Album DescriptionAvailable in:
The Family is a 1985 album released on Prince's Paisley Park Records label by the band of the same name. The album consists of eight Minneapolis sound tracks but with a funk-jazz slant. Two of the tracks are instrumentals, and three are ballads; many feature string arrangements by Clare Fischer, marking the beginning of Prince's longstanding association with the Michigan-born composer-arranger. A single was released for "The Screams of Passion", a modest hit that was re-released in 1996 on the Girl 6 soundtrack. A promo version of "High Fashion" was distributed. "Nothing Compares 2 U", an emotional ballad, became more widely known five years later when a cover by Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single to worldwide success.
User Album Review
As huge as Prince's Minneapolis sound was in 1985, one would have expected a band boasting three ex-members of the Time to hit big. But the urban contemporary and pop markets can be incredibly fickle, and this self-titled debut album by the Family wasn't the blockbuster some folks predicted it would be. Not surprisingly, this release is about as Minneapolis-sounding as it gets, and the heavy Prince/Time influence is undeniable. The Family isn't among the true classics that came from Minneapolis in the 1980s; it isn't in a class with Prince's Purple Rain, the Time's Ice Cream Castles, or Sheila E's The Glamorous Life, but it's competent and generally decent. Produced by David Z, this LP ranges from the sweaty funk of "High Fashion" and "Mutiny" to moodier items like "Desire" and the single "The Screams of Passion." Also noteworthy is the band's interesting version of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U." After the Family's breakup, this LP went out of print. And by the end of the 1980s, it was becoming increasingly difficult to find.
External Album Reviews
None...
User Comments