Music In A Doll’s House – FAMILY****

The Chase/Mellowing Grey/Never Like This/Me My Friend/Variation On A Theme Of Hey Mr Policeman/Winter/ Old Songs New Songs/Variation On A Theme Of The Breeze/Hey Mr Policeman/See Through Windows/ Variation Of A Theme Of My Friend/Peace Of Mind/Voyage/The Breeze/3 X Time

Music In A Dolls House was a well received debut album from British progressive rock band Family, noted for the idiosyncratic singing style of the lead vocalist. (UK:35)

"Ultimately, Music In A Doll's House sits in that strange gap between late-60s psychedelia and 70s progressive rock. Strangely, I like it a lot more than most protoprogressive albums I've heard, as there is some genuinely feverish experimentation happening from a songwriting perspective, and despite the eclecticism the band has a certain focus."

"A good deal of the band's strangeness is owed to lead singer Roger Chapman's powerfully thick, tremulous vocals. As far as I know, he's got no stylistic equal in the history of rock music, and his brio certainly adds a unifying, distinctive character to what is an extremely eclectic collection of songs."

"Coming at a time when baroque pop was meshing with folk and rock to form early British psych its surprising this isn't more highly blathered about in the music press." "Roger Chapman's voice certainly is an acquired taste and I'm not sure that its my taste, but the music is top drawer. It has a kind of early prog feel, which is a good thing because its not too overblown or pretentious."

"The first three songs are high class. This form of baroque pop is what made Family unusual. I'm much less partial to the rest of the album, which descends into both short, unmemorable experimental jabs, and mediocre '60s blues rock. If you like sweaty, dramatic, he-man vibrato though, Roger Chapman may be your man."

"This album, and in fact this band, are unique. No one else sounds like them and they never repeated themselves on any track throughout their short lifetime. Roger Chapman's vocals are an acquired taste. In some of the band's later recordings they grate at times but in my opinion he is on top form throughout this album. Probably has the strongest psych influences of their catalogue, and may be their most innovative as well."

"This album defines much of the feel of the decade's twilight years. It's a great piece of British band/musical history and for me, brings back memories of halcyon days of parties, trippy laid back summer evenings, and the sheer originality that so many bands at this time offered."