The Album Choice for May comes courtesy of Barry with Family’s ‘Music in a Doll’s House’.

As always please listen to the album in its entirety before you comment and/or vote.



Family – ‘Music in a Dolls’s House’



In retrospect ‘Progressive Pop (or Rock)’ gets a fair amount of ‘flack’ as being self-indulgent, ego-driven and maybe ‘bombastic’. These criticisms could certainly apply to some of the emergent groups of the late ‘60s, but not to all; and the album I have chosen is an example of the new genre, which displayed imaginative original thinking as well as good musicianship.

Formed in Leicester in the mid ‘60s, Family were an English group comprising Roger Chapman on vocals, harmonica and tenor sax; John Whitney on guitars; Jim King on tenor and soprano saxophone, harmonica and vocals; Rick Grech on bass guitar, violin and vocals, with Bob Townsend on drums and percussion.

Although not a ‘rock opera’ in any sense, I feel this debut album needs to listened to as a whole; and because of that I’m reluctant to pick out any individual track(s) as my favourite(s).

Maybe not everyone’s ‘cup of tea’, but I hope you enjoy it and perhaps it will encourage you to listen to some of their successive output.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_in_a_Doll%27s_House