And though he's been semi-active since - a recent Rolling Stone article suggests that he's been sitting in with a cover band featuring his younger sister Vet and Family Stone trumpeter Cynthia Robinson - Stone's spinout ranks among the most dismaying in the history of rock 'n' roll second comings, the rare case of national exposure serving to cheapen and dissipate a legacy. But it didn't take long, maybe 30 seconds of stumbling around, for Stone and his huge mohawk to dispose of that goodwill. This record helped solidify Sly Stone as an R & B icon (if he already wasn’t one), and placed R & B in the direction that we now hear today.Īn excellent release that any Soul and/or R & B fan should own.Has it really been a year since the Sly Stone "comeback" began in earnest, with that bizarre appearance on the Grammy Awards? Stone's fans greeted the return with great hope: This is, after all, the architect of the most revolutionary black pop of all time. This album, despite following Sly Stone classics like Stand, and There’s A Riot Goin’ On, stands out as a true highlight of his career. Funky bass, powerful Soul singing, well phrased horns, and solid rhythm guitar are all featured, as these tracks truly shine on the album. These songs represent everything that is good about Sly Stone. However, the true classics on this album are the tracks I Don’t Know (Satisfaction), and Babies Makin’ Babies.
#Sly & the family stone que sera sera skin#
Several songs, Let Me Have It All, Skin I’m In, and Thankful n’ Thoughtful sound more like traditional Sly Stone songs with punctuating horns, and echoing backup vocals. It is consistently recognized as a Funk classic and so it should be. Featuring an instantly recognizable and catchy bass riff, it will easily make anyone get up on the dance floor. However, some tracks such as Que Sera Sera, and Frisky, sound less like typical Sly Stone songs, as the latter features a dissonant synthesizer riff, and unusual vocal phrasing from Sly.Īnother aspect of Sly Stone’s music is that he has consistently crafted hits and the song If You Want Me To Stay is no exception. Sly exemplifies his classic funk guitar playing between verses, taking advantage of his short, punchy, staccato notes. In Time starts the album with a soft drum and bass groove, something found most often on this album.
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As a result, Fresh presents a more contemporary sounding R & B record. While Sly’s vocals and the bass grooves remain, there is much less of the frantic horns that were found so often in albums such as Dance To The Music, and Life.
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Most of their songs up to this point were lead by swinging horns, catchy guitar and bass grooves, and Sly’s distinctive vocals.
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The release of Fresh saw a bit of a change in the sound of the band however. Just as Black Sabbath does for Metal, Chuck Berry does for Rock, Sly and the Family Stone defines R & B, and Soul music with perfection. They are the definitive R and B band, in every sense of the word. Sly and the Family Stone aren’t just any R and B band. Review Summary: An influential release from one of R & B's biggest icons that features pounding bass, smooth vocals, and everything else in that Sly and The Family Stone sound, with a few twists!