Family - Once Upon A Time - A Hands-On Verdict

Following on from an earlier post on the subject of the 'ultimate Family box set' which is now released, I can now update my opinions having been fortunate enough to get hold of a copy. If you are not familiar with 'Once Upon A Time', let me briefly remind you that it is a box containing a total of 14 CDs, a 72 page hardback book, a certificate of authenticity signed by lead singer Roger Chapman and a facsimile copy of 'Sounds' music magazine from the early 1970's. The CDs represent the eight studio albums released by Family between 1968 and 1973, one live album recorded in 1971, three CD singles and two discs of outtakes and alternate versions of songs dating mainly from the 'Fearless', 'Bandstand' and 'It's Only A Movie' albums.

I should also add, and omitted to mention in my previous post, that six of the studio albums have been remastered from recently discovered tapes.

I have been asked by one reader, which of the 6 albums had been remastered. Although the package does not make this clear, I can safely assume that they are all the studio albums excluding the first two ('Music in a Doll's House' and 'Family Entertainment'). The reason I reach that conclusion is because the discs are labelled differently with the first two being the versions released by Pucka several years ago.

The three CDs containing the singles feature the A & B sides of singles from the later period of Family's career. They also come in replicas of the original sleeves. For the albums, all of the original artwork is reproduced in fine quality and includes all inserts where appropriate. These include a scaled down version of the poster included with 'Family Entertainment'.

Regarding the sound of the remastered versions, I have to confess that having listened to two of these ('Old Songs New Songs' and 'A Song For Me') side by side with the original masters, I can find no discernible difference. What I have noticed is that the sloppy editing that existed at the beginning of 'Peace Of Mind' on the earlier version of 'Old Songs New Songs' where the track begins with two beats instead of the one it should have, has been rectified. Aside from that, I can find no difference but I am ready to stand corrected if any of you have hearing that is better than mine.

So, it would seem that the major selling points of this set are the fact that it is a limited edition, the presence of a 72 page book and the inclusion of two CDs of outtakes and alternate versions. I have listened to the two discs in question and while they are mildly interesting to hear once or twice, they are not something I shall be returning to with any frequency. For example, the first of these has twelve tracks. Of these, three are instrumental versions of 'Sat'd'y Barfly', five are instrumental versions of 'Spanish Tide' and two are bits of studio chatter. While I think that 'Spanish Tide' is a lovely song and hearing the instrumental backing on it's own allows you to focus on just how beautiful it is, after four or five versions, my patience was starting to wear thin. The second disc is similar featuring three attempts at 'My Friend The Sun' and three alternate versions of 'Ready To Go'.

While this is a very nice package, I personally think that opportunities have been missed. Perhaps there were copyright issues to blame but I feel that it would have been great to have all of Family's BBC recordings included. There are three CDs of this wonderful material available. Also as the first two albums were not remastered for this box set, it would have been wonderful to have had the mono versions of these included. It is my understanding that the first two albums were recorded separately for mono and stereo so the two versions are said to be quite different.

Let me be absolutely clear by saying that this is a collection for avid fans of Family. At £125 a shot, I simply can't see the casual music fan being tempted. Those wishing to check out Family can do so without laying out such a large amount of cash by picking up copies of albums which are readily available elsewhere. This then begs the question, would fans of the band not already have most of this material anyway?

I look forward to hearing your views.