Sly & The Family Stone Fresh LP (Vinyl)

Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rated 186/500!

Nothing said it better than the title of Sly & The Family Stone's 1967 debut album. They were, indeed, A Whole New Thing! Over his first six groundbreaking Epic LPs, Sly Stone - a maverick studio genius who heard things nobody else did - turned the worlds of Soul, R&B, funk and psychedelia completely upside-down with his breathtakingly innovative band, the Family Stone. Pop music was shaken to its very core by this racially-mixed aggregation of men and women whose lyrics, deftly laced with political and social commentary, were woven through groovy rhythms and infectious melodies that made standing still virtually impossible. Even their clothes were mind-bendingly cool!

"As the Seventies unfurled, Sly Stone became progressively flakier, frequently disappointing fans at his concerts by keeping them waiting . . . all night. "Sometimes you don't feel your soul at 7:30," he explained. Happily, the increasingly dissolute soul pioneer had one more ace up his sleeve: the intoxicating "If You Want Me to Stay," in which he holed up in the basement of his vocal range while a fidgety bass line kept running up and down the stairs. This burst of residual genius was surrounded by various idiosyncratic gestures, the oddest of which was Stone's ragged take on Doris Day's 1956 hit "Que Sera, Sera." Fresh would be his last Top Ten album." - www.rollingstone.com

When bassman Larry Graham and drummer Greg Errico split before the 1973 Fresh sessions, Sly and the Family Stone kept the pedal on cruise-control as though nothing had happened. Refrying the old Doris Day chestnut, "Que Sera, Sera", helped brighten the mood considerably from the almost scary sound of Riot. But even though "If You Want Me to Stay" stormed the charts, Sly's increasingly erratic behavior was a bellwether that the glory days and the Family Stone seemed numbered.

Features:
• High-Definition Vinyl LP

Selections:
1. In Time
2. If You Want Me to Stay
3. Let Me Have It All
4. Frisky
5. Thankful N' Thoughtful
6. Skin I'm In
7. I Don't Know (Satisfaction)
8. Keep On Dancin'
9. Que Sera, Sera
10. If It Were Left Up to Me
11. Babies Makin' Babies