Sly and The Family Stone is arguably the most famous funk band not fronted by George Clinton. This group was fronted by Sly Stone and consisted of anywhere between six and a dozen people, depending on what year we are talking about. The group was innovative at the time for having people of multiple races and multiple genders all in the same band. That theme of racial and gender equality is something that is throughout their entire discography. Even though some of the specific ways they talk about it hasn’t aged great in the last 50-60 years, the overall themes are still relevant. Not going to lie, part of the reason I chose Sly over people like Parliament Funkadelic, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and more is because Sly’s discography is a tight ten albums. Each of those are at least double that, and I wasn’t in the mood for that. There is a big discography coming up, but next month is a shorter one that’ll hopefully rock your stripes right off! For now though, let’s dive deep into one of funk’s most acclaimed and popular bands!
10. Back on the Right Track (1979)
Just look at the title. Imagine the type of music that someone would call that about an album, and that’s what this album is. Does it kind of sound like the classic Sly and The Family Stone music, yeah. But, the heart and soul that made their music great is gone. It’s not like everything on here is bad though, it’s not. “The Same Thing (Makes You Laugh, Makes You Cry)” has an incredibly funky instrumental and some neat talkbox vocals from Sly that add quite a bit of texture to the song. The most interesting song on here in my opinion is “Shine It On”. The song is easily the longest on here at almost five minutes long and jams out pretty well, but it just sounds like a classic Stevie Wonder song. Everything from the more accessible funk-inspired grooves to the way Sly is singing just feels like he’s trying to recreate the early-to-mid-1970s period that Stevie dominated. That feeling continues throughout the entire second half of the project, which is what disappoints me the most. I wish that Sly would’ve just trusted himself and not tried to recreate another artist's sound. Unless you’re a huge Sly fan, you’re probably ok just skipping this album.
9. Ain't but the One Way (1982)
The final album from Sly and The Family Stone wasn’t even completed by anyone in the group. Sly himself had vanished from the public eye before completing this album, but there was still an album needed to fulfill his contract with Warner. There’s no telling how much of the album was completed by Sly and how much had to be finished by producer Stewart Levine. For example, just look at the first song. The grooves are nice, but Sly’s vocals are so low in the mix and seemingly unfinished that it takes away instead of adding like it used to. Still though, even with it being completed by a random producer, there are still some interesting moments on here. “Who In The Funk Do You Think You Are” features a more rock-oriented sound that is unlike anything Sly had done before. But, the main question with this album will always be what is actually from Sly and what is from Stewart. Either way, this isn’t a messy, unfinished final project from a genius artist that ends up as an incredible goodbye, it’s just another project filled with positives and negatives from the troubled mind of a musical savant.
8. Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back (1976)
This is the first of the Sly Stone solo albums that are still billed under the Sly and The Family Stone name. He assembled his own group of musicians that only has one holdover from the original Family Stone, Cynthia Robinson. Still though, even without the rest of the group, this is a pretty enjoyable project. Not everything is essential, but there are still gems here that rival the group’s high points! “Everything In You” features an instant classic melody and the usual lyrical themes of togetherness and positivity that their discography begins with. The group vocals during the chorus helps make this song feel perfect for a sing-along at a big gathering! It’s then followed up by “Mother Is A Hippie”, which features a nasty electronic bassline and breakneck drums that are done to perfection. So even though a lot of the album feels like retreading old ground, there are still enough highlights to warrant a listen if you like the band’s classic material.
7. Life (1968)
Life is a bit all over the place. There are classic Sly tracks, such as the opener “Dynamite!”, but there are also some weird moments on here. There are multiple songs on here where they make animal noises, including mimicking the “Bawk” of a chicken for the entire melody of the second track. I’m not sure what the reasoning for this was, but I guess it can be kind of fun in the right mindframe. There are still some fantastic songs on here though! “Into My Own Thing” has such a familiar melody that I can’t believe it’s not sampled in some huge hit. “M’Lady” is another one of those I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-a-hit songs, especially when it comes to the infectious guitar riff and nasty bass melody. It’s a fascinating album, but one that I’m still wrestling with on whether it’s great or too weird for seemingly no reason. They just have better projects that contain the weirder elements, and better albums when it comes to the hits.
6. Small Talk (1974)
I recommend starting this album on the second track. It’s not that the first track is musically bad or anything, but the entire thing is layered with a baby crying over it, and it drove me crazy. So unless you like hearing babies cry, skip the first track. If it’s not evident by the cover art, Sly had had a kid at this point and that experience helped influence this entire project. Now, the rest of the songs don't also have his son crying over it, but it’s clear that Sly was in love with his newfound family. The songs on here are less driven by bass and horns and more driven by keys and organs, which help add to that atmosphere. I can understand why people didn’t like this album compared to the rest of their discography, it is a change of pace for them, but I found it enjoyable all the way through. Also, him and his wife, who’s on the cover, got divorced five months after being married, so maybe that’ll change what people think of this project.
5. Dance to the Music (1968)
This is arguably their most accessible record. It was clearly made for the dance floor, and it lives up to its name! These songs sound like they were immediately club smashes, or wherever the party was in 1968. The title track starts out the album with one of their most immediate and accessible records that has stood the test of time! Rolling Stone has even included it in their list of the 500 best songs of all time! The rest of the album is still pretty good, but the 12-minute medley titled, “Dance To The Medley” is a bit too long and winding. There’s a two minute outro that just consists of a pretty awesome guitar riff, but then panning it from side to side to create this psychedelic effect. I’m sure it was cool at the time, but it has since become slightly annoying. It is funny reading about this album, because apparently Sly and the Family Stone didn’t like this album, as they were forced to make it more accessible after the title song became a hit. Even though they aren’t big fans of this record, it does its job of appeasing the masses while still being quality funk/soul!
4. A Whole New Thing (1967)
For a debut album, this does exactly what it should! There are plenty of awesome tracks that show they have the potential to make something incredible later on. And it’s not even just the upbeat funk anthems that are good, Sly’s ballads are fantastic! Both “That Kind of Person” and “Let Me Hear It From You” are some of my favorites from the entire project! But as usual for a funk group, the danceable, horn-heavy bangers are what people come to it for. “Underdog” starts off the album with precisely that vibe, while still being accessible enough that I can imagine it being an anthem for whatever sports leagues were popular in 1967. I also love Sly’s vocal performance on both this song and every other song. The more eccentric he gets, the better, such as the wild voices he does on the under two minute explosion that is “Turn Me Loose”. The main negative I have for this album is just that it’s sometimes hard to hear the vocals over the horns, but I understand that having to record everything at once makes it really hard to do that. Technology has come a long way since then, so it’s hard to put myself in that mindset. Still though, what a great start to a discography!
3. Fresh (1973)
Coming after There’s a Riot Goin’ On, there was no telling where Sly was going to go. This album takes the darkness and funkier aspects of There’s a Riot Goin’ On, but makes them slightly more accessible and palatable for the masses. The main thing with this one is that it’s the funkiest in their discography. The bass playing wasn’t just done by Larry Graham at this point, and was being shared by Sly himself and Rustee Allen. Combined, they provide the backbone to this album and some of the nastiest bass lines I’ve heard in a long time. This is also their only completed album to have a cover on it, and it’s a wonderful rendition of “Que Sera, Sera”. Every song on here is just dripping with funk. It’s not their best album and it may not be Maggot Brain levels of importance, but it’s definitely one of their most influential projects with how it helped usher in the era of funk.
2. There's a Riot Goin' On (1971)
Even though this isn’t my number one, this is their most necessary album. This was the start of Sly starting to do his own thing, as most of the album was made by himself alone in a studio. Not only was he alone, but he had become addicted to cocaine and PCP. This drug-induced state he was in makes this album feel completely different from their previous works. It was the beginning of the minimal, bass-heavy instrumentals with Sly’s vocals often being lower in the mix and full of mumbling. The lyrics also took a darker turn. Instead of focusing on the ideas of togetherness from a place of optimism, There’s a Riot Goin’ On talks about these same themes from a place of necessity. In fact, the title is a direct response to the Marvin Gaye masterpiece from earlier in the year, What’s Going On. Sly’s answer was that There’s a Riot Goin’ On. The songs on here meander through these nocturnal keyboard grooves. “Just Like a Baby” is a perfect example of this, and the song also bears a striking closeness to Childish Gambino’s “Baby Boy”. “Thank You for Talkin' to Me Africa” ends the album on a more than seven minute long jam that remixes their own hit from a couple years ago. The chorus will more than likely sound familiar to you, but you likely haven’t heard this version. There’s so many musical moments here that slowly unveil themselves with time, making it their most influential and important album.
1. Stand! (1969)
It only takes one listen to notice that Stand! is one of their best albums! The hits on here are some of their best and biggest. “Stand!” and “I Want To Take You Higher” are both fantastic songs that were eventually covered by the Jackson 5 a couple years later. “Everyday People” is by far their most streamed song, and for good reason. It sends a positive message of inclusion while still maintaining the essence of a great funk track. The song even popularized the phrase, “different strokes for different folks”! But when we get into the deeper cuts, the album gets even better. The instrumental heaviness on the track, “Don’t Call Me N****r, Whitey”, pairs nicely with the harsh language that is being repeated lyrically. You can feel the weight of a track like that, even without the lyrics. The 13-and-a-half minute long song “Sex Machine” had me worried going into the album, but it might be my favorite here! It’s a perfect psychedelic rock track that somehow manages to stay entertaining throughout that whole runtime! It makes me wish they did more music in this style because wow did they do it justice! This album is everything that made the early years of Sly and The Family Stone special, and this is the best example of it!
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