS as the defining point so to speak, and I would not be surprised if this was the case for their definition of the band ... but they sure had the outstanding musicians!

For the record, Guy Guden (SB in 74 and beyond) used to play the last 3 albums from these folks senseless ... why? ... because it was magnificent and it fit well with the "imports" and had a lot of strength and difference from a lot of the other stuff. Maybe it was GG that ruined my ears on this, but I could not see any piece from "A Doll's House" in the middle of a GG show ... instead of CHANGING YOUR PARTNERS. And that was how GG shows went ... and Roy would be next, then EBB, then Unicorn, then Man, then Neutrons, then Steeleye Span, Then Robert Wyatt, then Eno, then Roxy, then ... so many Europeans that your head goes crazy ... it just never stopped ... and a song/piece that stands out, is often more valuable in the mix, and I think this is how FAMILY came out, and how good it fit and sounded.


Edited by moshkito - December 26 2018 at 15:40
Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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