The Family

by Alex Henderson 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.