Music In A Doll's House by Family, Reprise Records 1968, extremely collectable, on mono £250/stereo £150

AMONG the most interesting works of art made in the 20th Century were the designs for the LP record, writes MICHAEL BROOKS. Album covers have now found recognition as a serious and valid art form; most of us will remember the excitement of going to the local record shop to buy the latest album by a favourite singer or band and the first thing you noticed was the design on the record cover.

This was the album that upset The Beatles. In the summer of 1968 The Beatles were recording songs for their forthcoming double album due to be released later that same year. It had a working title, A Doll's House, but after the release by Family, they settled for simply calling it The Beatles although it is often referred to as the White Album.

Highly respected and nostalgically revered, Family were one of the UK's leading progressive rock bands of the late sixties and early seventies, formed in 1966 in Leicester. Previously known as The Farinas, it was suggested they change their name to The Family as they regularly wore double breasted suits on stage giving them a Mafia like gangster appearance which they soon abandoned in favour of a more casual look. Now known as just 'Family' with founder member vocalist Roger Chapman, guitarists Richard (Ric) Grech and Rob Townsend, this became their debut album.

During their formative years they began a constant change of personnel in the band: Ric Grech left to join the supergroup Blind Faith in '69 and in the subsequent three years the different musicians that came and departed left such a legacy of creative musical styles that every album release sounded very different from the last one; but through it all Chapman and Townsend remained as the foundation stones of the band.

Singer Roger Chapman's stage presence would transfix the audience who would duck from the countless supply of tambourines he destroyed by hurling them into the crowd. Performing their greatest song The Weaver's Answer was unforgettable.

The band never performed an encore, unlike Elvis who was reputed to have always "left the building," Chapman always claimed that he put so much energy, heart, soul, emotion and passion into his performance that he had nothing left.