A Song for Me

Infobox Album
Name = A Song for Me
Type = album
Artist = Family


Released = January 1970
Genre = Rock, progressive rock
Length = 45:30
Label = Reprise (UK)
United Artists (U.S.)
Producer = Family
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://wm07.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:wzfpxqy5ldje link]
Last album = "Family Entertainment"
(1969)
This album = "A Song for Me"
(1970)
Next album = "Anyway"
(1970)|

A Song for Me is the third album from the British progressive rock band Family, released in January 1970.

The album

When Family went into Olympic Studios in London to record a third album in late 1969, a great deal was riding on the outcome. It was to be their first album with new members John Weider on bass and Poli Palmer on keyboards, flute and vibraphone, and their sound was expected to be different from the one the band had achieved with Ric Grech on bass and Jim King on saxophone. The previous year had been a year of disastrous setbacks for Family, with Grech having left for Blind Faith and King forced to leave for getting too deep into drug addiction. In addition, their first U.S. tour had been a disaster. The band recovered, though, and released "A Song for Me" at the beginning of 1970.

Although many of the songs on this record had been written with King's saxophone in mind, Charlie Whitney and Roger Chapman were able to rework them with Palmer's instruments in mind, and Palmer quickly made himself integral the Family's sound. Because some of these songs had been debuted in live performances in the previous year, many Family fans found themselves getting accommodated to arrangements that sounded radically different from what they expected. The opening cut, "Drowned In Wine," presented Family as a newly confident band ready to take chances and push rock into uncharted territory. This song was a sharp, heavy blast of rock and roll that made a clean break with Family's earlier work.

Much of "A Song for Me" shows Family exploring various popular forms, from jazz and blues to folk and country. "Some Poor Soul" was a richly detailed song about a nocturnal scene of wildlife, while "Song For Sinking Lovers" and "The Cat and the Rat" were pure country rock. The group experimented with strange guitar arrangements in songs like "Stop For the Traffic (Through the Heart of Me)" and added untraditional instruments, like Palmer's vibraphone, to a steamy blues-rock number like "Love Is a Sleeper."

The biggest achievement on "A Song for Me" was the nine-minute, sixteen-second title track that was among one of the nastiest musical performances ever recorded. As on other tracks, Roger Chapman used his "electric goat" vocal to style to great effect, while other band members tried to get the meanest, scariest sounds out of their respective instruments.

"A Song for Me" was a major success in Britain, and it established Family as prime innovators in the British rock underground.

Track listing

:"All tracks by Whitney/Chapman, except where noted."
#"Drowned in Wine" - 4:08
#"Some Poor Soul" - 2:44
#"Love is a Sleeper" - 4:00
#"Stop for the Traffic (Through the Heart of Me)" - 2:09
#"Wheels" - 4:38
#"Song for Sinking Lovers" - 4:04
#"Hey" - "Let It Rock" - 1:02
#"The Cat and the Rat" - 2:30
#"93's O.K. J" (Whitney, Weider) - 3:57
#"A Song for Me" (Whitney, Chapman, Weider, Townsend) - 9:13

Additional Tracks on the February 2007 Re-release

# "No Mules Fool"
# "Good Friend Of Mine"
# "Drowned In Wine" (Live)
# "Cat And The Rat" (Live)
# "Wheels" (Live)
# "Song For Me" (Live)

Personnel

*Roger Chapman – vocals, percussion
*John "Charlie" Whitney – guitars, banjo, organ
*Robert Townsend – drums, percussion, harp
*John Weider – guitars, violin, dobro
*John "Poli" Palmer – vibes, piano, flute

Chart positions

*Highest chart position (UK) - #4
*Highest chart position (U.S.) - did not chart