"Higher!" by SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE – 10" x 10" 4CD Book Set Anthology Covering 1964 to 1977 Recordings, Single Mixes and LP Cuts on Autumn and Epic Records in Mono and Stereo Including Seventeen Previously Unreleased (August 2013 UK Sony Music/Epic/Legacy 4CD Book Set with 77-Tracks, A 104-Booklet, 17 Previously Unreleased and Vic Anesini Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Different Strokes For Different Folks..."

 

"Let The Music Take You Higher!" - the sticker blurb heralds on this beautifully laid out 2013 Epic/Legacy 4CD vaults trawl for Prince's Soul Brother from another mother – Sly Stone and his Family of – well – Stoners.

 

"Higher!" encompasses 77-Tracks - those early Mono Mix 45s on Autumn Records and of course Epic – Seventeen Previously Unreleased (primarily 1967 and 1968 sessions) – one of the most lavishly annotated 104-page booklets I have ever seen (nipping at the buds of Bear Family, it's that good) – and all of it Remastered from first generation tapes by a name you can trust – VIC ANESINI. Anesini has handled Presley, Paul Simon, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Byrds, Nilsson, Simon & Garfunkel, Mott The Hoople, Santana, Kansas, Nick Lowe, The Jayhawks, Mountain, Jeff Beck and oodles more. There is mucho to document...

 

UK and EUROPE released 23 August 2013 - "Higher!" by SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE on Sony Music/Epic/Legacy 88697536652 (Barcode 886975366521) is a 4CD 10" x 10" Book Set with 77-Tracks recorded between 1964 and 1977 and a 104-Booklet – it plays out as follows (all tracks by Sly & The Family Stone except where stated otherwise):

 

CD1 (64:58 minutes):

1. I Just Learned How To Swim – SLY STEWART

2. Scat Swim – SLY STEWART - Tracks 1 and 2 are August 1964 US 45-single on Autumn Records 3, A&B-sides

3. Buttermilk (Part One) – SLY - August 1965 US 45-single on Autumn Records 14, A-side

4. Dance All Night – SLY & FREDDIE [Sly and Freddie Stewart] - Recorded July 1965, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED VERSION

5. Temptation Walk (Part One) – SLY - December 1965 US 45-single on Autumn 26, A-side

6. I Ain't Got Nobody – SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE

7. I Can't Turn You Loose – SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE (see NOTES for Tracks 6 and 7)

8. Higher (Mono Single Master, Promo-Only First Pressing)

9. Underdog (Mono Single Master)

10. Bad Risk (Mono Single Master) - Tracks 8, 9 and 10 see NOTES)

11. Let Me Hear It From You (Mono Single Master) - November 1967 US 45-single on Epic 5-10256, Unique Mix and B-side to "Dance To The Music"

12. Advice (Mono) - from the October 1967 US LP "A Whole New Thing" on Epic LN 24324 in Mono – there was a Stereo variant of the LP in the States also on Epic BN 26323 – neither received an issue in the UK

13. If This Room Could Talk (Mono) - same as Track 12

14. I Cannot Make It (Mono) - same as Track 12

15. Trip To Your Heart (Mono) - same as Track 12

16. I Hate To Love Her (Mono) - same as Track 12

17. Silent Communication – Recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

18. I Get High On You (Version One) – recorded August 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

19. I Remember – recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

20. My Woman's Head – recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

NOTES on CD1:

Tracks 1 to 5, 8 to 16 in MONO; Tracks 6, 7 and 17 to 20 in STEREO

Tracks 4 and 17 to 20 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

Tracks 6 and 7 – Track 6 "I Ain't Got Nobody" was initially known as "For Real" and is the first recording made as a Demo in January 1967 where the band is credited Sly And The Family Stone – Track 7 "I Can't Turn You Loose" is from the same January 1967 session. A later re-recording of "I Ain't Got Nobody" is on the "Dance To The Music" LP in 1967. But when the band became chart-toppers in America and around the world, the 1967 Demo Versions of both Tracks 6 and 7 surfaced as a semi-bootlegs twice – 1970 in France on BYG Records 129 018 credited as "Good For Real" – the B-side to "I Can't Turn You Loose" (an Otis Redding cover version) in a picture sleeve – and September 1972 in the USA as the A&B-sides of Loadstone 3951. The label sides of Loadstone 3951 are on Page 37 of the booklet

Tracks 8, 9 and 10 - August 1967 saw a US-only Promo-only 45-single on Epic 5-10229 with "Higher" as the B-side to "Underdog". It was quickly withdrawn and September 1967 saw Epic 5-10229 repressed with "Bad Risk" as the flipside to "Underdog" on the A. All three tracks are included here

 

CD2 (67:16 minutes):

1. What's That Got To Do With Me – recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

2. Fortune And Fame recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

3. What Would I Do – August 1967 recording unissued until it was used as a Bonus Track on the 1997 Expanded Edition CD of "A Whole New Thing" on Epic/Legacy 82796 90277-2

4. Only One Way Out Of This Mess (same as Track 3)

5. I Know What You Came To Say – recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

6. Dance To The Music (Mono Single Master) – November 1967 US 45-single on Epic 5-10256, A-side)

7. Ride The Rhythm – from the April 1968 US 2^nd studio album "Dance To The Music" on Epic BN 26371 in Stereo (see also NOTES)

8. Color Me True (Colour Me True in the UK) (see NOTES)

9. Are You Ready - from the April 1968 US 2^nd studio album "Dance To The Music" on Epic BN 26371 in Stereo

10. Don't Burn Baby - from the April 1968 US 2^nd studio album "Dance To The Music" on Epic BN 26371 in Stereo

11. We Love All – recorded September 1967, first appeared 2007 on the Expanded Edition CD reissue of "Dance To The Music" on Epic/Legacy 82796 90274-2

12. Danse A La Musique (Mono Single Master) – THE FRENCH FRIES – March 1968 US 45-single on Epic 5-10313, A-side

13. Small Fries (Mono Single Master) – THE FRENCH FRIES – Side B of Track 12 (both Tracks Sly Stone originals)

14. Chicken (Mono Single Master) – Cancelled before release US 45-single would have been Epic 5-10333

15. Into My Own Thing – from the album "Life" released November 1968 in the USA on Epic BN 26397 (Stereo only) and January 1969 in the UK as "M'lady" on Direction 8-63461 (Stereo only)

16. Life (Mono Single Master) – June 1968 US 45-single on Epic 5-10353, A-side – different Lead Vocal to the Stereo version on the LP

17. Love City (Mono) – recorded May 1968, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED MONO MIX

18. M'lady (Mono Single Master) – June 1968 US 45-single on Epic 5-10353, as B-side, then flipped as Promoted as the A-side

19. Dynamite! – recorded April 1968, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

20. Undercat (Instrumental) – recorded August 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED (see NOTES)

NOTES on CD2:

Tracks 6, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18 in MONO; all others in STEREO

Tracks 1, 2, 5, 17, 19 and 20 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

Tracks 7 and 8 also appeared as Tracks 1 and 2 on Side 2 of a 45-single 4-Track Free Mini LP play played at 33 1/3 album speed (Epic S EPC 3048) that came with January 1972 UK copies of the LP "There's A Riot Goin' On" (Epic 64613)

Track 20 would see elements of "Undercat" develop and evolve into the song "Plastic John" that appeared on the "Life" album of 1968

 

CD3 (77:36 minutes):

1. Everyday People (Mono Single Master) - see Track 2

2. Sing A Simple Song (Mono Single Master) – Tracks 1 and 2 are the A&B-sides of a November 1968 US 45-single on Epic 5-10407

3. I Get High On You (Version 2) – recorded February 1968, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED (see NOTES)

4. Wonderful World Of Color – recorded May 1968, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

5. Pressure – recorded August 1968, unissued outtake that first appeared on the 2007 Expanded Edition CD reissue of "Life" on Epic/Legacy 82876 83945-2

6. I Want To Take You Higher (Mono Single Master) – March 1969 US 45-single on Epic 5-10450, B-side of "Stand!"

7. Seven More Days – as per Track 5

8. Feathers (Instrumental) – recorded September 1968, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

9. Somebody's Watching You – from the album "Stand!" released April 1969 in the USA on Epic BN 26456 (Stereo only) and July 1969 in the UK on Direction 8-63655 (stereo only)

10. Sex Machine – as per Track 9

11. Hot In The Summertime (Mono Single Master) – July 1969 US 45-single on Epic 5-10497, A-side

12. Everybody Is A Star (Mono Single Master)

13. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) – Tracks 12 and 13 are the B&A-sides of a December 1969 US 45-single on Epic 5-10555

14. Stand! (Live) – see NOTES

15. You Can Make It If You Try (Live) – see NOTES

16. Dance To The Music (Live) – Tracks 16 and 17 see NOTES

17. Medley: Music Lover/I Want To Take You Higher/Music Lover (Live)

NOTES on CD3:

Tracks 1, 2, 6, 11 and 13 in MONO; all others in STEREO

Tracks 3, 4, 8, 16 and 17 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

Tracks 14 and 15 were from the 1971 US 3LP Various Artists set "The First Great Rock Festivals Of The Seventies – Isle Of Wight – Atlanta Pop Festival" on Columbia G3X 30807. On the original triple, the Isle of Wight Medley was run as one 10:14 minute track; here it is divided into two. Tracks 16 and 17 were recorded on the same day also at the Isle of Wight Festival, 30 August 1970, but left off the 3LP set. They are issued here for the first time

 

CD4 (72:39 minutes):

1. Luv N' Haight (Single Master, 4:02 minutes)

2. Family Affair – Tracks 1 and 2 are the B&A-sides of an October 1971 US 45-single on Epic 5-10805

3. Brave And Strong (Mono Single Master)

4. Runnin' Away (Mono Single Master) - Tracks 3 and 4 are the B&A-sides of a January 1972 US 45-single on Epic 5-10829

5. (You Caught Me) Smilin' (Single Master) – March 1972 US 45-single on Epic 5-10850, A-side

6. Spaced Cowboy – from the album "There's A Riot Goin' On" released November 1971 in the USA on Epic KC 30986 and January 1972 in the UK on Epic S EPC 64613

7. You're The One (Live) – recorded September 1975 in Mono at Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

8. In Time – from the August 1973 LP "Fresh" on Epic KE 32134

9. If You Want Me To Stay (Single Master) – June 1973 US 45-single on Epic 5-11017, A-side

10. Frisky (Mono Single Master) – October 1973 US Promo-Only 45-single on Epic 5-11060, A-Side

11. Skin I'm In - from the August 1973 LP "Fresh" on Epic KE 32134

12. If It Were Left Up To Me (Mono Single Master) - October 1973 US Promo-Only 45-single on Epic 5-11060, A-Side

13. Time For Livin' (Mono Single Master) – June 1974 US 45-single on Epic 5-11140, A-side

14. Can't Stain My Brain (Single Master) – October 1974 US 45-single on Epic 8-50033, B-side of "Loose Booty"

15. Loose Booty – from the album "Small Talk" released July 1974 in the USA on Epic PE 32930 and August 1974 in the UK on Epic S EPC 69070

16. Le Lo Li (Single Master) – SLY STONE - December 1975 US 45-single on Epic 8-50175, A-side

17. Crossword Puzzle (Single Master) – SLY STONE - February 1976 US 45-single on Epic 8-50201, A-side

18. Family Again – January 1977 US 45-single on Epic 8-50331, A-side - featuring Johnny Colla, later Saxophonist with Huey Lewis and The News

19. Hoboken – SLY STONE - recorded October 1975 and April 1977, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

20. High – SLY STONE – recorded October 1975, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

NOTES on CD4:

Tracks 3, 4, 7, 10, 12 and 13 in MONO; all others in STEREO

Track 3 would eventually be re-recorded by Sly for inclusion on his 1975 album "High On You"

Tracks 7, 19 and 20 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

 

The Deluxe 10 x 10 Packaging is a visual assault and in all the best ways. The rear title-sheet on the rear lips beneath the box set but of course once the shrink-wrap is removed is left dangling as stand-alone card. I had to put the entire package in a LP heavy gauge sleeve to protect the damn thing. But what will get to you as you remove the 104-page booklet from its slipcase slot is the content. I cannot imagine the amount of months it must have taken to collate together this amount of period memorabilia into coherent pages. It is gorgeous. The time line from March 1943 (his birth) to 2013 (aged 70) begins on Page 77 with a full-page colour shot of the band in full 1967 dude-apparel. The text is by EDWIN and ARNO KONINGS and edited by ALEX PALAO. However, there are a few annoying niggles. You just wish the track-by-track details actually went deeper – I have provided the release dates and catalogue numbers and which is an A-side or B – the pages here kind of half do that. But the colour and black and white photos are many and stunning. – Pages 24 and 25 mixing in a 1971 concert poster (Rare Earth and Ruth Copeland on the same bill) with on-stage photos of a band finally arriving. VIC ANESINI did the Remasters - typically clean, clear and muscular. CD3 and CD4 are fabulous sounding – primarily Stereo.

 

CD1 opens with the yeah-yeah-yeah mid 60ts R&B dancer "I Just Learned How To Swim" – Sly neglecting his homework in favour of things more youthful and picturesque. The B-side sees Sly scat words and sounds – "Ugh! And Come On Now!" shouted out every few moments (surprisingly good audio). Sly don’t want a steady woman as he sings "Dance All Night" – his non-daylight brain focused on the Philly and The Watusi come the sun going down (punchy Mono on this one too). Speaking of that sound - I would have to say though and despite their rarity on digital - the Mono Single Mixes of "Underdog" and "Bad Risk" disappoint somewhat. I go back the LP Stereo cuts all day long. I am super impressed however at how good the two French Fries tracks sound - even in that super-silly distorted voice like he is Mickey Mouse (him under another name). And the withdrawn "Chicken" 45 seems like a mistake because it was surely Funky and cluck-cluck catchy enough to have been a hit. Got to love that spacey feel to "Silent Communication" too.

 

The second LP "Life" from 1968 did not proffer those all-important hit singles – so despite the Mono 45 sides for both "Life" and "M'lady" being plugged by Columbia as A-sides – they did not do the business and the album stalled the group (there is a lovely full-page Promo Ad for the album reproduced on Page 46 of the beautiful booklet). CD2 opens with three Previously Unissued cuts made in the summer of 1967 that first appeared on Epic/Legacy CD reissues - "What's That Got To Do With Me" and the smoocher come lounge-room-lizard vibe to "Fame And Fortune". The third and best is the slow sexy Soul of "What Would I Do" – a tune that surely would have made a great Non-LP B-side. "Dance To The Music" sees the band hit their Funky stride – still such a tune. Clever choice is the frantic boogie of "Ride The Rhythm" from 1968 that British fans got on a 4-track Free Mini LP 45-single that played at LP-speed (it was given away as a bonus when they bought copies of the "There's A Riot Goin' On" LP in the UK in January 1972). Do you know how to avoid becoming sick they asked in "Color Me True" – another brassy funk workout – and again a track on the Free Mini LP bonus EP. You can hear why they left off "We Love All", too many radical and challenging lyrics maybe and that stop-start trippy construction - but I think it more interesting and positive than some of the released stuff – and a real find.

 

Magic opens CD3 with a double-whammy – the double A-side 45 Mono Mixes of the racially joyous "Everyday People" and the do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do Funk of "Sing A Simple Song" (1 November 1968, the picture sleeve and its 45 are pictured on Page 48 of the booklet). The unreleased "Wonderful World Of Color" is Fuzz Guitar and Organ instrumental that is mostly awful to my ears – though I dare some might find it compelling enough because of its off-kilter sound. Back on boogie-track for "Pressure" – another outtake that is worthy of rediscovery – all right now. The full-blown Funk-a-thon 13:46 minutes of "Sex Machine" from the 1973 platter "Fresh" can either be seen as indulgence or pre-Prince-like genius – or somewhere planter firmly between both. It sure packs an aural punch here. Lightening things up considerably is the throwback to the Soft 60ts sound of "Hot Fun In The Summertime" – here in its Mono form as is the 45-version of "Everybody Is A Star" – good songs but hardly great. Straight into Isley Brothers slap-Bass funk with the brilliant "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" – a sound so ludicrously ahead of everything to come in the Seventies. The disc ends in four live shots in a row – all taped 30 August 1970 at the Isle of Wight Festival in England – Sly in full preacher mode before he grabs the crow with Soul and Funk they did not know they needed.

 

After a near two-year hiatus as far as the public was concerned - CD4 starts out with the big one for fans of Seventies Funk and Social Consciousness – the "There's A Riot Goin' On" LP with its seriously messed-up muddied tapes. Anesini has clearly done the best with what he had at hand – legendarily dubbed on dubbed on dubbed homemade edits. So I am amazed at the sonic whack off of "Luv N' Haight" – here in its 4:02 minute single variant. Quickly followed of course by the big Daddy of his hits - "Family Affair" – a duet vocal with Rose Stone and Billy Preston on the Fender Piano that did so much to define the song’s iconic sound. Bobby Womack was also in there on Rhythm Guitar. I never liked the Poppy Herb Alpert sound of "Runnin' Away" – however fans are going to dig the great audio on display here. Better for me is the slinky Bass and Keyboard swizz of "(You Caught Me) Smilin'" – Sly distorting those vocal lines while Brass pumps up the tight backbeat. "Spaced Cowboy" was typical of the Beatbox-distortion that greeted buyers of the LP "There's A Riot Goin' On" – a Soul yodel song! The live track "You're The One" is not great audio wise and if it is unreleased – I would not want to hear it ever again.

 

The "Fresh" album from 1973 was worth the wait, the seriously funky and wildly unusual rhythms Sly wanted on "In Time" for instance provided by England's Andy Newmark after many other Drummers had been auditioned and failed. Huge Bass greets you with "If You Want Me To Stay" – a badass hook with Rhythms and Brass that makes you think of Blaxsploitation movies where gangsters treat their molls with unenlightened attitudes. Larry Graham left the band to form Graham Central Station – his replacement Rustee Allen makes his presence known with the brilliantly Funky "Frisky" (Allen would actually play Bass on Robin Trower albums for Chrysalis Records in the 80ts). There is great musicality in "Loose Booty" – and again a Robin Trower Band tie-in with Drummer Bill Lordan sharing both stools. The "High On You" LP sessions of 1975 produced the Bass-driven "Le Lo Li" – his new reassembled band then featuring the vocals of Dawn Silva, who would later become part of the George Clinton collective The Brides Of Funkenstein. And on it goes...

 

I would not say that everything on this lavishly presented Book Set is genius – I find CD1 and 2 with their heavy-on-the-Mono leans a hard listen if I am truthful. But I hit the CD player with CD3 and 4 often to get those LP cuts in top Funky Audio. Booty for you indeed...