FAMILY - A SONG FOR ME – 1970 (UK) progressive rock

Twenty seven years after the fact, this might well be the best of the early Family recordings. A combination of hard rock (bordering on metal) and wistful folk-rock (it sounds as if Chapman and Whitney were listening to a lot of Incredible String Band), A Song for Me veers toward early progressive rock, but isn't as nakedly indulgent as some early prog-rock recordings (e.g., they didn't try to sound like a jazz band, they wanted to sound like a rock band screwing around with jazz). Perhaps their most experimental record, it seems as though the credo in making this disc was that anything went. And on tracks like "Drowned in Wine," it works quite well. Again, Chapman offers more proof of his vocal greatness, and again the record sells large quantities in England and nearly nothing in America.

ROGER CHAPMAN vcls
ROB TOWNSEND drms
CHARLIE WHITNEY gtr
JOHN WEIDER bs, violin
POLI PALMER keyb'ds, vibes
1 Drowned in Wine
2 Some Poor Soul
3 Love Is a Sleeper
4 Stop for the Traffic - Through the Heart of Me
5 Wheels
6 Song for Sinking Lovers
7 Hey - Let It Rock
8 The Cat and the Rat
9 93's Ok J
10 A Song for Me
11 No Mule's Fool
12 Good Friend of Mine

Realeased in early 1970, Family's third album, Song For Me takes on a slightly more aggressive sound, sometimes at the cost of the refinement and charm of their first two albums. Bassist and violinist Rick Grech left mid-1969 to join Blind Faith has been replaced by John "Willi" Weider, formerly of Eric Burdon and the Animals, and saxophonist Jim King, who was asked to leave due to "erratic behavior", has been replaced by John "Poli" Palmer on flute, vibes and keyboards. While Weider sounds fully integrated into this new version of Family, the presence of Palmer's flute sounds very much out of place and sometimes weak due to the fact that most of the songs were written with King's baritone sax parts in mind. Overall this is a good album, although nowhere near as strong or consistent as Music From A Dolls House or Family Entertainment.

Highly recommended!
Rip from CD 256@ (full artwork included)
Download link
http://link-protector.com/281744/