Sly & The Family Stone: Life (Remastered + Expanded) CD Track Listing

A list by checkmate

Sly & The Family Stone Life (Remastered + Expanded) (1968)
Life (Remastered + Expanded)\n2007 Epic/Legacy\n\nOriginally Released 1968\nCD Edition Released July 18, 1995\nRemastered + Expanded CD Edition Released April 24, 2007\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Justa matter of months after Dance to the Music, Sly & the amily Stone turned around and delivered Life, a record that leapfrogged over its predecessor in terms of accomplishment and achievement. The most noteworthy difference is the heavier reliance on psychedelics and fuzz guitars, plus a sharpening of sogcraft that extends to even throwaways like "Chicken." As it turns out, Life didn'thave any hits -- the double A-sided single "Life"/"M'Lady" barely cracked the Top 100 -- yet this feels considerably more song-oriented than its predecessor, as each rack is a concise slice of tightly wound dance-funk. All the more impressive is that the group is able to strut their stuff within this context, trading off vocals and blending into an unstoppable force where it's impossible to separate the instrumets, even as they solo. The songwriting might still be perfunctory or derivative in spots -- listen to how they appropriate "Eleanor Rigby" on "Plastic Jim" -- but what's impressive is how even the borrowed or recycled moments sound fresh in context.And then there are the cuts that work on their own, whether it's the aforementioned double-sided single, "Fun," "Dynamite!," or several other cuts here -- these are brilliant, intoxicating slices of funk-pop that get by as much on sound as song, andthey're hard to resist. The truly amazing thing is that while its predecessor, Dance To the Music is nowhere near as consistent as Life, it was a smash album with its title track becominga top ten single in the Billboard pop chart, the latter album id not score in the same manner. Despite the great familiarity andinclusion of tracks such as "Life," and "M'Lady," neither scoredn the top 40. The single "Dynmmite," which opens the set, didn'tchart at all. The beautifully remastered Legacy editioncontainsfour bonus cuts. The mono single version of "Dynamite," is here as well as three previously unreleased cuts including the beautiful instrumental "Sorrow," and the burner ""Pressure." -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Thom Jurek\n\n\nAMG EXPERT EVIEW: (Collector's Box Set) Sly & the Family Stone: The Collection contains the seven albums the group released on Epic Records between 1968 and 1974 (which were recorded between 1967 and 1971). Sony BMG has simply packaged these discs -- A Whole Nw Thing, Dance to the Music, Life, Stand, There's a Riot Goin' On, Fresh, and Small Talk -- all of which have been completely remastered and contain bonus material and liner essays, all in a slipcase box. They've all been released separately in digiack, so there isn't anything additional to be had. The price point isn't really different either, and given the wildly varying quality of some of these sides, buying the box is for a very specific kind of fan or collector. -- Thom Jurek \n\n\nAmazo.com Editorial Review\nThough Sly & the Family Stone wouldn't score a hit until their third album, Dance to the Music, the roots of the group's revolutionary mix of classic R&B with San Francisco's burgeoning acid-rock sound can be heard loudand cler on their second album, 1968's Life. With no clear standout tracks, Life is fascinating more for its explorations than its arrivals. The elements are all there--the dynamic ensemble singing, the adventurous arrangements, the hard funk beats, the sceaming guitars--but Life is a musical vision not yet fully formed.When it finally did come together, nothing would be the same again. --Roni Sarig \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nSly at his brilliant best; editorial review in error, November 12, 201\nReviewer: A music fan\nFirst, let me say that this recording is non-stop fun and brilliance. Life is Sly at his best. It's one of his most consistent releases and my personal favorite. Now, on to setting the "record" straight. Amazon's mis-infored editorial reviewer erroneously puts Life's release BEFORE The Family Stone's breakthrough album, Dance To The Music. Anyone experiencing the original vinyl issues of Sly's discography as they happened remembers the chronology: A Whole New Thing (967); Dance To The Music (Spring/Summer 1968); Life (Fall/Winter 1968). The title track from DTTM hit the singles charts in Summer 1968. Life was the superior sounding follow-up LP that offered funk rock and pop at its finest(M'Lady, Into My Own Thig, Fun, I'm An Animal, etc.). Jane Is AGroupee is arguably one of the most explosive cuts that Sly evertracked. Life's title song was released as the first single fromthe record, but failed to follow DTTM up the charts. The group would later return ith hit singles like Everyday People, Hot Fun In The Summertime, Everybody Is A Star and Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA funk/rock/psychedelic/soul meltdown!, July 5, 2001\nReviewer: Christian M Williams (ampa, FL USA)\nSly is and was a genius, no doubt, with exuberance and groove to spare on every track of this album. Even the filler material ("Chicken," "Dynamite") is catchy with some interesting production touches, and the better songs that didn'tmake his Greatest Hits collection are awesome.\nYou may recognize that "Into My Own Thing" has a distinctive horn/organ/bass/drum riff - heard today as the predominant sample from the current Fatboy Slim song (the one with Christopher Walken dancing.\n\nIf youlove the alternating lead vocals, fuzz bass, punchy drums and brilliant arrangements of Sly's better known material, it will onlytake a few listens before these songs are as classic to you as his best. I really like "Harmony" (despite thecheesy intro) and "Jane Is A Groupee" (killer production).\n\n\nHalf.com Details \nProducer: Sly Stone \n\nAlbum Notes\nLIFE, Sly's follow-up to his commercial breakthrough, DANCE TO THE MUSIC, was very much in thesame vein as its predecessor. An inovative blend of rock and soul, with large helpings of horns, fuzz guitar, and bottom-heavy bass, it was to become the sonic template for just about every funk act of the '70s.\n\nThe band is brash and palpably bursting with confidence, which may exlain why Sly pulled a postmodern Beatles move, quoting "Dance to the Music" at the tag of the opening "Dynamite." (On the other hand, maybe Sly just had a thing for theBeatles--there's an "Eleanor Rigby" quote in "Plastic Jim.") Interestingly, despie the album's popularity, LIFE yielded no hit singles, although almost everybody assumed that the title song, anFM radio favorite, had actually charted.\n\nIndustry Reviews\n4 Stars - Excellent - ...LIFE is where Sly's dazzling all-things-to-all-peole vision snaps into full focus....When Sly testifies on'Life,' insisting that 'you don't have to come down' and 'you don't have to die before you live,' the ebullient music supports his spiritual tightrope walk...\nRolling Stone Magazine (09/21/199)\n\n\nROLLING STONE REVIEW\nThe reissue of these long-out-of-print late-'60s albums documents the birth of funk -- the bastard offspring of gutbucket soul and psychedelic rock. The collected early works of Sylvester Stewart, a k a Sly Stone, provid a musicalbridge between James Brown's bedrock grooves and George Clinton's cosmic slop. A former DJ and veteran music-biz hustler, Sly is a supernaturally gifted band leader, arranger, player, producer, songwriter and onstage instigator. The lyricsof his catchy choruses tempered uplifting messages with urban reality; his flashy persona and streetwise cool set the style standard for the superbad, superslick early '70s.\n\nThe Family Stone were a comfortable rainbow coalition: Sly's brother Fredie Stone on guitar, sister Rosie on electric piano, cousin Larry Graham on bass and Greg Errico on drums, plus saxophonist Jerry Martini and trumpeter CynthiaRobinson. Their sound was democratic, too: Each instrumental voice was carefully articulatd, always in step with the others. Everybody in the group sang, as one crucial Life track puts it, in perfect "Harmony."\n\nA Whole New Thing, the group's 1967 debut, isn't quite the genre-busting exercise its title promises. To contemporary ears, i more closely resembles a slightly. different thing: straight-up, pumping R&B flavored with some freaky trimmings-- a fuzz-tone guitar blurt here ("Run, Run, Run," "Trip to YourHeart") some pointed protest lyrics there ("Underdog," "Dog"). Even whenthese trappings feel a bit dated, the Family Stone's boundless high energy, tight musicianship and soulful convictions get the motivating message across loud and clear.\n\nTwenty-seven years later, the title track of Dance to the Music provides a sue-fire jolt of pure adrenalin. Overall the album is uneven, but its highs are intense, prolonged, ecstatic. Earthy bass and drums put a spring in your step while seductive melodies and horn lines tickle your mind. Song titles like "Ride the Rhythm" nd "Higher"are more than hooks -- they're statements of purpose. And Sly's half-spoken and half-sung band introductions on "Dance to the Music" neatly prefigure the rise of rap. "All we need is a drummer,"he declares, "for people who only need a bea."\n\nLife is whereSly's dazzling all-things-to-all-people vision snaps into full focus. "Dynamite!" explodes in a hailstorm of volatile, feedback-laced rock. "Plastic Jim," "Into My Own Thing" and "Love City" connect hippie idealism to wickedly synopated rhythms. And the joyously hedonistic party numbers -- "Fun," "M'Lady" -- just won't quit. When Sly testifies on "Life," insisting that "you don't have to come down" and "you don't have to die before you live," the ebullient music supports hisspiritual tightrope walk.\n\nThe rest,as they say, is history: Sly and the Family Stone's remaining career paralleled the rise and fall of the baby-boom counterculture. They peaked at Woodstock in '69, bottomed out after There's a Riot Goin' On in '1 and eventually broke up. Sly Stone remains a spectral presence on the contemporary scene, a troubling rumor atbest, though his profound influence can be felt every time you turn on a radio. While the man may not have survived the '60s intact, surey his music has endured beyond all expectations. (RS 717-- Sep 21, 1995) -- MARK COLEMAN
This rock cd contains 15 tracks and runs 43min 40sec.
Freedb: da0a3a0f
Buy: from Amazon.com

Categories

Latest lists

Sly & The Family Stone: Life (Remastered + Expanded) CD Track Listing

Category

Tags

cyList

Legal