Innovator. Integrator. Inspiration for a whole generation of musicians and fans. I have no hesitation in describing Sylvester Stewart as a genius. Today's listeners take for granted the groundbreaking work he did in the 60's and early 70's. A great artist who's career was cut short by substances.
I love them Sly was operating in his own world between rock and soul with a massive dose of funk. He really had it all and the music aged well. I've never stopped listening to Sly. It is sad that his personal problems and substance abuse excesses led him into the abyss. I also think he was surrounded by sharks and predators that had no regard for his talent or personal well being.
AWESOME musician and innovator. Like Sneaky Pete said, his music never gets old. I have the "Complete Box" but Riot is probably my favorite. BTW, all Sly fanatics and lovers of the Riot-era sound MUST own this: An absolutely brilliant comp covering Sly's very short-lived Stone Flower label. Soooooooo dark and funky!!!
Wholeheartedly seconded. The transition from Stand! to There's a Riot Goin' On is one of the greatest evolutionary leaps in pop / rock / soul, and those Stone Flower singles are the missing link that document just how Sly pulled it off. Add in the 'Thank You (Faletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)' single (the only connective tissue most of us had to go by) and you've also got an incredible 'lost album' from one of the greatest writer / producers of the era, at the height of his powers.
Indeed. He has been virtually homeless for years, living in a van/RV in southern California. He was recently awarded a $5M settlement in a lawsuit against his former manager and attorney for "mislaid" royalties. But he looks like he's in pretty bad shape, IMO. As much as I'd love to see him come back a la Brian Wilson, I don't think it's very likely.
Love Sly and the Family Stone. Dance to the Music still gets me going brilliant. The Woodstock Experience is a must.
The peak has already happened by this point. Losing Larry Graham was really bad then Gregg Errico... the band really couldn't withstand that. Add that to Sly being non compos mentis of the time and his declining skills--it's a sad story....
I saw him live at the North Sea Jazz festival in 2007 and it was an unmitigated disaster.. it's really sad what happened considering his enormous musical talent. Having said, I still crank the old S&FS records at home, love those records.
In a dream battle of the bands with every rock band at it's peak squaring off, I think Sly and the Family Stone would probably be able to take all comers (open it up to all funk bands too and JB would probably edge 'em out). Only got to see Sly once, years later, in the early '80s when he was touring small clubs in the Northeast, and I thought he was fantastic. But I think his long sad descent, and resultant inability to take any kind of nostalgia tour on the road or make any kind of late career "comeback" or looking back album (the way Johnny Cash or Bob Dylan did), etc, has sadly left a lot of younger listeners without experience with Sly's music or knowledge of what an enormous impact he had on music in his day. To me at least Stand, Riot, Fresh, and Greatest Hits (for "Everybody Is a Star," "Hot Fun in the Summertime" and "Thank You"), are essential rock albums that no one who cares about the music should be without. And Stand, to me, is as good as album as rock produced in that fertile era.
Of the absolute greats of 20th Century music. The Albums after "Small Talk" are not without their merits esp. "High on You" I also have a soft spot for this one, with a "revamped' Family Stone from 76.
As others have said There 's A Riot Going On, Fresh, Stand and Greatest Hits are among the top albums ever released, and all four are listed by Rolling Stone in its Top 500. There's A Riot Going On is still extraordinary. Sly was an innovator of West Coast music, his band was multi-racial, and he remains a pioneer of funk, paving the way for George Clinton, Earth Wind and Fire, and Prince among others. Rightly has legendary status, up there with the aforementioned and the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, the Temps, James Brown, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield etc in the soul/funk hall of fame.
Saw him reunite with The Fanily Stone (without Larry Graham, of course) at BB King's in NYC 5 to 10 years ago. While the Family Stone show was awesome overall, Sly coming out for at most 15 minutes, sitting at a keyboard he did little with and mumbling tunelessly was a major disappointment. Made me wonder if he sufers from some sort of stage fright (not unusual after so many years out of the limelight) that he dealt with by drugging up for a live performance to the point of incompetence. After this disappointing experience, I was very glad to hear him contributing nicely to the new Funkadelic CD last year, writing or co-writing and singing and playing on 5-6 tunes (though some might not like the autotune he uses - clearly as an effect - on most of these). Guess he can still get it together when he has time in the studio, and perhaps doesn't face the same issue with nerves.
I really love "Fresh," maybe more than all the others. I recently picked up a clean original LP that sounds phenomenal -- orange Epic label, mastered by RL. Sick stuff.
Popular consensus is that he dried up creatively after Fresh, but his later records definitely had their highlights. Sick groove on this one. Love the horn charts.
