🎵 AotW AOTW: Family Portrait (SP 19002)

[Harry]

Family Portrait
16 Outstanding Selections From A&M Records
Various Artists
SP-19002

Side One:

Flea Bag - Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass (4134)
Fly Me To The Moon - The Sandpipers (4135)
Windy - Wes Montgomery (3001)
Foolin' Around - Chris Montez (4128)
Dolphin - Tamba 4 (3004)
The Debutant's Ball - Liza Minnelli ('forthcoming')
Early In The Morning - Merry Go Round (4132)
Cross My Heart - Phil Ochs (4133)

Side Two:

I Say A Little Prayer - Burt Bacharach (4131)
Wanderlove - Claudine Longet (4121)
Triste - Antonio Carlos Jobim (3002)
You Pass Me By - Jimmie Rodgers (4130)
Like A Lover - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 (4137)
Baja Humbug - Julius Wechter & The Baja Marimba Band (4136)
Girl, I'm Out To Get You - Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart (4126)
House Of The Rising Sun - Herbie Mann (3003)

Art Director: Tom Wilkes / Photography: Guy Webster

 

[LPJim]

Since I first saw the cover photo on this one I've wished I could have been present at that picnic.
This sampler was an important catalyst to broadening my collection of A&M artists beyond the basics. A great advertising tool for the label at that time.
JB

 

[Dave]

Since I first saw the cover photo on this one I've wished I could have been present at that picnic.
This sampler was an important catalyst to broadening my collection of A&M artists beyond the basics. A great advertising tool for the label at that time.
JB

This is the FIRST A&M Multi-Artist Compilation I bought. Before buying the MUSIC BOX SAMPLER & MILLION DOLLAR SAMPLER.

I agree that it's easy to BROADEN your collection with just one listen to the tunes by Chris Montez, Boyce & Hart, Jimmie Rodgers, Claudine, Phil Ochs and The Merry-Go-Round. THIS is sure how I discovered a lot of those artists and was introduced to their work--besides seeing the albums on the inner-sleeves.

Dave

...wishing I could have attended that PICNIC on the cover, too...

 

[jimac51]

Great sampler of what was my favorite A&M period-they were building a real catalog-now they had some pop/rock and real jazz in the lineup . Great artwork-we've talked about the outtakes used for a music industry publications. 16 selections and about 40 min. playing time for what was a couple of bucks-if only the full length albums at regular price had as much music. My copy was evidently purchased in Feb. '68 after taking the SATs(I have know I idea why I remember that but I don't know remember where I bought this-Singer again?). All of the cuts have their seperate mono/stereo catalog numbers,but I can't say I've seen may mono versions of the featured albums- and,of course,the Minnelli album didn't have a # yet. They must have thought that it was a coup to have her on the label(after Capitol) and wanted to let people know there would really be an A&M album from Judy Garland's kid with new sounds from up-and coming composers like Randy Newman,not just Broadway fare. This was my first listening of the A&M/CTI series(and probably for many others)-another reason why A&M was becoming my favorite label. Favorite track-"Like A Lover" from Sergio & Co.- and after hearing "The Frog" on the radio a bit later,I couldn't wait till that album came out! Mac

 

[Harry]

Like the others, this was my first sampler compilation from A&M. My recollections are that my parents went out on a shopping trip one evening and came home with it as a little surprise.

A couple of notes about the actual LP that I've noticed over the years:

• The pressing seemed 'better' (?) or at least different to me. Compare "Flea Bag". To me the highs sound crisper on Family Portrait than they do on Ninth.
  
• "Like A Lover" is a different mix than what appears on Equinox. LIsten to the middle as it's heading for the strings in the bridge. Sergio's little echoey piano riff is missing from the Family Portrait mix. Perhaps this was an earlier mix?

And as others have mentioned, this sampler propelled me from just being a TJB fan to sampling others on the label, ultimately buying other albums. It served well, introducing me to Brasil '66 and Burt Bacharach as album performers. After hearing these tracks, I ultimately went out and splurged on the big-three Mendes albums, and whatever Bacharach product was out there, including the Kapp record.

The record continued to promote artists to me even in our current century. In the past, I'd often skipped over thed Phil Ochs track, but last year, as I was putting together an A&M artists comp, I needed an Ochs track. The only one I had was from Family Portrait, "Cross My Heart". As I listened to that compilation, I found myself drawn to that track over and over again, and finally after all these years, I sought out and purchased virtually the entire Phil Ochs catalog as released by A&M-Universal and Collectors Choice Music. I'm really sold on Pleasures Of the Harbor, now counting it among my favorite albums, and have plans to continue listening/exploring the Ochs catalog on the other discs. So Family Portrait is still doing its job after all these years.

Other than eBay, I've never seen another copy in any used record racks or flea markets, though I hear it's another plentiful title. Another regional thing?

Harry
NP: 20th Century Masters Collection - Phil Ochs

 

[Michael Hagerty]

Was the "Look Around" cover from this same shoot?

---Michael Hagerty

 

[Harry]

^^ Pretty likely, since the clothes are identical. I think they airbrushed the background on Look Around.

There's another photo from this shoot inside the tenth anniversary of A&M promotional book. In that one, everyone has gathered around Herb and the Brass at the table, with Lani having managed to get herself next to Herb. I'd scan it but it's on the inner part of a page near the binder of the book, so it would come out pretty poorly.

Harry
NP: radio at work

 

[Michael Hagerty]

And now that I look at it, Herb & the Brass are wearing their tuxes...could that field of flowers from the "Beat of the Brass" cover be in that very park...and could that cover have also been from this shoot?

---Michael Hagerty
(admiring Herb & Jerry's economies, online)

 

[Dave]

The record continued to promote artists to me even in our current century. In the past, I'd often skipped over thed Phil Ochs track, but last year, as I was putting together an A&M artists comp, I needed an Ochs track. The only one I had was from Family Portrait, "Cross My Heart". As I listened to that compilation, I found myself drawn to that track over and over again, and finally after all these years, I sought out and purchased virtually the entire Phil Ochs catalog as released by A&M-Universal and Collectors Choice Music. I'm really sold on Pleasures Of the Harbor, now counting it among my favorite albums, and have plans to continue listening/exploring the Ochs catalog on the other discs. So Family Portrait is still doing its job after all these years.
Harry

I bought the entire Phil Ochs A&M catalog on the Collectors' Choice CD reissues, myself.

I still have my Japanese Claudine CD's, too. As for Boyce & Hart, Rodgers, Montez, Mendes & Bacharach, Merry-Go-Round, et al, I at least have good playing vinyl by these artists I never would have thought of buying. FAMILY PORTRAIT is still serving me well, too.

Dave

 

[alpertfan]

These sampler albums are new to me. I had no idea of their existence. And it was a great way to promote the label's artists (perhaps that could even work with a few music lovers of my generation, you never know). How many sampler albums did A&M release, by the way? Any of them on CD?

...alpertfan, who learned something new today, online.

 

[Harry]

There were only nine in this A&M 19000 series, and one, I believe is not a sampler but an oddly numbered album for one artist, Bill Wyman. To my knowledge, none have ever been released on CD, though in the CD era, A&M continued to release samplers to radio stations and record stores with other CD-numbering styles. (See the Million Dollar Sampler album for Mr. Bill's picture of a modern-day CD 'spoof' of the first A&M sampler).

I have a couple of the CD-era samplers, one from 1986 called A Year Ago, We Hadn't Heard Of Them Either (CD 17413), with 10 tracks by artists like Double, The Lover Speaks, David And David, Bricklin, and Rosie Vela. All these years later, I'd say most people STILL haven't heard of most of them.

The other sampler on CD that I have is called simply A&M Records Christmas Sampler (for in-store play only) (31454 8048-2) from 1993. It contains 14 Christmas songs from artists like Aaron Neville, Eurythmics, Amy Grant, The Sounds Of Blackness, Carpenters, and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. Many of the tracks hail from the Very Special Christmas series, including one by Frank Sinatra/Cyndi Lauper. I found this one on eBay, and thought it was special enough that one disc contained something by both Herb Alpert and Frank Sinatra - not something you'll find very often out there.

A&M also had a series of radio station samplers in the '70s/'80s called Foreplay. These contained upcoming singles, and were sometimes themed around a major album release.

The nice thing about some of the early 19000 series samplers is that they were intended for the public, though even this series had its radio-only items.

Harry
...sampling some early morning posts, online...

 

[jimac51]

Harry wrote-The other sampler on CD that I have is called simply A&M Records Christmas Sampler (for in-store play only) (31454 8048-2) from 1993. It contains 14 Christmas songs from artists like Aaron Neville, Eurythmics, Amy Grant, The Sounds Of Blackness, Carpenters, and Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass. Many of the tracks hail from the Very Special Christmas series, including one by Frank Sinatra/Cyndi Lauper. I found this one on eBay, and thought it was special enough that one disc contained something by both Herb Alpert and Frank Sinatra - not something you'll find very often out there.

Besides the 1993 sampler,there was at least another Christmas instore sampler from 1997,(AMSAD 00567),with tracks from A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS 1,2 & lots of 3, Sounds of Blackness and Aaron Neville. No Herb or any of the other core MOR artists and the artwork looks like it was literally ripped oot of a second graders' art book(and I don't mean that in a nice way). In the pre- UMG years of Polygram,there was an instore promo series called START A HOLIDAY TRADITION,incorporating A&M material with their other labels,owned or distributed. I'm not sure if the "holiday tradition" they were trying to start ever followed in the Universal era. Mac

 

[Harry]

I also forgot to mention the 8000 series of samplers. I've got a couple of those too, including the Brazilian-flavored Gentle Rain, and the multi-artist themed Forget Me Nots.

Harry
...[insert clever line here], online...

 

[W.B.]

Pardon me for my curiosity, but wasn't there a Sandpipers' album that used the same or similar kind of typesetting and pertinent layout -- everything on the top (but not photo/s) -- as this set? Namely, Guantanamera (LP-117/SP-4117)?

 

[Harry]

Well let's see:

Harry
...side by side, online...

 

[Steven J. Gross]

Brilliant compilation and cover work on "Family Portrait". Super marketing for A&M at that point in time, and it still holds up today.

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Was the "Look Around" cover from this same shoot?

Michael...

Yes, the Look Around cover is from this shoot according to what Janis told me.

Jon

 

[Brasil_Nut]

Was the "Look Around" cover from this same shoot?

Michael...

According to Janis Hansen, the Look Around cover was taken from this photo shoot.

Jon

 

[Mr Bill]

Like others in the corner here, this sampler is the one that expanded my musical horizons.

It made me seek out the CTi series as well as Montez, Longet and Ochs. Ochs' tune here ("Cross My Heart") is about as non-political as he gets so I was surprised (as a young teen) to hear such ultr-left anti establishment lyrics on his other (especially the earlier Elektras) releases. I love his music, his voice and, though I rarely agree with what he says, I love how he says it.

Merry-Go-Round probably opened my door top Rock music -- up till then I was strictly an "instrumental guy" looking for music to play along with my 8mm movies of hamsters, animated globs of clay really cheesy (hey -- I was 12!) sci-fi efforts. Of course my slow acceptance of Rock music was escalated by punk and new wave (wow! rock bands with horns and synths!) and A&M's manu/distro deal with I.R.S. (vist my www.irscorner.com website)

In regards to the rest of the series 19008 is an "Omen Records Release" by Dick Summer and 19004 and 19005 are TJB and a US version of a Bill Wyman LP (though its release date does not fit the chronological paradigm of the series). As for the rest, well, you'll just have to sit back, relax and read and watch over then next 7 weeks!

--Mr Bill
who suspects that the cover of Lucille Starr's Say You Love Me SP4100 was also photographed at this session

 

[Harry]

--Mr Bill
who suspects that the cover of Lucille Starr's Say You Love Me SP4100 was also photographed at this session

Was Ms. Starr at the 'picnic'? If so, would she have been excluded from the main photo?

Here's the cover photo as it appeared in a trade magazine around the time of Family Portrait. (Pardon the seam, but that's the way it came.) I'd post it in the forum, but it's too wide.


Harry
...with pictures, online...

 

[Dave]

Well, with all this talk of Lucille Starr (as well as Bob Regan--The Canadian Sweethearts), I wonder what could have been included by her/them?

You'd think George McCurn would have had something included, if not here, then on the Million Dollar Sampler.

Guess the line had to be drawn somewhere! That is, the grooves go RIGHT UP to the label, yet more promising acts were suddenly signing on with Herb & Jerry like crazy.

With The Merry-Go-Round opening the way for Rock, Lee Michaels, who finally got his break with A&M, should have had a track included, too. And ANOTHER We Five (from MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY)? Roger Nichols?

Dave

...thinking, that maybe a year later, back then, FAMILY PORTRAIT could have been a DOUBLE album, No?...

 

[Dave]

Like others in the corner here, this sampler is the one that expanded my musical horizons.

It made me seek out the CTi series as well as Montez, Longet and Ochs. Ochs' tune here ("Cross My Heart") is about as non-political as he gets so I was surprised (as a young teen) to hear such ultr-left anti establishment lyrics on his other (especially the earlier Elektras) releases. I love his music, his voice and, though I rarely agree with what he says, I love how he says it.

--Mr Bill
who suspects that the cover of Lucille Starr's Say You Love Me SP4100 was also photographed at this session

Uh, my exposure to the A&M/CTi series was just a result of me "hanging 'round The Jazz Room" at a record store I frequented...

Herbie Mann, Montgomery and The Tamba 4 had me "counting my fingers" to keep track of how many of those 'look-alike' covers I saw, before discovering J.J. & Kai, Jobim, et al.

I also have the SP 3000-Series, INNER SLEEVE in most of those albums.

Dave

...who should have been buying those SP 3000-series, right then, and there...

 

[Mr Bill]

Was Ms. Starr at the 'picnic'? If so, would she have been excluded from the main photo?

No, she wasn't, but she's not on the cover of 4100 either. It's a little girl running through a park with balloons. I've often wondered if it was some A&M person's daughter present at the picnic and shot in an idle moment during the supposed picnic.

--Mr Bill

 

[Harry]

Another ancient thread resurrected to provide a link to a YouTube playlist of the album:

 

[rockdoctor]

I found this record at a thrift store today. I was at the same store a couple of weeks ago and did not see it at that time. The cover is in very good condition.
The record itself looks okay but has a number of fingerprints so it does need a bit of cleaning. I also saw the Million Dollar Sampler at another store but did not have the cash at the time. I stuck it in the back of the pile so maybe another day I will get that one.