The Family (The Family album)

The Family is the sole studio album by the band of the same name, released on August 19, 1985 by Prince's Paisley Park Records.

The Family
Studio album by The Family
Released	August 19, 1985
Recorded	1984–1985
Genre	Pop, R&B, funk, jazz
Length	36:00
Label	Paisley Park/Warner Bros.
Producer	David Z Prince Eric Leeds

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Background

The album consists of eight Minneapolis sound tracks but with a funk-jazz slant. Two of the tracks are instrumentals, and three are ballads; many feature string arrangements by Clare Fischer, marking the beginning of Prince's longstanding association with the Michigan-born composer-arranger.^[2][3] A single was released for "The Screams of Passion", a modest hit that was re-released in 1996 on the Girl 6 soundtrack. A promo version of "High Fashion" was distributed. "Nothing Compares 2 U", an emotional ballad, became more widely known five years later when a cover by Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single to worldwide success.

The album was released on vinyl; following the success of O'Connor's version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" a CD version of the album was released in Japan and Germany/Europe.

Alternate recordings of several of the songs from the project featuring Prince on vocals were recorded, but most remain in the vault at Paisley Park Studios. Prince's original 1984 studio recording of "Nothing Compares 2 U" was not officially released until 2018, when it was issued as a single by Warner Bros. Records in conjunction with his estate.^[4]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Prince (but officially credited to others), except River Run Dry (written by Bobby Z.)^[5][6]

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"High Fashion"	Prince, credited to Jerome Benton, Paul "St. Paul" Peterson	5:06
2.	"Mutiny"	Prince, credited to Benton	3:57
3.	"The Screams of Passion"	Prince, credited to Susannah Kay Melvoin Bramhall, Peterson	5:26
4.	"Yes"	Prince and Eric Leeds, credited to Benton, Jellybean Johnson	4:27

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"River Run Dry"	Bobby Z.	3:31
6.	"Nothing Compares 2 U"	Prince	4:31
7.	"Susannah's Pajamas"	Prince and Leeds, credited to Leeds	3:58
8.	"Desire"	Prince, credited to Peterson	4:58

Personnel

• St. Paul Peterson – lead vocals
• Susannah Melvoin – lead and backing vocals (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6, 8)
• Prince – all instruments, except where noted
• Eric Leeds – saxophone (tracks 1–2, 4, 6, 8)
• Clare Fischer – string orchestration
• Wendy Melvoin – rhythm guitar (track 4)

Charts

Chart performance for The Family

Chart (1985)	Peak position
US Billboard Top Pop Albums[7]	62
US Billboard Top Black Albums[7]	17