This reunion is really odd. Why?

The Family's album is 100% Prince-created.

So when Paul and Susannah and Jellybean and Eric Leeds get together - what's the excitement really about? They didn't create that album. Prince did. Honestly, they were nothing more than a cover band. Prince used them as a vehicle for an album of his tunes. I'm not trying to be mean when I say that it's just happens to be excactly how it was/is. As Eric Leeds himself once said - The Family's album is as much of a Prince album as any album Prince ever released. And how many times did The Family ever play live back in the day. I know the never toured extensively. So, live, they were non-existent (unlike The Time).

I wish it was a situation where those guys/gal had written that incredible album themselves and Prince had nothing to do with it. But that's not the case. So the excitement makes very little sense to me.

I get the sense that fans conveniently ignore the well-known fact that the group of people who made up The Family actually had nothing to do with "their" album.

And lest anyone thinks I'm a Prince fanboy let me just say this: I am a lover of Prince's musical output from 1980-1987 BUT I also think, over the years, Prince has become a massive jerk. The guy was once someone who brought people of different colors and beliefs together and not he's become a quasi-Conservative with a very strict set of rules (and bizarre beliefs) that if you don't happen to agree with then he wants nothing to do with you. And I've no doubt that Paul, Susannah, Jellybean, and Eric are way better people than Prince is now.

That being said, Prince=The Family, not Paul P, Susannah, Jellybean, and Eric.

[Edited 1/27/12 9:10am]

So, let me get this straight, Prince sang lead AND played horns on The Family's albums?

^ agreed also,

LinnLM1 said:

The Family's album is 100% Prince-created.

River Run Dry was written by Bobby Z.

LinnLM1 said:

how many times did The Family ever play live back in the day

One show at First Ave.

Everything else is See the countless other threads from about 18 months back for the same clap-trap by similar whiners.

BlaqueKnight said:

So, let me get this straight, Prince sang lead AND played horns on The Family's albums?

They had one album. (NOT ALBUMS) and Prince did sing lead on the original demos/recordings. Of course St Paul came in and sang for the actual album. And of course Prince did NOT play the horns.

LinnLM1 said:

This reunion is really odd. Why?

The Family's album is 100% Prince-created.

So when Paul and Susannah and Jellybean and Eric Leeds get together - what's the excitement really about? They didn't create that album. Prince did. Honestly, they were nothing more than a cover band. Prince used them as a vehicle for an album of his tunes. I'm not trying to be mean when I say that it's just happens to be excactly how it was/is. As Eric Leeds himself once said - The Family's album is as much of a Prince album as any album Prince ever released. And how many times did The Family ever play live back in the day. I know the never toured extensively. So, live, they were non-existent (unlike The Time).

I wish it was a situation where those guys/gal had written that incredible album themselves and Prince had nothing to do with it. But that's not the case. So the excitement makes very little sense to me.

I get the sense that fans conveniently ignore the well-known fact that the group of people who made up The Family actually had nothing to do with "their" album.

And lest anyone thinks I'm a Prince fanboy let me just say this: I am a lover of Prince's musical output from 1980-1987 BUT I also think, over the years, Prince has become a massive jerk. The guy was once someone who brought people of different colors and beliefs together and not he's become a quasi-Conservative with a very strict set of rules (and bizarre beliefs) that if you don't happen to agree with then he wants nothing to do with you. And I've no doubt that Paul, Susannah, Jellybean, and Eric are way better people than Prince is now.

That being said, Prince=The Family, not Paul P, Susannah, Jellybean, and Eric.

[Edited 1/27/12 9:10am]

Probably because they are a great band live and have a killer new cd full of music that - imo - is equally as good as the original. I LOVED the original - and was a bit worried when they said a new cd was underway. I personally was not disappointed. So why are people excited by ANY band? Because they like the performers, music and live shows! Prince equals teh wrting and most of the playing on the first record. Clare Fisher and Eric Leeds equals what differentiated the sound from what Prince was doing at the time. Paul and susaannahs voices ALSO changed the feel on a lot of it. Paul may have imitated Prince but I will take Paul singing Nothing Compares to U over Prince any day. And I'll take their record over most of Princes out put from the last 5-10 years.I actually LISTEN to their album on a regular basis. According to your theory Holland Dozier Holland and the Funk Brothers = Motown?? And the Tempatations, Four Tops, etc were cover bands?

thepope2the9s said:

BlaqueKnight said:

So, let me get this straight, Prince sang lead AND played horns on The Family's albums?

They had one album. (NOT ALBUMS) and Prince did sing lead on the original demos/recordings. Of course St Paul came in and sang for the actual album. And of course Prince did NOT play the horns.

Well, that kills the 100% theory, doesn't it?

Zannaloaf said:

According to your theory Holland Dozier Holland and the Funk Brothers = Motown?? And the Tempatations, Four Tops, etc were cover bands?

Some of the stuff that's said on this site is nothing short of fanbotic, isn't it? There are multitudes of songwriters in the business and yet somehow when it comes to Prince people pretend that everyone else was just sitting around, twiddling their thumbs. Even Clare always gets shorted in the deal. I know for damn sure I haven't seen Prince pick up any violins, violas, cellos or contra basses...but hey, its Prince, right?

For some reason, some fans really want to believe dude did everything by himself.

People go see artists to see them PERFORM the songs they know. At that moment; at curtain time, the performers are all that the audience cares about - not who wrote the song.

LinnLM1 said:

it was a cool idea they wanted 2 come back but strange it was a prince idea and band i wouldnt have wanted 2 use that name cuz they know good in hell they were just a stand in for prince ideas. yes musically they have all grown but the truth is the truth and that was a prince band.just like wendy and lisa wanna act like they have so much rights 2 the revolution ok what if dez and andre come out saying that the revolution is theirs?? how would people feel? i love all of em in there own special way but stop denying the real truth its prince world of music his creations u were just a playere not owner in that at all.

Zannaloaf said:

According to your theory Holland Dozier Holland and the Funk Brothers = Motown?? And the Tempatations, Four Tops, etc were cover bands?

Great Point. I think alot of times we forget what a freak of nature Prince is. There are very few perfomers who write produce arrange and play all their own intstruments and do it WEll. In alot of cases the performers just sing and perform. So in this case, I think alot of fans liked their sound as well as the prince crafted songs. St paul, susannah, and eric leeds contributed that sound.

The responses by most is typical. You're not unlike the group of people who argue that Priince's musical output of the last 15 years is as good or better than his '80-'87 output. You're not unlike the fans who try to argue that CONDENSATE is as good or better than The Time's first 3 albums.

You're gonna believe what you allow yourself to believe.

Paul P, Sue, Jellybean and Eric did not create that album, folks. Just like Jimmy Jam, Terry, Morris, Jellybean, Monte, and Jesse did not create the first 2 Time albums. People see them on the cover of the albums and think that'sproof it's their songs and their creation. But not in those cases.

LinnLM1 said:

LinnLM1 said:

Paul P, Sue, Jellybean and Eric did not create that album, folks. Just like Jimmy Jam, Terry, Morris, Jellybean, Monte, and Jesse did not create the first 2 Time albums. People see them on the cover of the albums and think that'sproof it's their songs and their creation. But not in those cases.

Most people don't care who wrote or created songs, they like music because it has a good beat or it sounds nice. People bought Archies albums and they had a few hit records, and no one believed cartoon characters really sang the songs. Just like people didn't believe the kids in The Partridge Family played any instruments. Nobody cared that Martha Wash sang for Black Box, and the model in their videos and record cover photos didn't. Going by your logic, no one should go see Elvis Presley, Barbra Striesand, or Frank Sinatra because they didn't write or create any music. What about tribute bands like Musical Box, 1964, or Lez Zeppelin? Orchestras and opera singers mostly perform music written by guys who have been dead hundreds of years.

As far as The Family goes, hardly anyone bought that album. They're obscure. I've never heard it other than the single and the b-side to it. I didn't know that Sinead O' Connor song was a cover until years later after it was out.

LinnLM1 said:

The responses by most is typical. You're not unlike the group of people who argue that Priince's musical output of the last 15 years is as good or better than his '80-'87 output. You're not unlike the fans who try to argue that CONDENSATE is as good or better than The Time's first 3 albums.

You're gonna believe what you allow yourself to believe.

Paul P, Sue, Jellybean and Eric did not create that album, folks. Just like Jimmy Jam, Terry, Morris, Jellybean, Monte, and Jesse did not create the first 2 Time albums. People see them on the cover of the albums and think that'sproof it's their songs and their creation. But not in those cases.

The Temptations and the Supremes didn't write or produce the songs on their albums,either.I dare you to say that those artists are no good

HUGE point being missed here........They're doing it WITHOUT Him!!!!!!!

Kudos alone 4 THAT!!!!!!!!

Point #2- The fDeluxe project is NOT garbage!!!!!!!!

LinnLM1 said:

The responses by most is typical. You're not unlike the group of people who argue that Priince's musical output of the last 15 years is as good or better than his '80-'87 output. You're not unlike the fans who try to argue that CONDENSATE is as good or better than The Time's first 3 albums.

You're gonna believe what you allow yourself to believe.

Paul P, Sue, Jellybean and Eric did not create that album, folks. Just like Jimmy Jam, Terry, Morris, Jellybean, Monte, and Jesse did not create the first 2 Time albums. People see them on the cover of the albums and think that'sproof it's their songs and their creation. But not in those cases.

Yep. There you have it. LinnLM1 knows because they were at the recording sessions watching every bit of it. Watching Prince write Erics sax parts, singing Paul and Sussanahs parts, composing and recordingthe strings. thnak you for you personal, in studio observations.

LinnLM1 said:

The responses by most is typical. You're not unlike the group of people who argue that Priince's musical output of the last 15 years is as good or better than his '80-'87 output. You're not unlike the fans who try to argue that CONDENSATE is as good or better than The Time's first 3 albums.

You're gonna believe what you allow yourself to believe.

Paul P, Sue, Jellybean and Eric did not create that album, folks. Just like Jimmy Jam, Terry, Morris, Jellybean, Monte, and Jesse did not create the first 2 Time albums. People see them on the cover of the albums and think that'sproof it's their songs and their creation. But not in those cases.

No the responses have been anything BUT typical. They have been rather thoughtful for the org.

If you actually READ what everyone wrote in their responses to your post, they DO understand the bolded part above.

In fact you were even corrected on the songwriting credits (e.g. Bobby Z) so some actually know MORE than you do about the credits and who created whatt.

What they are saying (and what YOU don't seem to want to hear/understand) is that they do not care.

I was a fan of the Family since I got the album on vinyl in 1985 or 1986 (whichever year it was).

I was always suspect that the credits were not real (Jerome writing Mutiny?? c'mon) and that Prince did it all. Just like I always knew Prince wrote or co-wrote most of Sheila's stuff (you can just tell).

Doesn't matter. To me "The Family" is Paul, Susannah Eric and Bean (and Jerome). The fact they only had one concert (plus the Family Jamm 17 years later) is a big part of WHY everone is so excited to finally see them!!!! Duh!!!

What don't you get?

[Edited 1/27/12 21:12pm]

I'll be honest and say initially I wasn't particularly bothered about the new material but was very interested in seeing them live.

As some other posters above have said, a big part of the excitement for me was the fact that they were supposed to tour the album back in '85 and never did. Another big part was just the chance to see Eric Leeds play live, and in a really intimate venue too.

I am SO glad that I got a ticket for their London show acouple of weeks back. As a band, they were far better than I ever expected them to be - really funky and jazzy and clearly having an enormous amount of fun up on the stage. Their joy at being on stage together and finally being able to play in front of audiences was palpable and infectious, and made for one of the best nights of music I've had in a long time. I really enjoyed the new music too - again, much more than I thought I would.

The icing on the cake was how cool the band were; hanging around after the show, signing anything and everything that they were presented with and taking the time to chat - properly chat - with everyone who had waited. The biggest surprise for me was St. Paul who, for some reason, I expected to be a bit superstar-ish and slightly arrogant. How wrong I was. He was as warm, friendly and chatty as the rest of the band - a real surprise. The whole band seemed genuinely surprised by the turnout at the gig and the reaction of the crowd and were clearly very humbled by the whole night.

I would say that I went to see them mostly as a curiosity due to 'The Family album by Prince' from 1985. However I came away as a committed fan of the band of 2012 - a committed bunch of musicians who are clearly loving the opportunity to be doing this 27 years later and who are making terrific music together.

Whenever they come back to the UK (and I hope it's soon) I will be there in a heartbeat.

It's funny how some people are all over the place on this one. How many have actually listened to both The Family and FDeluxe all the way through track by track more than 3 times? Well, I have, and the first album is pretty much a Prince album, but with valuable contributions from Eric, and The Family. I can't gauge David Z's actual involvement, as we all know there are issues with the credits on any Prince project.

The new FDeluxe album is mostly very good, with a few clunkers, but some good songs too. It just doesn't hold up to the first one very well. I'm not stuck in the past, this is just my opinion. I'm happy for FDeluxe, they proved they could do it without Prince, and the Prince ass kissers can be happy that they didn't do quite as well. I'm just happy to have both albums in my collection regardless of what anybody else thinks about them. Sadly, neither of the Family albums have really sold anything, but that's a whole different story.

The Time? Well, the first 3 Time albums are pretty much Prince and Morris. Pandemonium is a mix of real Time and Prince Time.

Condensate? Well, I'd say it is much better than I thought it would be, and honestly, better than FDeluxe, but if you think about having Jam, Lewis, Day, Johnson, and Moir as your songwriting team, you better hope you are better than FDeluxe. Better than Pandemonium? Probably. Better than the the first 3 time albums? No. Maybe almost as good as Ice Cream Castle, but even there, the only strike against Castle was it was sort of short when the music industry was starting to get to the point where many albums were over 40 minutes.

Too bad Jesse left the Time before we could get a tour with all original members. I'm afraid the tour would have been mostly old songs and a lot of medleys. It seems that the Time have copied Prince's favorite shortcut: Shortened songs. Damn shame. I hope The Time tour with or without Jesse, and play 4 or more new songs, and 10-12 classics. I hope they are up for that challenge, but I am scared they will succumb to Prince's short song disease. I doubt Morris would hire some female background singers to sing lead on 4 songs a night, but then again, Prince and Morris have been copying each other for years. The Time can still be the baddest band out there if that's what they want to be.

You're only saying this because the writer is famous.

There are tons of albums where the artist of the album only sings, but it's still the singer's album.

The family song the first album....it's their album.

In your view a new album of Tina Turner, Whitney Houston etc. etc. etc. wouldn't be exciting, because they are not the writers.

I think we should just judge fDeluxe where they are at now. To me, the bottom line is:

1. Gaslight is a strong album

2. The associated mixes are good

3. They are good musicians

4. They are putting on good shows with strong material (The Family, Madhouse, fDeluxe)

5. Powerful personalities on stage, clearly enjoying themselves and that energy passes through the audience.

Full credit to them. I'm glad they've got together and appreciate the music they're making.

NouveauDance said:

See the countless other threads from about 18 months back for the same clap-trap by similar whiners.

geetee71 said:

As a band, they were far better than I ever expected them to be - really funky and jazzy and clearly having an enormous amount of fun up on the stage. Their joy at being on stage together and finally being able to play in front of audiences was palpable and infectious, and made for one of the best nights of music I've had in a long time. I really enjoyed the new music too - again, much more than I thought I would.

andymacfunky said:

I think we should just judge fDeluxe where they are at now. To me, the bottom line is:

1. Gaslight is a strong album

2. The associated mixes are good

3. They are good musicians

4. They are putting on good shows with strong material (The Family, Madhouse, fDeluxe)

5. Powerful personalities on stage, clearly enjoying themselves and that energy passes through the audience.

Full credit to them. I'm glad they've got together and appreciate the music they're making.

Exactly. And may they continue to make music and perform together because they sound good and it works!

To the OP don't worry about it, you'll get over it.

It's funny that the OP question was totally answered then he switches tracks by bringing up the Time and the quality of their current material. It's as if he wanted to say "Prince created all this stuff by himslef and I HATE that people want to give any credit to anyone else or follow the careers of associated musicians in 2012."

That and a video of a baby going waaaaaaah.....

stillwaiting said:

It's funny how some people are all over the place on this one. How many have actually listened to both The Family and FDeluxe all the way through track by track more than 3 times? Well, I have, and the first album is pretty much a Prince album, but with valuable contributions from Eric, and The Family. I can't gauge David Z's actual involvement, as we all know there are issues with the credits on any Prince project.

The new FDeluxe album is mostly very good, with a few clunkers, but some good songs too. It just doesn't hold up to the first one very well. I'm not stuck in the past, this is just my opinion. I'm happy for FDeluxe, they proved they could do it without Prince, and the Prince ass kissers can be happy that they didn't do quite as well. I'm just happy to have both albums in my collection regardless of what anybody else thinks about them. Sadly, neither of the Family albums have really sold anything, but that's a whole different story.

The Time? Well, the first 3 Time albums are pretty much Prince and Morris. Pandemonium is a mix of real Time and Prince Time.

Condensate? Well, I'd say it is much better than I thought it would be, and honestly, better than FDeluxe, but if you think about having Jam, Lewis, Day, Johnson, and Moir as your songwriting team, you better hope you are better than FDeluxe. Better than Pandemonium? Probably. Better than the the first 3 time albums? No. Maybe almost as good as Ice Cream Castle, but even there, the only strike against Castle was it was sort of short when the music industry was starting to get to the point where many albums were over 40 minutes.

Too bad Jesse left the Time before we could get a tour with all original members. I'm afraid the tour would have been mostly old songs and a lot of medleys. It seems that the Time have copied Prince's favorite shortcut: Shortened songs. Damn shame. I hope The Time tour with or without Jesse, and play 4 or more new songs, and 10-12 classics. I hope they are up for that challenge, but I am scared they will succumb to Prince's short song disease. I doubt Morris would hire some female background singers to sing lead on 4 songs a night, but then again, Prince and Morris have been copying each other for years. The Time can still be the baddest band out there if that's what they want to be.

Good analysis. I really dig the new 07 album , listened to it 77times...havent even listened to Fdeluxe..except gaslight...but will probably download and judge for myself. The family was so short lived and really a blip on the radar (though a BIG blip), compared to the TIME , so I have no real commitment to that group..whereas I have a long history with The Time and the careers of it's members.

BlaqueKnight said:

thepope2the9s said:

They had one album. (NOT ALBUMS) and Prince did sing lead on the original demos/recordings. Of course St Paul came in and sang for the actual album. And of course Prince did NOT play the horns.

Well, that kills the 100% theory, doesn't it?

Yes, should be 97%

My thoughts on the reunion. The exitement of having Prince in the background (either vocals or instruments) is now missing, that makes it less interesting for me.

http://michelwillems.org/2012/01/23/the-family-vs-fdeluxe/

michelw said:

My thoughts on the reunion. The exitement of having Prince in the background (either vocals or instruments) is now missing, that makes it less interesting for me.

http://michelwillems.org/2012/01/23/the-family-vs-fdeluxe/

Then don't go.

michelw said:

My thoughts on the reunion. The exitement of having Prince in the background (either vocals or instruments) is now missing, that makes it less interesting for me.

http://michelwillems.org/2012/01/23/the-family-vs-fdeluxe/

I guess you don't go see any other really great live bands either if Prince isn't on backing vocals or intstruments?

[Edited 1/29/12 10:28am]

michelw said:

My thoughts on the reunion. The exitement of having Prince in the background (either vocals or instruments) is now missing, that makes it less interesting for me.

http://michelwillems.org/2012/01/23/the-family-vs-fdeluxe/

"...Recent videos of fDeluxe I could not find on the web, maybe it is meant that way..."

No, it's not meant that way

And so on, and so on, and so on

fdeluxe - YouTube

St paul plays some mean ass bass