Search - Sly & Family Stone :: Stand

Groundbreaking and revolutionary music you can dance to

TimothyFarrell22 | Massachusetts | 10/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Imagine how different music would've been without Sly and the Family Stone. There'd be no Prince, no Michael Jackson, and most of all no disco. The music changed the world as we know it, and put revolutionary politics into funk music. And unlike many other "essential" albums, this one more than lives up to its hype. The music itself is some of the greatest dance music ever recorded. The band has incredible harmony. This is certainly a mixture of the music of the past and the future. Sly took R&B and soul, made it heavier and psychadelic with more random tempo changes, which paved the way for 70s funk and disco. The songs also had political messages. "Don't Call Me Nigger Whitey" and "Everyday People" both are anti-racist songs. Before Sly fell into drug addiction and medocrity (post-"Fresh"), he made some fantastic music. While this isn't as great as "There's A Riot Going On", its still a funk essential."

"I wanna take you higher..." (4.5 stars)

finulanu | Here, there, and everywhere | 11/24/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A classic record indeed - out of the eight tracks, FIVE became hits: Everyday People is a just classic, a catchy, but intelligent call for unity that topped the charts and is behind only Dance to the Music in terms of being Sly's signature song; I Wanna Take You Higher is an electrifying jam, with great trumpet and harominca solos, and my favorite Sly Stone song; Sing a Simple Song is an effective showpiece for the group's monster horn section; the title track is another classic, with a heartstopping coda and positive, message-oriented lyrics; and You Can Make It If You Try is a catchy, popwise tune with some cool gospel-influenced group vocals. I'd also pull for the jam Sex Machine, though the talkbox part dates the song slightly, there is some really cool wah-wah and fuzz guitar, as well as a nice sax solo. You don't hear much about it, but it's actually a good song. The rest? Somebody's Watching You is album filler; and while you have to commend Sly for being brave enough to call a song "Don't Call Me N&^*@$, Whitey" (here it is 2006 and I'm still afraid to say it!) in 1969, the song hasn't held up that well. Sure, it's not as important, or as good, as There's a Riot Goin' On, and the contemporary singles Hot Fun in the Summertime; Everybody is a Star and Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) would've been welcome bonus tracks. But it's a solid record all the same."

Vinyl Quality Poor

Taylor Adamson | Austin, TX | 06/24/2010

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great record by one of my favorite bands, but the treatment on this vinyl is obscene. When I played it I noticed that many of the songs sounded off and i realized that the horns weren't being included in the mix. We can't even hear the female vocalist on "Can you take me higher." "Somebody's Watching You" also gets hatched; all you can hear in the mix is the rhythm guitar. I checked my record player, I returned my copy for another and both had these flaws. Get this on CD, because it deserves a better quality listen then what is currently available here."