Earlier this year, Epic Legacy began the long overdue task of restoring Sly And The Family Stone's original catalog, and reissuing the albums in newly remastered deluxe editions. These came complete with newly discovered tracks, exhaustive liner notes, and all the usual bells and whistles that accompany such projects.
This process culminated with the release of the boxed set Collection, which gathers together all of the tracks from the groundbreaking funk-rock pioneers' seven original studio albums on one massive collection.
It was about time.
Record companies have undertaken many such restoration projects of late—presumably in an effort to keep the core baby-boomer demographic interested in the bread and butter CD format, and from crossing over to the "dark side" of MP3 downloads. From a strictly historical perspective, some of these catalog overhauls have been warranted, while several others have probably not.
But in the case of Sly And The Family Stone, the "remastered" treatment was an absolute necessity. Music obsessives and other record collector types who have publicly groused for years in the pages of magazines like Goldmine and Ice over the poor quality of existing Sly recordings, greeted last spring's remastered editions like manna from heaven itself.
To Epic Legacy's absolute credit, they did a bang-up job too. The new recordings are crisp and clear, and the extra tracks included shed new light on what must have gone into the creative process of a slightly warped genius like Sly Stone. But even with all of that, the project was not complete—at least, until now.
Sly And The Family Stone's Greatest Hits will finally be reissued in its own remastered edition next Tuesday, completing the cycle that began last spring. Unlike the other albums in the series, Greatest Hits will contain no additional bonus tracks. Who needs em'? Breaking the mold of many other so-called best-of packages, Sly's Greatest Hits truly lives up to the promise of its title. Each and every single track on this CD is a bonafide smash—and they all sound great in their digitally enhanced form here.
Even for Sly fans who have all of the other releases now, Greatest Hits is an absolute must. Not only is this the only way you can get all of the band's hits together on a single disc—talk about your ultimate mix tape!—but you also get the otherwise unavailable hits, "Hot Fun In The Summertime," "Everybody Is A Star," and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)". Sly And The Family Stone's Greatest Hits is the only album release containing these tracks.
Article comments
1 - PRINCE IS JUST A GREAT THIEF, AND COPYKAT
SO WHAT HE PLAYS GUITAR? EVERYTHING HE DOES,SINGS, HE TAKES CREDIT FOR IS SOMEONE ELSES PROPERTY, NOT HIS. HE COULDN'T REALLY WRITE HIS WAY OUT OF A PAPER BAG. HIS IMAGE, A COPY OF SEVERAL GREAT PEOPLE, NOT HIM.
2 - HE EVEN USES OTHER PEOPLES PRESS
HES NOTHING MORE THAN A GATECRASHER, HE EVEN USES OTHER PEOPLES PRESS, FAME, AND CRASHES THEIR EVENTS, TO USE IT FOR HIMSELF, ITS PATHETIC, AND THE ULTIMATE USER PLOY. NOW WHEN THE REAL STARS SEE HIM COMING, THEY RUN, BECAUSE IF HIS PEOPLE GET A PICTURE OF THEM, WITH PRINCE IN IT, HE CAN PRETEND HES WITH THEM!!! AND, NEXT THING YOU KNOW AN ARTICLE ON HOW ''THEY'' LOVE ''HIM'' IS IN THE PRESS. WHAT A PHONEY, AND PATHETIC USER. HE HAS CALLED THE PRESS HIMSELF, TO GET PRESS, CAUSE WE DON'T CARE TO FOLLOW HIM.
3 - Glen Boyd
Wow. Full Moon tonight?
=Glen
4 - sterny
I'm a big Sly fan and I'm not sure it's worth getting this for the three tracks that were only released as singles...especially since I already have them from the Essential Sly and the Family Stone compilation. (Most fans who already know Sly will probably have these tracks on some compilation.) If you're looking for an introduction or overview of Sly, that's probably a better buy. It's worth knowing that this Greatest Hits album was released in between albums, when the record company was getting impatient for new material from Sly.
5 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.