Families

[DavidM]

My 13-year-old son has started listening to Sympathy for the Devil by the Stones. That's without any prompting from me. He picked it up from one of his friends. So it was with no small paternal satisfaction that I was able to pull Beggar's Banquet (about the only Rolling Stones album I have, by the way) off the shelf and say "Here you go son, have a good listen". It's about the first time our tastes have crossed paths. Otherwise, he's listening to a lot of execerable Rap or Hip-Hop, and Big Hair Rock.

[Adam Blake]

If he goes weepy eyed to "No Expectations" you know you did a good job.

[NormanD]

And if he asks if you have the original of "Prodigal Son" you can go all weepy yourself.

[DavidM]

Just at the moment he looks more like he'll be a prodigal son than want to know about the original. But, still, he's only 13. There's a lot of growing for him to do.

Kids, eh; they keep you guessing.

[AndyM]

An abbreviated version of 'Sympathy for the Devil' was sung by the villain in this year Wimbledon Theatre panto. Bet you were dying to know that. ('Aladdin', by the way.)

[will vine]

Adele's Rolling in the Deep, that's got a bit of Sympathy for the Devil going on in the chorus.

I gave a spare vinyl copy of Beggars Banquet to the son of a friend.

My 9-y-o grandson, unbidden by me, is very much into The Beatles. Courtesy of the generosity of his other grandpa we went to the Let it Be musical in London. Impressive karaoke and little Alfie had a fine time doing The Twist but....strictly a tourist attraction.

[Adam Blake]

An abbreviated version of 'Sympathy for the Devil' was sung by the villain

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste" is such a perfect opening line for a good baddie.

Will: your grandson may well turn out to be a musician.

[AndyM]

"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste" is such a perfect opening line for a good baddie.

Absolutely, but the lines about the Kennedys were cut. And 'Anastasia screamed in vain'.

[Adam Blake]

But they surely didn't cut the guitar solo and the "woo-woo's" ???

[AndyM]

The woo-woos were (rather half-heartedly) still there, but no solo.

[will vine]

An abbreviated version of 'Sympathy for the Devil' was sung by the villain in this year Wimbledon Theatre panto. Bet you were dying to know that. ('Aladdin', by the way.)

It's a ghastly idea that such an icon of my youth should, perhaps like its creators, now be reduced to pantomime but it reminds me that on a recent visit to the Land of Long Ago I heard Family's majestic Weaver of Life and pictured it as a showstopping centrepiece of something like Les Miserables. It's got legs I tell you...There is a musical to be made. Call up Family. Call up The Moody Blues. Call up King Crimson. Yes, but no Yes...what?

[Rob Hall]

Don't forget Van der Graaf Generator!

Actually, I have a musician friend who rates Family - from a funk/rhythm perspective - as the English Little Feat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1XKdXXZjDc

and I don't think he's far wrong.

[Adam Blake]

It's a ghastly idea that such an icon of my youth should, perhaps like its creators, now be reduced to pantomime

Will, there's nothing wrong with pantomime! British rock'n'roll, on the other hand, much as I love it, is decidedly iffy by definition.

Rob, that Family track is a killer but is it not the funkiest thing they ever did? (Whereas Little Feat were funky pretty much all the time.)

[will vine]

Rob, that Family track is a killer but is it not the funkiest thing they ever did? (Whereas Little Feat were funky pretty much all the time.)

Well how about Sweet Desiree? http://youtu.be/dfrkY8Ue1AI

[Adam Blake]

Nice, very nice, but kind of illustrates my point about British rock'n'roll. I mean, it's good, but compared to Little Feat? If we're going down this road I think Traffic on a good night could piss all over Family:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqsjuIEGnEo

but at this distance let's stay civil about it.

Then there was this exquisite one hit wonder:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ2ZNCip9YM

But really, surely the funkiest British band ever were (gasp) Scottish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n60E8-Wt4Mk