Sly & the Family Stone - Sly & the Family Stone - Greatest Hits [Epic]

As the title would lead to you to believe, these are the greatest hits from a group that had a fair share of hits in the late '60s and early '70s. Too pop savvy to be merely a funk band, and too damn funky to be just a rock band, Sly and his multicultural crew made intelligent party music that crossed boundaries and became AM radio staples. Included in this collection are smashes like "Dance to the Music", "M'lady", "Sing A Simple Song", "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)" and "Everybody is a Star". --Amy Linden Amazon.com

it's a family effort

Sly and the Family Stone were a huge band back in the 60's. They had a few monster hits that still receive radio play to this very day. All the big hits are on this greatest hits album (on side two). However, those songs pale in comparison to all the appealing funky tunes on the first side. As you can see, I have this album in vinyl, and side one contains one underrated song after another. Side two is pretty decent as well. A band you need to explore, and why not start with this fabulous introduction to this legendary band. Last night I was having an absolute blast with this album from my parents record collection. While I'm mainly a rock fan, Sly and the Family Stone appeal to fans of rock, soul and funk. A must buy album. April 5, 2008

Rolling Funky Thunder

"Sly and the Family Stone,' were one of the best, and most innovative bands of the late 1960's and early 70's, pioneering a funky psychedelic soulful kind of rock that was widely influential. They had five Top Ten hits, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Sly Stone, born Sylvester Stewart to a church-going family in Denton, TX, had already achieved some local fame in San Francisco, California, as a radio disk jockey/musician/producer, when he was "discovered" by CBS Records' great president/talent scout Clive Davis. Davis signed Sly to CBS's subsidiary Epic Records; the label that recorded and released all his greatest songs, and releases this collection of them. Anyway, it took them a couple of tries, but their fourth album, "Stand!" was the breakout hit, selling more than three million copies, and introducing us to "Everyday People." You'll find that song,and the group's other hits, in this compilation. "I Want to Take You Higher," "Everybody is a Star," "Dance to the Music," "You Can Make it If You Try," "Hot Fun in the Summertime," "Sing a Simple Song," and "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin." The sound here, unfortunately,is not the greatest, but if this record doesn't have you up and dancing, you've got serious problems with your blood circulation.

The group played Woodstock, that famed three-day concert fest, in upstate New York in 1969, and had a great triumph there. But as the innocent 60's turned into the harsher 70's, Sly came under great pressures, from his record company to produce more, and from the Black Panther Party, and other extremist black organizations, to produce more militant music. Unfortunately, he reacted by falling into drug problems, and reclusiveness. He became known for missing gigs entirely, or showing up late, and in bizarre dress; he frequently walked offstage and left in the middle of a song, as he did at the 2006 Grammies. But in a former life, I was lucky enough to be one of 20,000 people at the group's June 5,1974 concert at New York's Madison Square Garden. Sly married Kathleen Silva onstage that day; more to the point, he had the audience up and boogieing along with him; and those 20,000 people did rock the hall: it sounded like rolling thunder. Betcha he can still make it if he tries. August 27, 2007

Completely satisfied, Excellent condition.

The title says it all.

Thanks,
Larry Tucker April 4, 2007

Excellent soul album, but with poor sound!!

This album came out in 1970, and my mother had it on LP back then. I still have the LP copy that she had. It sounds great, even though the cover is marred with ring wear due to its age. Anyway, I have it on cassette also (which my uncle had), and I have the CD. It is a great album, but the sound quality of some of the songs is kind of poor. The second track on this album, Everybody is a Star, sounds kind of thin and dull, like it is in mono (same thing for the final track, Thank You.....). I am hoping to get the 2 CD Essential soon, which I heard that the sound quality of the songs on there is much better than the sound quality on this original Greatest Hits. I would have rated this album 5 stars, but one star was docked due to the poor sound quality on some of the songs (maybe that's why this title has been discontinued, but who knows?). I will still keep this title, but I will definitely go for the 2 CD Essential Sly and the Family Stone real soon!! February 25, 2007

Shipping

The product was great; unfortunately, I ordered it in December 2006, with a promise of delivery around Jan. 9. The CD did not arrive until January 26th!!! I almost reordered it by that time. What happened here?! January 29, 2007

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