060: Sly and the Family Stone - Fresh (1973)
“When I first heard of Sly & the Family Stone, I got a little pissed off ... He [David Kapralik] said, ‘I have this new guy, Sly ... you know, he's kinda like your group.’ Then he took me back there and played the records, and I'll tell you what I said ... ‘this is the baddest sucker I've ever heard in my life.’”
—George Clinton, inducting Sly & the Family Stone into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Sly & the Family Stone was in many ways the quintessential American band (and John’s pick as the greatest American band), a rags-to-riches-to-rags story of a San Francisco group that rose from obscurity to worldwide popularity and acclaim, only to implode from intraband conflicts and the excesses of fame. The 1973 album Fresh captures the band right before collapse, after it had survived a transformation from an optimistic 60s psychedelic soul act to a top-notch 70s cocaine funk act, and it’s both an excellent album in its own right and a fascinating prism through which to examine the band’s career as a whole. Join John (host), Rich (moderator), Phil, and Ben as they examine an album adored by George Clinton, Miles Davis, and Brian Eno alike, and an album that even makes "Qué Será, Será" sound cool.
Miscellany
In the interest of precision, John’s ranking of Sly & the Family Stone as his favorite American band specifically excludes solo artists (i.e. Bob Dylan doesn’t count in this assessment).
One of the trickiest aspects of Sly & the Family Stone’s career to navigate in any serious discussion of the band is Sly Stone’s drug addiction, which is a critical element in understanding the band’s development and eventual collapse but is also one of the saddest tragedies in the history of American popular music. We did our best to find a balance between acknowledging that some of the stories relating to his addiction and effect on the band are perversely amusing, on the one hand, and not veering into disrespect for how his condition negatively affected his life and relationships, on the other. If we didn’t strike the right balance, then we apologize.
The story mentioned in the episode regarding Larry Graham’s departure, specifically how it related to a fight that his entourage and Sly Stone’s entourage got into over a rumor related to a hitman, sounds on the surface like the sort of thing somebody would invent in a Wikipedia article just to mess with people, but it actually comes from an oral history provided to Joel Selvin of SFGate back in 1998. A link to the story has been provided below and is well worth reading.
Other links
Brian Eno: "The Studio as Compositional Tool" (Down Beat Magazine 1983)
George Clinton inducts Sly & the Family Stone into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Youtube)
Ned Flanders and Springfield sing "Qué Será, Será" in "Bart's Comet" (Youtube)
Discord & Rhyme’s Fresh playlist (Spotify)
Discord & Rhyme Roll Call
John McFerrin (host)
Rich Bunnell (moderator)
Phil Maddox
Benjamin Marlin
Fresh tracklist
In Time
If You Want Me To Stay
Let Me Have it All
Frisky
Thankful N’ Thoughtful
Skin I’m In
I Don’t Know (Satisfaction)
Keep on Dancin’
Qué Será, Será (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)
If It Were Left Up to Me
Babies Makin’ Babies
Other clips used
Sly & the Family Stone:
Thank You for Talkin’ to Me Africa
I Want to Take You Higher
Dance to the Music
Underdog
Dance to the Medley
Love City
Stand!
Everyday People
Luv N’ Haight
Family Affair
Sing a Simple Song
Babies Makin’ Babies (Alternate Mix)
Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
Somebody’s Watching You
My Gorilla is My Butler
Others:
Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance
De La Soul - Eye Know
TLC - What About Your Friends
Jungle Brothers - J. Beez Comin’ Through
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Anger in the Nation
Dr. Dre - Deep Cover
Del the Funky Homosapien - Worldwide
KRS-One - Sound of da Police
2Pac - Temptations
Alanis Morissette - Thank U
Duran Duran - I Wanna Take You Higher
Duran Duran - I Wanna Take You Higher Again
Miles Davis - Go Ahead John
Venetian Snares - 2 Dollars
The Red Hot Chili Peppers - If You Want Me To Stay
Little Sister - Somebody’s Watching You
Prince - The Ballad of Dorothy Parker
Eddie Money - Baby Hold On
Doris Day - Qué Será, Será (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)
Miles Davis - Black Satin
Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information
D’Angelo - 1,000 Deaths
Band/album personnel
Sly Stone - vocals, organ, guitar, bass guitar, piano, harmonica, etc
Freddie Stone - vocals, guitar
Rose Stone - vocals, piano, keyboard
Cynthia Robinson - trumpet
Jerry Martini - saxophone
Pat Rizzo - saxophone
Rusty/Rustee Allen - bass guitar on “In Time,” “Let Me Have it All,” “Keep on Dancin’”
Larry Graham - bass guitar on “Qué Será, Será (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” and “If It Were Left Up to Me” (uncredited)
Andy Newmark - drums
Little Sister (Vet Stone, Mary McCreary, Elva Mouton) - Vocals
Credits
“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of:
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf
Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste
The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...
Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
Herbie Hancock - Hornets
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen
Sly & the Family Stone - In Time
You can buy or stream Fresh and other albums by Sly and the Family Stone at your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and be ever wonderful.