Description

Still sealed digipak

Family Entertainment followed on the heels of Family’s Music In A Doll’s House with the band’s first incarnation: Roger Chapman (harmonica/tenor sax/vocals), Rick Grech (violin/cello/bass guitar/vocals), Rob Townsend (percussion/drums), John Charlie Whitney (guitar/pedal steel guitar/keyboards), and Jim King (harmonica/keyboards/soprano sax/tenor sax/vocals). While not totally dismissing their psychedelic leanings, much of the material bears a stronger acoustic influence, in much the same manner as Fairport Convention and Traffic were also exploring. The jazzy sitar lead of Face In The Cloud and the even more prominent Eastern-flavored Summer 67 somewhat date the affair, and are contrasted by the beautifully noir and trippy How-Hi-the-Li (which may have been the impetus for Chicago’s Wishing You Were Here) and the upbeat Hung Up Down, sporting Grech’s unmistakable violin as it wafts over the rural and slightly surreal lyrics. These sides are set against the edgy Weaver’s Answer, which immediately establishes a broader spectrum of styles, most notably given Chapman’s commanding if not slightly intimidating vocals. Whitney’s blistering fretwork yields bite to the Grech-penned Second Generation Woman, while Emotions, another full-tilt rocker, is infused with an apparent R&B homage.

Track list:
1. The Weavers Answer
2. Observations From A Hill
3. Hung Up Down
4. Summer 67
5. How-Hi-The-Li
6. Second Generation Woman
7. From Past Archives
8. Dim
9. Processions
10. Face In The Cloud
11. Emotions