Sly And The Family Stone's Greatest Hits has been rightfully called one of the greatest party albums of all time. And while it would be easy to retell the story of how this groundbreaking band broke down every musical, racial, and gender barrier imaginable back in the sixties — it is still so much easier to just let the music on this album speak for itself.
From the way Larry Graham's funkified bass runs on "I Want To Take You Higher" serve as a template for everyone from Bootsy Collins to Stanley Clarke, to the breaks on "Stand!," — which have been sampled by every hip hop act from De La Soul to Dr. Dre — the influence of this band is simply impossible to measure. Even the funky way that Prince spells his song titles can be traced directly to "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin." Not to mention the multi-racial, gender-bending makeup of the Purple One's various bands over the years.
One of the most common complaints that I hear made by music fans today — and something which has probably propelled the popularity of individual song downloads more than anything — is that the average CD, even in the case of best-of's, only has "one or two good songs." That argument simply cannot be made here.
Sly And The Family Stone's Greatest Hits is that all too rare case of an album that will have you movin' and groovin' from start to finish. These songs sound as fresh now, as they did more than thirty years ago. So crank it up, and "Dance To The Music."
The remastered edition of Greatest Hits will be in stores next Tuesday August 28.
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.