UNWOMAN - Knowledge Scars

I can safely say that you have heard nothing like this before. Which would be a considerable achievement in itself, regardless of content, but the music is nothing short of remarkable.

Unwoman is Erica Mulkey, and on this release she demonstrates a considerable songwriting talent as well as excelling on vocals, cello and keyboards. Encompassing a range of styles from electro-goth to trip hop to darkwave, with a sideways look into modern classical, this is a CD when you never know what is round the corner.

There is a sensuality underscoring even the harshest of musical moments, and the thought provoking lyrics add to a magical ride, often powered by hard electro beats. Amongst the highlights, of which there are many, is the almost dancey “Dispossessed” the cover of The Cure song, “The Drowning Man” and the powerful “Freedom From Religion”. All the family can play spot the sample on that one:-)

http://www.unmediated.net/

---

MYSTIC RECORDS RELEASE 6 FAMILY ALBUMS TO TIE IN WITH 30TH ANNIVERSARY
REVIEWED BY PHIL JACKSON
Mystic Records can take a lot of credit for reminding us of just how inventive, prolific and original Family were in their excellent series of re-issues covering the period from 1970’s ‘A Song for Me’ to 1973’s ‘It’s Only A Movie’. It should be noted that these releases follow hot on the heels of the splendid ‘Roger Chapman Family and Friends’ 4/5 CD box set and the entertaining double CD from Chapman’s Riff Burglars.

FAMILY- A SONG FOR ME (1970)
There is never a dull moment from the boisterous opening 4 minutes of ‘Drowned in Wine’ although John ‘Poli’ Palmer’s flute- Poli describes the sound as a cross between the shenai and the bagpipes- and John Weider’s violin add a touch of subtlety. Perhaps some of the original criticism of ‘A Song for Me’ stemmed from the fact that tracks were written with King’s sax in mind and Palmer had to overdub and also the ‘novice’ producers did make mistakes like on the decision to put Chapman’s voice so far back in the mix on the 2 minute ‘Stop for the Traffic- Through the Heart of Me’. Maybe this should have been excluded but no such reservations apply to the following track ‘Wheels’, a forgotten gem of the Family repertoire with lashings of acoustic guitar work from Whitney and a fantastic chorus delivered by Chappo. Maybe the production is a bit naïve and the flute playing a little apprehensive but, as Pete Feenstra points out in his sleeve notes, the interplay between Palmer and Whitney brings ‘light and shade’ to the band. This is confirmed by the near 7 minute jazz inflected live version of ‘Wheels’ (one of the bonus tracks) where King plays sax and acoustic and electric guitars provide the interplay. Both versions work well in their different ways. There is a country feel on ‘Songs for Sinking Lovers’ where Whitney’s banjo makes an appearance. Another track that probably divided fans was the 1 minute jazz lounge of ‘Hey-Let it Rock’ (Vibes and ‘scat’ vocal to the fore!) that segues into the 12 bar boogie ‘The Cat and the Rat’, a pre-taster of what was to come from The Streetwalkers perhaps. The ‘tour de force’ of the album though is the title track deceptively preceded by a mellow instrumental whose title refers to a house in Chelsea where Weider and Whitney lived for a while. ‘A Song for Me’ has been described as a 9 minute slice of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia, the title of which apparently was taken from Howling Wolf’s ‘How Many More Years’. It became the closing song of Family’s set at the time with just about everything getting a good workout- organ, piano, not to mention the guitar riffing and Weider’s reverberated violin. It sounds like it would change every time the band played it and that was pretty much the way it turned out. Among the generous quota of bonus tracks is a very different live version of ‘A Song for Me’ (including a sax solo), the indispensable single ‘No Mule’s Fool’ with Weider’s memorable repeated violin line, Chappo’s impassioned vocal (one of his best performances) culminating in a fun acoustic hoedown and its B-side, the bluesy soul of ‘Good Friend of Mine’, sounding like an old standard but actually a Whitney/ Chapman composition embellished by vibes and a ‘saxy’ flute tone from Palmer. On the other bonus tracks we hear what ‘Drowned in Wine’ sounded like with Jim King on sax. The good time country freak out version of ‘The Cat and the Rat’ is the fourth bonus live track completing A Song for Me’ is an excellent and underrated 1970 album and part of an impressive Mystic package that merits serious re-examination. Contact: www.mysticrecords.co.uk
Available from all good record shops from 29 September, 2003
(MYS CD 170)

FAMILY- ANYWAY (1970)
‘Anyway’, released in November, 1970 became Family’s fourth album in 28 months. It was so called because ‘Well anyway!’ was a favourite phrase of Weider’s at the time. Pete Feenstra takes up the story in his sleeve notes:
“Anyway appears to be a continuum of ideas and adventure, crammed into a jazzed up heavy duty, jagged sounding folk rock idiom. The obvious focal point is Chapman’s rasping throaty growl, but there are other major musical building blocks such as Charlie Whitney’s crashing chords, Rob Townsend’s cymbal splashes and percussive rhythm patterns, Poli’s unique use of vibes, flute and Maestro effects box and the majestic violin of John Weider.”
The unusual thing about ‘Anyway’ is that the first four tracks, while all previously unreleased, were recorded live at the Fairfield Halls, Croydon.
Rightly described as uncompromising and dynamic, ‘Good News- Bad News’ is right up there for me with the best of Family. Controlled chaos is a phrase I might add to sum-up this piece with Palmer once again showing the experimental edge the band had with his ‘gizmoed’ vibes solo and an immensely powerful guitar break from Whitney the ‘icing on the cake’. There is a ‘pastoral’ interlude with the moody ‘Willow Tree’, a pleasant soulful departure for Chappo before the chaos returns again on a risky if largely successful live rendition of ‘Holding the Compass’ (Another very strong number) and on a short 100 miles an hour version of the self referential ‘Strange Band’, ultimately to provide another hit single for the band.
The studio tracks start with the sublime stomp of ‘Part of the Load’ (also included as a 9½ extended jam with two guitar breaks and a disregard for tuning totally in keeping with the uncompromising way Family went about its business), a marvellous song about the boredom of life on the road, and dealing with that reality. The title track is best summed up as one of the weirdest things the band has done (very percussive) while the unique instrumental ‘Normans’ has in fact nothing to do with the Norman Conquest and all that but was an ‘in joke’- Family are well named! The philosophical anti-war song ‘Lives and Ladies’ takes us out and is included as an extended live bonus track along with an ‘alternative live version’ of ‘Strange Band’.
Recommended.
(MYS CD 171)

FAMILY- FEARLESS (1971)
Roger Chapman gives engineer George Chkiantz a lot of the credit for coming up with ‘sonic ideas’ that made ‘Fearless’ such a successful album. John Wetton joining the band from Mogul Thrash to replace John Weider also added a new dimension although it’s a pity his vocal talents were not put to more use. He does join Chapman on vocals on ‘Spanish Tide’ (also notable for another Palmer vibes solo and some harpsichord) and ‘Save Some for Thee’ (the first of two tracks, the other being ‘Take your Partners’ on which the band is accompanied by.the Ladbroke horns-Malcolm ‘Molly’ Duncan and Roger Ball from The Average White Band no less).
‘Between Blue and Me’ starts the album off memorably with the line ‘Road maps revive an old story’ and heavy guitar work is sandwiched between an acoustic intro and coda. ‘Sat’d’y Barfly’, a ‘scat on Americana’ according to Chapman sees Wetton and Palmer banging away on old pub pianos and an uncredited tuba makes the number, a hilarious ‘spoof’ of the old west, work so well. ‘Larf and Sing’ changes the mood again to a barbershop quartet reminiscent of Gentle Giant with Poli singing in the ‘happy chorus’- much to his amazement! How innovative and resourceful Family were is demonstrated by Palmer playing bagpipes through a fuzz box, bouncing
three flutes and vibes to one track not to mention bouncing lines of monophonic synth again to one track. Most of this and Charlie Whitney’s mandolin adorn ’Burning Bridges’ the concluding track to ‘Fearless’, as at last the band achieved what all fans and critics knew they were ultimately capable of- a consistent, varied (It was always thus) and well produced album. There are four bonus tracks on the Mystic release- the first being my all time favourite Family number ‘In My Own Time’ with Chapman surpassing his vocal performance on ‘No Mule’s Fool’ and one of the most effective instrumental breaks of all time- by Palmer of course!
Pete Feenstra summarises:
“Chapman is simply majestic, and all the disparate elements work brilliantly like aural pieces in a jigsaw. Rob Townsend contributes a lovely drum pattern. Charlie (Whitney) incorporates heavy guitars, and Poli adds expressive vibes. Rarely can a rock single have combined so much power, such a sense of dynamics, and a peerless vocal performance. The single gives full reign to Chapman’s vibrato, and the band’s characteristic fractured style.”
The b-side of ‘In My Own Time’, the gentle acoustic ‘Seasons’ is also included along with a stripped down opening section of ‘Between Blue ‘n’ Me’ and a cover of the blues legend J.B. Lenoir’s ‘Sing ‘Em The Way I Feel’ as bonus tracks.
Contact: www.mysticrecords.co.uk
(MYS CD 171)

FAMILY- BANDSTAND (1972)
‘Bandstand’ is considered a more ‘straight ahead’ and less eclectic album than the well named ‘Fearless’. It begins with one of the band’s most enduring songs, ‘Burlesque’, an unlikely hit in the UK where the recommendation of Pete Townshend and Keith Moon persuaded the band to sanction its release. Driven along by convulsive guitar work and rhythm section (Wetton and Townsend) it s infectious beat and chorus were to propel in to #15 in the UK chart. ‘Bandstand’ is a solid LP right through to the concluding ‘Top of the Hill’ completed with a 20 piece orchestration by Del Newman- ‘a kind of Beatles thing’ according to Poli Palmer. Comparisons were also made with the Beatles in the backwards tapes on ‘Bolero Babe’ while light and shade permeated the album from the black humour of ‘Broken Nose’ where Linda Lewis assisted Chappo on vocals to the hit that never was, the splendidly mellifluous ‘My Friend the Sun’. ‘Bolero Babe’ also benefits from a nice string arrangement and swirling synth and violin. The only thing I disagree with Pete Feenstra about in his sleeve notes in the status of ‘Coronation’, for long one of my favourite Family songs. I don’t agree that the chorus is ‘pedestrian’ at all and I note that John Wetton had a hand in its composition. The wonderful thing about Family is that they were such a ‘risky’ (never ‘risque’ though!!) band and imperfections may be construed even on such a polished release as ‘Bandstand’- ‘Dark Eyes’ seems incomplete to me and the synth solo on ‘Broken Nose’ didn’t work that well either. Nevertheless, moments of doubt such as these are very much in the minority and the skilful use of strings on tracks like ‘Glove’ and two beautifully constructed guitar solos on ‘Glove’ and ‘Ready to Go’ are good examples of the quality lurking around every corner on this album. The bonus tracks to the Mystic release comprise ‘The Rocking Rs’, the b-side to ‘Burlesque’, another working of ‘The Weavers’s Answer’ that was ‘archetypal of the difference between the band live and in the studio’ according to Rob Townsend, a raw ‘Good News, Bad News’ and an interesting version of ‘No Mule’s Fool’ where acoustic guitar is used instead of violin. Chappo is obviously in good form on these live takes!
(MYS CD 173)

FAMILY- IT’S ONLY A MOVIE (1973)
Palmer had played such a central role in fashioning the band’s distinctive yet multifaceted sound that his departure to join the Ric Grech band left Family badly wounded. When John Wetton also sought out pastures new in King Crimson the wound became near fatal. Without disrespect to either musician their replacements- Tony Ashton and Jim Cregan (who had played with Palmer in Blossom Toes as a guitarist but was now asked to play bass) lacked the versatility and creativity of their predecessors. So it was perhaps inevitable that criticism would be heaped upon ‘It’s Only A Movie’. Despite a cracker of a title song in a style reminiscent of ‘Sat’d’y Barfly’ with the commercial nuance of a 10CC song and the infectious soul of ‘Sweet Desiree’ resplendent with horns once again arranged by Del Newman, the more basic musical approach adopted on the album did not satisfy the legions of Family fans who had come to expect something far more radical from their heroes. Certainly, the album finds Chapman in restrained mood and the strings, so effective on ‘Bandstand’ now sound saccharine in comparison. You might be forgiven for thinking that the Salvation Army Band are playing ‘Swanee River’ at the beginning of ‘Boots ‘n’ Roots’ and, unlike the Sally Army, the whole piece lacks conviction. The lethargic instrumental ‘Banger’ is symptomatic of the band’s fall from grace while Ashton’s vain attempt to lift proceedings with an organ break on the well named ‘Check Out’ is doomed to failure it seems. The bonus tracks on the Mystic release include a studio track, actually a bit of a rarity in ‘Hometown’, a violin/ acoustic guitar led song originally appearing on the 1971 compilation ‘Old Songs, New Songs’, another live obscurity in ‘Dim’ (originally on ‘Family Entertainment’) with its country and western flavour, an acoustic rendering of ‘Procession’ leading into ‘No Mule’s Fool’ with Weider and Palmer in fine form on violin and vibes respectively, a reminder of the band at the height of its powers. Also included as if to compensate for the lack of adventure on the album itself are versions of ‘Holding the Compass’ and’ The Weaver’s Answer’ adding up to a good overall package for fans and completists.
(MYS CD 174)

FAMILY- LIVE
A fine live album recorded at the Rainbow Theatre, London during Family’s winter, 1971 tour. The CD features 10 songs including four tracks from ‘Fearless’ and one of the classic Family line-ups of Chapman, Whitney, Palmer, Wetton and Townsend.
‘Live’ is an essential addition to any prog rock fan’s collection.
(MYS CD 176)

All 6 albums are distributed in Germany through Zomba/ BMG, Belgium by Bertus and in the UK/ Rest of the World through Zeit. E-mail Don McKay at mystic.records@virgin.net or phone 0208 460 4907 if having difficulty finding them.

---