Continuing on with my recent binge of late 60s rock, particularly psychedelic rock, this album was the debut album of the English band, Family. Family was (and is) a progressive psychedelic rock band that incorporated many different styles of music into their playing from folk to jazz to acid rock and more. The band first formed in 1966, and went through many different iterations of band members before splitting in 1973 for 40 years, at which point they’ve come back together for reunion shows beginning in 2013. This one definitely seems like it’ll be an interesting listen, so I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music.
“The Chase” starts out very chaotic with quick paced instrumentation and vocals that verge on being simply screams. Oh wow, I really dig the way this is orchestrated. There are definitely some orchestral instruments in addition to common psychedelic rock band instruments. The vocals are extremely interesting in how dynamic they are. I really dig the organ giving a nice carnivalesque backdrop to the tune. Oh wow, these movements in the song are super unpredictable and incredibly interesting. Really interesting tune.
“Mellowing Grey” fades in after a smooth transition with the acoustic guitar seemingly grounding the album to something after getting so far out in the first track. The vocals nearly tremble with infectious energy. Wow, the instrumentation and orchestration is really beautiful and definitely sets a great, nearly somber tone. The repetitive strumming and plucking of the acoustic guitar strings really contrast quite well with the violin/string piece in the background. This tune definitely grounds the song in a certain manner, while gently carrying you along the way. Super interesting.
Oh wow, “Never Like This” starts out in a really folksy way with some rustic instrumentation that fades out to some bright, jangling strumming of an acoustic guitar with the organ stirring the song around from the background. Oh wow, the mix is extraordinarily interesting with the bass guitar and drums really bopping the song down the line while the vocals melt across the soundscape. Really groovy tune.
“Me My Friend” starts out in an almost kaleidoscopic fashion with the soundscape seemingly rotating around and inverting on itself. Oh wow, this mix is incredibly interesting. The horn at the beginning seemingly only adds to the whirling nature of this song, while the drum and bass combo make the tune sound nearly inside out. I really dig the way this one is mixed – the soundscape is incredibly dynamic throughout the entire song.
“Variations On a Theme of Hey Mr Policeman” fades right in from the previous song and is really quick psychedelic rock bluesy jam. Really sweet connective tissue.
“Winter” starts out with some great piano notes that really ring out very nicely and beckon the rest of the instrumentation into place. Oh wow, this one is super groovy. There’s almost a darkness to this that is spun around by the psychedelia of the tune, bringing about a certain lightheartedness from the tune. I’m really nodding along to this one a lot and really grooving with it. It’s mixed really interestingly too. Great tune.
“Old Songs New Songs” fades in very gently, and nearly sounds like cars driving by you on a street in the middle of the night, until the harmonica comes on, at which point it brings about a really psychedelic sounding bluesy rock tune. This groove is really nice. I’m really digging the way the bass seems to gently tug the tune in different directions with the subtle movements in the baseline, while the electric guitar takes on a sort of squishiness with the wah pedal effect combined with some distortion. The harmonica really keeps the song moving forward, while the drums really spin everything with a steady rock groove and delicious fills. Oh wow, this electric guitar solo that keeps spinning around the soundscape is absolutely dripping with flavor. Some horns come on and further polish the tune while the guitar keeps going in. Oh wow, now there’s some sort of saxophone or clarinet part that really jams alongside with the guitar with a completely different melodic structure in the song quite nicely. Groovy tune.
“Variations On a Theme of the Breeze” almost sounds like a tune that’s peering in through clouds with the super tasty jam.
Oh wow, “Hey Mr Policeman” starts out really tasty with a bluesy psychedelic jam that definitely sounds like it’s got some influence from some bluesy jazz with the saxophone (and I think another saxophone or clarinet?) and the style the backing instruments are playing, all mixed with some Chicago blues sound. Oh wow, the mixing of instrumentation of the guitar and fiddle has an almost rustic tropical sound for a moment. This tune is incredibly interesting with all the mix of flavors in the tune, and incredibly tasty too.
“See Through Windows” has a really interesting sound that brings the song in, with a somewhat raga-esque quality that has some strangeness to it. The vocals sound like they echo through different dimensions, while the bass sounds like it nearly mixes the song around backwards, while the drums give an excellent frame for the soundscape to be displayed in. Oh wow, this electric guitar solo that comes on is incredibly interesting, especially in combination with what sounds like feedback from a droning piano line. I think there’s a harmonica, or possibly an instrument like that, which adds to the mixing-in-reverse quality that this song has. Oh wow, the drums at the end almost sound like they’re played in reverse too. Incredibly interesting tune.
“Variations On a Theme of Me My Friend” definitely has a raga quality to it with a sitar that plays for a moment before fading out. Nice connective tissue from the last tune.
“Peace of Mind” has an almost authoritative English folk rock quality to it, which also brings in some psychedelia in the manner that the song seems to be mixed with and the gradual progression of the instrumentation. It’s almost got a sea shanty sort of sound to it, all carried out with a sort of ominous layer of psychedelia. Definitely an interesting tune. The ending seems to resolve a lot of tension built up throughout the song, while still building up musical momentum with a chaotic ending. Incredibly interesting tune.
“Voyage” has a really soft feeling in instrumentation with only the violin at the beginning, but it sounds like it sort of furthers that sea shanty sound/feeling brought about in the previous track. The drums really move about the soundscape quite nicely, with an incredibly interesting kaleidoscopic effect. Oh wow, this is super interesting – there’s like a chaotic jazz part happening on the left with some folksy acoustic guitar on the right with some rock and roll drums in the center. The tune is incredibly dynamic across musical genres and throughout the mixing and songwriting as well. I never thought I’d listen to a psychedelic sea shanty, but that is certainly one way to describe this song. The chaotic feedback-like effects at the end almost sound like whale songs. Very interesting, and super awesome.
“The Breeze” has a very patient sound in the percussion and vocals, almost as though you’ve arrived at a sort of destination of sorts or have braved a storm on the water. The tune brightly and lightly plucks along with some acoustic guitar and some super bright chimes and piano. There’s definitely a raga quality to this one to. Oh wow, the electric comes on a really drips about the soundscape while the piano sort of lightly taps along. The cello really serves the song with a really nice droning bass part that really gives a nice backdrop to the song. Really awesome tune.
“3 X Time” sounds like a really pleasant folk tune that seems gently draped with psychedelia. This one is definitely a really groovy tune that seems like the band is gently bringing things to a conclusion as the acoustic guitar gently walks down a chordal line, and the drums keep things moving along with some really nice beats that have a pleasant jangliness to them. Oh wow, this tune really breaks on through with a super groovy jam started with a nice little drum break, and really incorporates the brass and woodwind instruments quite well. Oh wow, now there’s another movement to a different jam, with an almost freak folk quality to it, reminiscent of later groups like The Brian Jonestown Massacre. There’s a bit of a carnivalesque quality to the strange ending to this song that brings things back around and connects to the beginning of the album quite well. Really awesome song.
Wow, that was 37 minutes I was completely on the edge of my seat. The range in sound throughout the album was immense, and it was all performed extremely well in terms of all-around cohesion of the multitude of genres and interesting songwriting in general. I almost certainly missed out on a lot of different elements in this one – I feel like this is an album you might have to listen to a few times to come close to the whole experience. With that said, this first listening experience of this one was really awesome. If you dig progressive rock and/or psychedelic rock to any degree, and also dig folk rock and blues rock, you’ll want to consider checking this one out. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I do sincerely hope that you enjoy it at least as much as I did.
-A