5.0 out of 5 stars
A Looser & Funkier Family Coda, March 8, 2008
This review is from: It's Only a Movie (Audio CD)
Alas, the last Family album. At the end of an incredible run of creativity and intensity, they turned out their loosest, funkiest effort. Most Family devotees would not consider it their favorite, but this is nonetheless an outstanding album.
These guys were not exactly known for R&B roots, but along with a significant change in the band's personnel, several tracks displayed a surprisingly funky side ("Boots 'n' Roots," "Banger," "Sweet Desiree," & maybe even "Suspicion."). The trend continued into Chapman & Whitney's subsequent band, Streetwalkers.
The title track is a stunner, given Family's taut, intent past. The lead vocals are casual, offhand, conversational and not even by Roger Chapman. Chapman added to his rogues gallery of wackos-as-protagonists with "Boom Bang," with Chappo front & center as a flasher. As usual for his weirdo stories, the tempo is unusual, the pace is aggressive, the lyrics are amusing & Roger howls at the moon.
The album ends (fittingly?) with "Check Out," a song about a prison break. Check out they did, with a straightahead (for these guys) guitar and organ workout. I still miss them.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Family Matinee, January 6, 2006
This review is from: It's Only a Movie (Audio CD)
This is the one Family recording that strikes the listener as "light." Apparently the fellows decided to do something quite different from their mainstay musical forays and different it is. Once they knew the gig was up, I'm guessing they decided to have fun with such songs as the title track "It's Only a Movie," "Leroy," and "Sweet Desiree." There is an aching sadness to "Buffet Tea for Two," a paean to starting over (which is exactly what Chapman and Whitney were about to do with the dissolution of Family) featuring a great, typically underplayed solo by Charlie Whitney. The jaunty keyboards of the late Tony Ashton give this recording a real tilt toward the R&B fold, and Chappo's vocals, as always, prove to have the right touch. Jim Cregan's vocals, second guitar, and bass fill in the edges nicely, and Rob Townsend shows his deft touch once more on drums. The last song on the LP version of this recording, "Check Out" really rocks and as it ends, you cannot help but be both amused and sad that the greatest band of its time closed out its recording career with such an aptly named song.
Though I would not recommend this CD as an introduction to Family, I do think it is a fitting conclusion to one of the more creative rock ensembles.
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