Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Family
Label: Reprise Records
Released: 1968
Running time: 37:14
Rating: 4/5
For reasons that still haven’t been fully explained, Family were one of the most overlooked pioneering progressive rock bands, even though between 1968 and 1973, when their premature breakup came, they put out some seriously interesting and innovative records that had a major influence on some far better-known prog bands, such as Jethro Tull and Genesis. What set Family apart from similar bands right from the start, when they dropped their debut »Music In A Doll’s House« in 1968, one of the key albums of the pioneering prog rock movement, was the utterly distinctive voice of singer Roger Chapman. His rhythm and blues-rooted singing technique at times sounded like listening to a deranged goat that had just swallowed a bezoar and was now furiously trying to puke it up onto a meadow by any means necessary. He spiced up that one-of-a-kind voice with a peculiar theatricality and charisma, which also left a big mark on the young Peter Gabriel (Genesis).
By his own account, Roger learned to sing from soul and r’n’b vocalists led by Ray Charles and Little Richard, yet he sounded like no other rock singer before him, which flung the doors to a world of sonic originality wide open for Family, who had two excellent multi-instrumentalists in their ranks: saxophonist Jim King and the sadly late (since 1990) bassist/violinist Ric Grech. Blues-rooted guitarist John ‘Charlie’ Whitney gave Family inventive and witty guitar phrases, and he had plenty of imagination when it came to improvising too, right from the first professional steps of this cult band.
On »Music In A Doll’s House«, a pretty eclectic record for its time, Family very successfully blend psychedelic rock with blues, orchestral arrangements and jazz, which made them one of the first prog rock bands, even though on release their debut was mostly seen as just a rather weird and original psychedelic rock album. The opening track »The Chase« was already a pretty visionary achievement, with dramatic multi-part harmonies ruling amid gloomy orchestral arrangements and Roger’s theatrical snarling, harmonies quite similar to the ones that art rock bands led by Uriah Heep and Queen would later polish to brilliance.
The romantic acoustic ballad »Mellowing Grey«, with gorgeous pastoral arrangements, provides a striking ambient contrast, while Roger, with his trademark vocal vibrato in a calmer phase, sounds like a little frog who has just stopped puffing himself up in the middle of mating croaks and decided to win over his chosen one in a more subtle way. »Never Like This«, a fun crossbreed of psychedelia and blues rock, features a playful opening harmonica melody and dramatic vocal harmonies, with Roger’s incredible vocal charisma once again playing the key role. With its pompous orchestral arrangements and dissonant instrumental touches, where psychedelic backing vocals and Roger’s vocal fury fight for the upper hand, »Me My Friend« is one of the most interesting experiments on »Music In A Doll’s House«.
»Winter«, where Roger’s vocals once again recall the bleating of a furious goat mid-bezoar-puke, is likewise one of the most vivid moments of this pioneering album, with a subtle piano arrangement laced with mighty vocal harmonies and refined saxophone inserts. On »Old Songs New Songs«, where the closing improvisations also come off nicely, thanks to the frisky harmonica, bouncy rhythm and playful guitar melody Family are once again carried off into blues rock territory, with Roger’s snarling vocals again backed by a fascinating supporting cast.
»Hey Mr. Policeman« is a tongue-in-cheek experiment with a cynical vocal performance from Roger and promising string-and-wind arrangements. It’s also one of the few moments on the album where Roger’s voice is barely recognizable, as here he tries to sing with an almost completely ‘smoothed-out’ and ‘clean’ voice. »See Through Windows«, where Mr. Chapman morphs back into an incorrigible hothead during his vocal outbursts, while a guest mellotron courtesy of »Music In A Doll’s House« producer Dave Mason (Traffic) can be heard in the background, is steeped in a dark atmosphere and interesting guitar variations. Thanks to Mason, »Music In A Doll’s House« contained one of the first recorded uses of the mellotron in prog rock history, a year before King Crimson’s debut, which popularized the practice far and wide.
»Peace of Mind«, where Roger shines again with a theatrical vocal performance, packs punchy drum fills, irritated guitar passages and crafty string arrangements, making it a very interesting hybrid of prog rock and hard rock. The Family guys strike a similar stylistic note on »Voyage«, draped in mellotron waves and piercing string arrangements, where they successfully fuse elements of psychedelia and early symphonic rock and create one of the visionary compositions on the record, one where, if you leave out the cacophonous improvisations in the middle section, you can clearly hear how much tracks like this influenced Genesis.
The mystical »The Breeze« is another of the most interesting achievements of this Family debut, with an atmosphere around the metronome sound that evokes the ticking of Santa’s wristwatch while that fictional gluttonous fellow warms his frozen fingers by a crackling fireplace. Vocal chameleon Roger takes a serene, melancholic singing approach here amid dramatic violin arrangements. The album closes with »3 x Time«, a witty crossbreed of jazz, psychedelic rock and folk, seasoned with pastoral guitar arrangements, pompous wind variations, crafty drum fills and dramatic vocal harmonies, the kind of thing the guys in Uriah Heep and Queen surely learned a lot from when listening to it.
With »Music In A Doll’s House«, Family created one of the cornerstones of early progressive rock, before the label for the new musical movement had even caught on. It might be an exaggeration to call the start of Family’s relatively modest discography (seven studio albums) a masterpiece, but certain tracks, with their eclectic nature and sheer atmosphere, were definitely ahead of the time they were made in, while Roger Chapman was already, right from the beginning, one of the first big charismatic figures of early progressive rock, which made »Music In A Doll’s House«, also adorned with an artistic and utterly fascinating cover, something truly special on release.
Lineup
Roger Chapman – vocals, harmonica, tenor saxophone
John “Charlie” Whitney – guitar, steel guitar
Jim King – tenor and soprano saxophone, harmonica, backing vocals
Ric Grech – bass guitar, violin, cello, backing vocals
Rob Townsend – drums, percussion
GUEST MUSICIAN:
Dave Mason (Traffic) – producer, mellotron
Production
Dave Mason
Track list
1. The Chase (2:14)
2. Mellowing Grey (2:48)
3. Never Like This (2:17)
4. Me My Friend (2:01)
5. Variation On A Theme Of Hey Mr. Policeman (0:23)
6. Winter (2:25)
7. Old Songs, New Songs (4:17)
8. Variation On A Theme Of The Breeze (0:40)
9. Hey Mr. Policeman (3:13)
10. See Through Windows (3:43)
11. Variation On A Theme Of Me And My Friend (0:22)
12. Peace Of Mind (2:21)
13. Voyage(3:35)
14. The Breeze (2:50)
15. 3xTime (3:48)
