The Essential Sly & the Family Stone [Epic/Legacy]

Disc 1
1	Underdog 3:58
2	I Cannot Make It 3:19
3	Dance to the Music 3:00
4	Are You Ready? 2:50
5	Fun 2:23
6	M'Lady 2:46
7	Life 3:00
8	Love City 2:44
9	Stand! 3:08
10	Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey 6:00
11	I Want to Take You Higher 5:24
12	Somebody's Watching You 3:21
13	Sing a Simple Song 3:56
14	Everyday People 2:22
15	You Can Make It If You Try 3:39
16	Hot Fun in the Summertime 2:39
17	Everybody Is a Star 3:05
18	Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) 4:48
Disc 2
1	Family Affair 3:06
2	Luv N' Haight 4:04
3	Poet 3:01
4	(You Caught Me) Smilin' 2:55
5	Runnin' Away 2:56
6	Brave and Strong 3:30
7	Just Like a Baby 5:12
8	Thank You for Talkin' to Me, Africa 7:15
9	In Time 5:49
10	If You Want Me to Stay 3:01
11	Frisky 3:12
12	Skin I'm In 2:55
13	Babies Makin' Babies 3:39
14	If It Were Left Up to Me 1:59
15	Time for Livin' 3:17
16	Loose Booty 3:47
17	I Get High on You 3:13

Barnes & Noble

Multiracial, coed, and serving up a fusion of rock, soul, and psychedelia, Sly & the Family Stone represented the utopian inclusiveness offered up by the counterculture in the late '60s -- and the dark disillusion that was to follow. Both sides are captured on this two-CD collection, tracing Sylvester Stewart's collective through the journey from flower-power funk to deeper-hued, more militant, socially conscious fare. Kicking off with deep album cuts "Underdog" and "I Cannot Make It," this Essential wisely incorporates less-familiar flashes of genius among the anthems. Powered by Larry Graham's chugging bass lines and Rose Stone's brassy horns, classics like "Stand!," "Dance to the Music," and "Everyday People" may have made for ultimate party music, but Sly Stone found ways to work in messages about racism ("Don't Call Me N***er, Whitey") and self-empowerment ("You Can Make It if You Try"). By the early '70s, following the seminal There's a Riot Going On, Stewart's drug problems brought a darker tone to the music and resulted in the classic "Family Affair," plus nods to Black Power ("Thank You for Talkin' to Me Africa") and various societal ills ("Babies Makin' Babies"). Not long after, the increasingly erratic Sly resisted all attempts to resuscitate his career and spiraled into paranoia and poverty. Along with James Brown, Sly & the Family Stone introduced pop fans to the world of hard funk and in the process influenced pop-rock royalty such as Prince and Lenny Kravitz, along with punk-funk rockers such as Living Colour, the Red Hot Chili Peppers -- who covered "If You Want Me To Stay" -- and Fishbone. The reasons for Sly's musical longevity, if not his maddening inability to keep the creative fires burning, are all right here. Dave Gil de Rubio

All Music Guide

The Essential Sly & the Family Stone does what a double-CD best-of/career overview should do: it packs a lot of career highlights into a two-disc set for listeners who want more than the basic greatest hits, but don't want every last album. Of course, all of those greatest hits are here, including a few from 1970 that didn't make it onto album releases at the time. As you'd expect, the fattest slice comes from Sly & the Family Stone's late-'60s/early-'70s peak: in fact, most of the tracks from the Stand! and There's a Riot Goin' On albums are here. The fun extras come in the not-too-well-known tracks from pre-Stand! albums and Fresh (which is actually amply represented, with six cuts). This doesn't quite deserve the highest rating, as the post-There's a Riot Goin' On material doesn't keep up the momentum of the rest of the set. Small Talk and Sly Stone's 1975 solo effort, High on You, are wisely lightly plucked, though at least the hits from those albums are the three cuts selected. This deserves better annotation than the cursory liner notes, but otherwise it's an excellent summary of a major rock and soul band. Richie Unterberger

Rolling Stone

[A] masterly collection. Gavin Edwards