Larry is on a musical journey few musicians are talented enough to undertake; this journey consists of many improvisational stagings expertly crafted to captivate and mesmerize an audience. They do this with an apparent ease and fluidity, which leads the listener to find total pleasure in their... [+] Expand

Larry is on a musical journey few musicians are talented enough to undertake; this journey consists of many improvisational stagings expertly crafted to captivate and mesmerize an audience. They do this with an apparent ease and fluidity, which leads the listener to find total pleasure in their compositions. Larry's music is up-tempo with a danceable quality, which also lends even more charm to their presentation. A Family Album is a live presentation of the band's material, and if a band can sound this amazing in a recorded version, they certainly should get more studio material out for their fans. With only the drums and bass guitar kicking off the first track "Save Me," one can hear why Larry has been described as funky. The rhythm guitar then joins the mix with some wah-wah funk, followed by the vocals and some blues-style harmonica. The vocals have a southern rock quality that lends the melody a unique flair. "Seven" has a Latin ingredient via the percussion, which lends an excellent dance quality to the piece. The chorus with the harmony vocals have all of the qualities necessary to echo Grateful Dead-esque jam-style music. The melodic twists and turns that the complex arrangement takes are what make Larry's music so interesting and captivating, as well as the talented musicians that fuse the phrases into the composition. On "Chatterbox," two bands come echoing from the presentation: Blues Traveler, due primarily to the Southern charm of the vocals and the harmonica work, and Phish, primarily in the expert rhythm section and the lead guitar work. With elements of these influences linked into the composition, one would certainly expect a tight jam-style presentation and that is exactly what Larry deals out in a nine-minute dose. Certainly one of the most difficult task is placing "Blindside Waltz" into one particular genre. There are elements of multiple genres incorporated into the structure. Rock, blues, country-rock, jazz, and funk are some that come to mind, but at the many change-ups in the rhythm section and melodic instrumental excursions one can stumble into another genre or style in an instant. "Here I Am," is the longest song from the album, coming in at just over 20 minutes. Along the lines of all great jam pieces, "Here I Am" is no exception to the rule with its marvelous periods of instrumental expression and hypnotic demonstrations from the percussionists. Bordering on a psychedelic feel, the melody takes many routes to keep the listener focused. The last track of the album, "Walter Milton" is an a cappella piece that must be an inside joke, because the relevance of putting it on the album is not very clear. It is not an amazing musical masterpiece by any means, just an amusing little ditty that got tossed in to close the album and/or the live show. Larry can put on a terrific jam session, and their live performance sounds like something that certainly should not be missed. "A Family Album," with its live format, is an excellent example that the band can get the crowd motivated with their energy-charged performance. If one can not catch Larry at a live venue, then the album brings Larry into their realm, day after day, night after night, for all to enjoy at a very low cost. ~ Larry Belanger, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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