"Small Talk/High On You/Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back" by SLY & THE FAMILY STONE – US Albums from July 1974, November 1975 and December 1976 on Epic Records – guests featuring Eric Gale, Bobby Lyles and Peter Frampton (September 2017 UK Beat Goes On Reissue (BGO) – 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs – Andrew Thompson Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Loose Booty..."

Time is a cruel mistress, especially in the music business. Sly & The Family Stone are a case in point. They had achieved what few could have managed outside of Isaac Hayes and his extraordinary LP run on Stax. 

"Greatest Hits" from November 1970, the huge November 1971 opus that was "There's A Riot Goin' On" and "Fresh" from June 1973 had all achieved Number 1 status on the US R&B LP charts for Sly & The Family Stone – three in a row - with "...Riot..." going to Number 1 on the Rock LP charts also. Very, very rare that any Soul acts outside of Isaac Hayes and James Brown ever got to do this. Even before the 1970 "Greatest Hits" set – their fourth album "Stand!" from April 1969 had peaked at No. 3 (material from it was featured at Woodstock) - high numbers and high praise all round. Impressive stuff. 

But by June 1974 when the "Small Talk" LP came out – he made No. 15 on the Rock charts (didn't register with R&B) - "High On You" from October 1975 made No. 45 (No. 11 R&B) and December 1976's "Heard Ya Missed Me... " seemed to have a ego-title too far because it didn't bother the Rock charts at all and scraped No. 33 on R&B (even with complimentary liner notes from top Philly Producer and admirer Kenneth Gamble). What had started out as Sly & The Family Stone mixed-race mixed-cultural world-changing stellar-music in the late 60ts - was by 1974, 1975 and 1976 – old hat and fizzling out fast. This was Sly on the downturn, lost in power and accolades, obscene amounts of money and schizoid drugs dependence despite the cosy holding a baby/we're all wholesome now album sleeve. This is Sylvester Stewart before unreliability destroyed any chance of gigs, shabby RVs and homelessness thirty ears later and no calls returned - newspapers preparing obituaries. 

So in some respects – these three albums have been ignored over the years (the second is credited to Sly Stone only, the other two to Sly & The Family Stone) – and that's where this superb twofer reappraisal from BGO of England comes a-boogieing in. It's not all primo Soul-Funk for sure, but there are enough nuggets across the three platters, great new Audio and quality presentation to soften the sub-Booty blow (guitarist Eric Gale and Peter Frampton guest alongside keyboard whizz Bobby Lyles too). I'm givin' and livin' y'all. To the Mother Beautiful...

UK released Friday, 1 September 2017 - "Small Talk/High On You/Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back" by SLY & THE FAMILY STONE on Beat Goes on BGOCD1294 (Barcode 5017261212948) offers 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows: 

CD1 (37:25 minutes):
1. Small Talk [Side 1]
2. Say You Will 
3. Mother Beautiful 
4. Time For Livin' 
5. Can't Strain My Brain 
6. Loose Booty [Side 2]
7. Holdin' On 
8. Wishful Thinkin' 
9. Better Thee Than Me
10. Livin' Where I'm Livin' 
11. This Is Love 
Tracks 1 to 11 are their seventh studio album "Small Talk" - released July 1974 in the USA on Epic PE 32930 and August 1974 in the UK on Epic S EPC 69070. Musicians included Freddie Stone on Vocals and Guitar, Rose Stone Banks on Vocals and Keyboards, Cynthia Robinson on Trumpet, Vet Stewart on Vocals and Keyboards, Jerry Martini on Saxophone, Pat Rizzo on Flute and Saxophone, Sid Page On Violin with Rusty Allen on Bass and Bill Lordon on Drums. Produced and Arranged by Sly Stone - he features on Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards and Bass.  

CD2 (68:46 minutes):
1. I Get High On You [Side 1]
2. Crossword Puzzle 
3. That's Lovin' You 
4. Who Do You Love? 
5. Green Eyed Monster Girl 
6. Organize [Side 2] 
7. Le Lo Li
8. My World 
9. So Good To Me 
10. Greed 
Tracks 1 to 10 are the group's eight studio outing "High On You" and his first (technically) solo LP as SLY STONE - released October 1975 in the USA on Epic PE 33835 and December 1975 in the UK on Epic S EPC 69165. Musicians included Dawn Silva, Tiny Melton, Vet Stewart and Rudy Love on Vocals, Freddie Stone on Vocals and Guitar, Cousin Gale on Guitar, Bobby Lyles and Tricky Truman Governor on Keyboards (Little Moses plays Organ on "I Get High On You" only), Jerry Martini and Dennis Marcellino on Saxophones, Cynthia Robinson on Trumpet and Vocals, Bobby Vega on Bass (Rusty Allen plays Bass on "Organize" only), Michael Samuels and Jim Strassburg on Drums (Bill Lordon Drums on "That's Lovin' You" only and Willie Wild Sparks Drums on "Le Lo Li" only). Sly Stone plays multiple instruments – everything else. 

11. Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back [Side 1]
12. What Was I Thinkin' In My Head 
13. Nothing Less Than Happiness
14. Sexy Situation 
15. Blessing in Disguise 
16. Everything In You [Side 2]
17. Mother Is A Hippie
18. Let's Be Together 
19. The Thing
20. Family Again 
Tracks 11 to 20 are the group's ninth studio album "Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back" - released December 1976 in the USA on Epic PE 34348 and December 1976 in the UK on Epic EPC 81641. Musicians included  Cynthia Robinson on Trumpet, Joe Baker on Guitar and Vocals, John Colla and Steve Schuster on Horns, John Farey on Keyboards with Dwight Hogan and Anthony Warren on Bass and Drums (and others). Peter Frampton [ex The Herd and Humble Pie] plays Guitar on "Let's Be Together".

The seven players on "Small Talk" are pictured in the 24-page booklet, the Steve Lake of Melody Maker 1974 liner notes and other aspects of the gatefold sleeve (but not the lyrics). Same for the other two albums, but its CHARLES WARING (principal Soul and Jazz contributor to "Mojo" magazine) that provides the thoroughly even-handed liner notes. As fans will know, the press and reviewers have always given Sly's mid-70ts output a snoot - some good stuff sided with treading water and rehashes of old flames. And I guess some of that is unfortunately true. But hearing these albums again - and this time with 2017 High Def Remasters from BGO's long-standing Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON – and I'm feeling a wee bit more generous. And the card slipcase always makes these BGO reissues feel that just that little bit classier than most. To the music...

I never could stand that baby crying throughout the title track no matter how good the funky backdrop (like he was deliberately trying to reflect the chaos in his brain), but things pick up with the chilli con carne sexiness of "Say You Will" – lovely brass and synth backdrops to the life worth living lyrics. For every season, Sly's best friend is "Mother Beautiful" – the kind of Family Stone Soul-Funk tune that wouldn't have been out of place on albums as far back as the "Everyday People" of "Stand!" in 1969. Hardly surprising that Epic chose the sheer clavinet commerciality of "Time For Livin'" as the lead-off 45-single for the album in June 1974 (Epic 5-11140 was b/w "Small Talk") - rewarded as they were with a No. 10 on the US R&B singles charts. Other faves on a 'good' Sly/Family album would be funky-bass chug of "Better Thee Than Me", the 'I might as well admit it' smoocher LP finisher "This Is Love" and the second single off the album "Loose Booty" that should have done better than No. 22. 

Bare-chested and grinning or not – I recall the "High On You" album arrived with a yawn. Which is a damn shame because there are tremendous grooves in the title track, while Funkadelic would have killed for the crossover AWB-underpinned saxophone swing in "Crossword Puzzle" – never loose a round – all you have to do is be you – everybody getting down. The terribly titled and slightly lame right on sister and right on brother of "Le Lo Li" was issued as a single in December 1975 (Epic 8-50175) – but the hard-hitting Funk of its flipside "Who Do You Love?" interested me more. Unfortunately the War and Peace words of "Greed" felt preachy and not enlightened in 1976. 

By the time he returned as Sly And The Family Stone for "Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back” album (surely a contender for top-twenty worst LP titles) - the world wasn't really interested anymore and that one-man-band artwork probably didn't help much either. Where once Sly seemed clued in - the Kenneth Gamble liner notes asking "...may almighty God give you the strength to control your emotions..." was somehow a sideways jab rather than a plea for understanding. "Blessing In Disguise" had a nice vibe to it (all those girly vocals) but apparently it only reached Promo-stages as a 45 - the album having no other 45 to plug it. Ex Humble Pie axeman Peter Frampton who had just become a global superstar with his "Frampton Comes Alive" double-LP) issued in April of 1976 guests on understated treated guitar for the busy "Let's Be Together". Better for me is swirling Brass and Bass Funk of "The Thing".  

Niggles – the four Previously Unreleased bonus tracks that appeared on the 2007 Expanded Edition CD of "Small Talk" is AWOL on CD1 when there was room. But I suppose as neither of the other two LPs has received such accolades over the years (excepting expensive and deleted Japanese Editions) – their proper Remasters here are something of an exclusive and a bonus of a different kind.  

For damn sure it's not all genius and by the time you get to "Heard..." - you may be hearing 'same old, same old' songs - but when he hits that groove and the stunning backing band he had backs him up - it is a 'high'. Nothing less than happiness? Well, it's close enough for moi...