A Whole New Thing [Digipak]

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Performer: Sly & the Family Stone
Producer: Sly Stone; Bob Irwin (Reissue)
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Sly & the Family Stone: Freddy Stone, Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart (guitar); Jerry Martini (saxophone); Cynthia Robinson (trumpet); Rose Stone (keyboards); Larry Graham (bass guitar); Greg Errico (drums). Though it failed to achieve the commercial success of its follow-up, DANCE TO THE MUSIC, Sly & The Family Stone's debut album established a precedent for a new blend of rock, soul, and funk. This was ground zero for a new generation of progressive R&B. Led by the assertive vocals and soulful keyboard work of Sly, the band pumped out energetic, horn-driven grooves that combined the propulsion of Motown with the socially relevant lyrics and hard-edged electricity of late-'60s rock and roll. The opening cut, "Underdog," establishes Sly as a spokesman for the downtrodden, but the booty-shaking groove that carries the song provides the kind of dichotomy between intellectual rage and irresistible funk that was at the heart of the band's finest work.

Rolling Stone (9/21/95, p.85) - 3.5 Stars - Good - "...the group's 1967 debut, isn't quite the genre-busting exercise its title promises...[but] the Family Stone's boundless high energy, tight musicianship and soulful convictions get the motivating message out loud and clear..." Down Beat (p.68) - "The capricious 'Run, Run, Run' bursts with melodic invention, while the gritty opener, 'Underdog,' forecasts the street-hustler funk to come."

Sylvester Stewart, known to the world as Sly Stone, had a musical vision that coalesced quickly in the late 1960s and sadly disintegrated after half a decade. As the leader of Sly & the Family Stone, he and his combination hippie commune/soul revue melded funk with psychedelia in a revolutionary manner. Sly's lyrical themes shifted from peace and love to scathing social commentaries that made for some of the strongest political statements of the era. Unfortunately, by the turn of the decade he began to lose himself in a netherworld of drug addiction from which he never really recovered.

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