- Stand! (Deluxe Edition) · 1900
- There's a Riot Goin' On (Expanded Edition) · 1971
- Fresh (Deluxe Edition) · 1973
- Greatest Hits · 1970
- Dance To The Music (Bonus Tracks Edition) [2007 Remaster] · 1968
- Greatest Hits · 1970
- The Essential Sly & The Family Stone · 1968
- Stand! (Deluxe Edition) · 1969
- There's a Riot Goin' On · 1971
- Stand! (Deluxe Edition) · 2007
- Greatest Hits · 1970
- Stand! (Deluxe Edition) · 1968
- Stand! (Deluxe Edition) · 1969
Essential Albums
- Titled as a response to Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, There’s a Riot Goin’ On is at once unnervingly sinister and deliciously entertaining. While Sly played most of the instruments himself, a revolving cast of guests add to the braised, fragmented funk of “Luv n’ Haight” and “Africa Talks to You (The Asphalt Jungle).” The slow, splintering grooves of “Just Like a Baby” and “Time” explore the outer reaches of insular blues, but there are small flashes of sweetness within the darkness, especially on the gorgeous and disarmingly improvisational “Family Affair.”
- The hits on Sly & the Family Stone's fourth album—“Sing a Simple Song,” “Everyday People,” “You Can Make It if You Try,” the title track—comprise the DNA of funk. And yes, it's Sly’s; he wrote, arranged, and produced the whole thing, pushing the band's ensemble sound to ambitious extremes by corralling different lead singers, Larry Graham's bullish basslines, Freddie Stone's psych-rock guitar, Rosie Stone's eerie organ runs, and swirls of ensorcelling horns. Unifying, uplifting, and visionary, this is the album that sealed Stone's legacy forever.
- Overlooked at the time of its release in late 1968 by the success of their previous album, <I>Dance to the Music</I> and its hit single title track, and then by the explosion of “Everyday People” from the group’s next album, their 1969 breakthrough <I>Stand!</I>, <I>Life</I> is the Sly Stone album most primed for rediscovery. It’s the first Stone album to perfectly meld the group’s R&B and soul roots into the democratic funk that became the their trademark and a major influence on every soul music and hip-hop player then and in future generations. From the opening groove of ‘Dynamite!” through Larry Graham’s fuzz bass that cuts through “M’Lady” and Sly’s own surreal growls that permeate “I’m An Animal,” through Freddy Stone’s funk guitar licks that form the basis for future guitarslingers, <I>Life</I> is an album years beyond its time. “Jane Is A Groupee” inspired the Philly Soul and Curtis Mayfield <I>Superfly</I> era, while Parliament-Funkadelic would be unthinkable without tracks such as “Plastic Jim” and “Fun.” The reissue contains three previously unreleased tracks that would have fit comfortably on the original album if not for the vinyl era’s physical limitations: Freddy Stone’s hard rock guitar on “Pressure” meshing perfectly with the Family’s horn section for an energized track that sounds inspired in part by Otis Redding’s “Respect.”
- With their second album, Sly & the Family Stone began transforming the pop music landscape. Released in 1968, the album’s title track immediately set radio and dance floors buzzing with its relentless groove and infectious optimism. Entire generations of soul, funk and hip-hop musicians take their cues from the elemental tracks contained here. That said, this is still a group in transformation. “Higher,” a rough prototype for the group’s later hit “I Want To Take You Higher,” and “Dance to the Medley” are inside looks at the group’s improvisational and experimental processes. Their sound was mapped out but, writing — or in this group’s case, uncovering — the songs that could support their explosive jams was still another lesson in an ongoing learning process. The expansive group featuring Jerry Martini’s sax, Cynthia Robinson’s trumpet and Sly and Rosie Stone’s keyboards informed the material with a swinging cinematic exuberance, but it’s the lively vocal interplay (the band had five vocalists) that gives a track like “Ride the Rhythm” its extra rush. The expanded edition includes several bonus cuts: mono single versions of the title track as well as previously unreleased recordings: “We Love All” and a vocally intense cover of Otis Redding’s “I Can’t Turn You Loose” that are worthy additions to the band’s established catalog.
Music Videos
- 2013
Artist Playlists
- A funk pioneer invites you to dance to the music.
- Their original tunes have been the source material for some of modern music’s biggest hits.
- Soul meets rock and launches a musical revolution.
- Throughout the shifting times, their beat remained constant.
More To Hear
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- Anderson .Paak drops his Smokey Robinson collab.
- An eclectic mix, from Sly & The Family Stone to Soundgarden.
- Little Dragon picks the 5 Best Songs on Apple Music.
- He discusses his project ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$.
About Sly & The Family Stone
It’s impossible to tell the story of the ’60s counterculture without Sly Stone. A product of the Church of God in Christ (and later a San Francisco radio DJ who peppered his soul sets with Dylan and The Beatles), the songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and creative thrust of Sly & The Family Stone fused the elation of gospel with the radical edge of psychedelia and funk. Despite cosmetic differences, these styles held similar goals: transcendence of self through surrender to music. Politically astute and proudly integrated (Stone was one of the few black artists to perform at Woodstock), the band and their sound became a bellwether for the era, mixing protest and party in equal measure. The Denton, Texas–born Stone pioneered funk while also blowing out its borders—just listen to There’s a Riot Goin’ On, which turned the genre inward, capturing the bleakness and paranoia of America just as the country was becoming mired in Vietnam. And while Stone projected unity (“Everyday People”), he also carved out a space that felt unapologetically black (“Don’t Call Me N****r, Whitey”), a balancing act that made him a guidepost for Prince, Outkast, and dozens of others, regardless of genre. Even when things got dark, both in his life and on record, his songs embodied a tremendously uplifting promise: that music could be revolutionary and still get people dancing.
- ORIGIN
- San Francisco, CA, United States
- FORMED
- 1967
- GENRE
- R&B/Soul