(Family - the U.S. and top 40 radio wasn't quite ready for Roger in 1968)

Before Chapman-Whitney and before Streetwalkers there was Family (and before that The Roaring Sixties if you're keeping track). The common denominator was the distinctive (and often misunderstood) voice of Roger Chapman.

Family's first album was Music In A Doll's House, and it had everything going for it - great production (by Dave Mason, just out of Traffic and about to go solo), an enthusiastic record company in the UK (Reprise UK) and a lot of good word of mouth, in England. Unfortunately, Roger was a bit of a tough sell in the States. My colleague at the time Lester Bangs, editor of Creem Magazine once referred to Roger as "that electric goat" and relegated the album to the trade-in pile and only occasionally would a track appear on an FM radio show - top-40 was out of the question. Until they switched labels and went with United Artists in the States, their reputation as a serious band wouldn't get stateside notice until the early 70's. By then their Psychedelic meanderings were pretty much over and their bluesy-hardrock persona was established.

But the first album for me was always special. I admitted to loving it and wearing out two copies within the first year of hearing it. And so for that reason tonight's track is off that album. Actually it's three tracks; Peace of Mind, Voyage and The Breeze, which are connected to each other as really one track.

And Family was never the same.