Produced and arranged by Jason Miles and featuring DJ Logic plus guest vocals from Nona Hendryx, Roberta Flack, and James D Train. CD

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Almost a "greatest hits" of greatest hits albums – one of those collections that almost sold more copies than all the full albums by the artist – forever earning Sly & The Family Stone a place in record collections around the globe! All the hits are here, laid out back to back in all their righteous goodness – never a single spot of filler, and all-classics, all the way through! Titles include "Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin", "Life", "Everyday People", "I Want To Take You Higher", "Everybody Is A Star", "Dance To The Music", "Hot Fun In The Summertime", and "Sing A Simple Song". All funky – all classic! LP, Vinyl record album

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Killer work from Sly & The Family Stone – hard-grooving, fast-funking, and really setting the scene for countless groups to come! The album's a messed-up funky party, with plenty of short little tracks that have a mix of funk, soul, and rock – perfect for the crossover crowd from whence Sly sprang, and who would become his biggest supporters into the 70s. And almost best of all, there's hardly any hits here – just tight little numbers that are as fresh today as they were back at the end of the 60s – all the kind of righteous funk the group could do better than anybody else! Titles include "Fun", "Plastic Jim", "Dynamite!", "Chicken", "Into My Own Thing", "Life", "Love City", "I'm An Animal", and the seminal "Jane Is A Groupee". LP, Vinyl record album

An odd little album in which Sly's classic funky tunes are remixed and extended by John Luongo – ostensibly for play on the dancefloors of the late 70s. Unlike recent remix projects, this one keeps most of the original song intact, and the real changes are in added rhythmic elements – designed to open up and extend the groove a bit. The overall feel is kind of in a TK funk mode, with longer bass and keyboard solos, and some percussion that occasionally breaks down. Remixed tracks include "Stand", "Everyday People", "I Get High On You", "Dance To The Music", and "Sing A Simple Song". This is the rare promo version – featuring 3 singles in a box set! LP, Vinyl record album

A wonderful album from Sly and crew – moving way past the straight funk approach of earlier records, into a complicated crossover soul style that's filled with warmth and righteousness. Despite the political tone implied by the "riot" in the title and the co-option of the American flag on the cover, the album's strongest suit is its warmth and personal soul message – sometimes filled with politics, sure, but always sounding like a sexy love song, no matter how hard it tries to get righteous. Who cares, though – just get with the flow on great cuts like "Family Affair", "Luv N Haight", "Brave & Strong", "You Caught Me Smilin", and "Thank You For Talkin To Me Africa". Also features "There's A Riot Goin' On" – which runs for "0:00" minutes! LP, Vinyl record album

The complete Warner Brothers recordings of Sly Stone – and a much-needed look at an oft-ignored side of his career! The set features the full tracks from the albums Back On The Right Track and Ain't But The One Way – as well as 5 previously unissued demos, which have a rough and ready feel that almost makes them the best of the bunch! The work on the albums is surprisingly great – not classic early Sly, but with this warmly compressed groove that extends his sound nicely – and which has a really great mainstream funk appeal. Sly's using the studio as an instrument more than ever before – getting some great sounds out of the way he brings the vocals, drums, and guitars all together in the mix – and reinventing himself a bit, without losing his groove. Titles include "The Same Thing (Makes You Laugh, Makes You Cry)", "Shine It On", "It Takes All Kinds", "Who's To Say", "Sheer Energy", "LOVINU", "One Way", "High, Y'All", "Ha Ha Hee Hee", "You Really Got Me", "Sylvester", "You're The One (inst demo)", "In Other Words (demo)", "Hand Of Love (demo)", and "Get Back (backing track takes 2 & 3)". CD

A Whole New Thing, indeed – the first album ever from Sly &The Family Stone – and a record that would forever change the face of pop, funk, and soul music! Even at this early point, all the group's best energy is firmly in place – a mad mix of raw funky roots with righteous late 60s energy – all served up with a lot more focus than most of the indie acts of the time, with enough of a punch to cross the group over to a much wider audience! Most tunes are short, hard, and tight – and the album features few familiar hits – which almost makes it a new discovery if you've only ever heard Sly's work from a "greatest hits" perspective. Titles include "Dog", "Bad Risk", "Underdog", "Run Run Run", "Turn Me Loose", and "That Kind Of Person". LP, Vinyl record album

A trio of second-period Sly Stone albums – all brought together in a single CD set! On Small Talk, Sly's still doing pretty nice for himself in 1974 – with a sound that's perhaps a bit warmer than on the early records, but still nice and soulful – and peppered with a good dose of funk! The groove is really great on the set – bubbling with a more "deep down" feel than the skittish funk of the first few records, and breaking out on some great soul numbers that show Sly to be an even better singer than before – touchingly sensitive at times, in a really beautiful way! Titles include "Loose Booty", which has a wonderful popping bass/hollow drum sound, and a tasty break in the middle – plus the cuts "This Is Love", "Wishful Thinkin", "Time For Livin", "Can't Strain My Brain", and "Say You Will". High On You is a nice little mid 70s set from Sly – one recorded without the Family Stone, but still grooving wonderfully with lots of funky edges! Sly's expanded his sound nicely here – pushing past the shorter funk of earlier years to work in some complicated instrumentation that keeps things really sounding fresh. Great examples of this are the frenetic horn bits on "Crossword", which you'll recognize from its famous Tribe Called Quest sample – or the sweeping strings on the mellow groover "That's Lovin You". The whole thing's great – and other tracks include "I Get High on You", "So Good to Me", "Le Lo Li", "Green Eyed Monster Girl", and "Organize". On Heard Ya Missed Me, Sly Stone's looking like a one-man band on the cover, but the album's definitely got the full-on collaborative vibe of his early records with the Family Stone! The main man himself has plenty of charm, and still has that wonderful ear for a sharp-tinged funky cut – but he's also working in this mode that allows for other voices to come into the mix at times, and plenty of lively funky instrumentation underneath the lyrics – which really makes the whole thing feel like a party all the way through! Titles include "Sexy Situation", "What Was I Thinkin In My Head", "Mother Is A Hippie", and "Family Again". CD

Sly's leaping into the air on the cover of this one – and for good reason too, given the overall groove of the set! The album's a bit more stripped-down and upbeat than the previous few – almost more of a return to the simple funky style of the first albums, but with a slightly more electric sound than before – especially in the keyboards, which almost slide into the mix here with a Stevie Wonder-like quality. The electricity bubbles and brews wonderfully at the bottom of the rhythms – charging things up a bit, but still hanging back with a super-cool, laidback quality that few other groups could muster! There's a great sense of balance here that's brilliant – and which makes the album one of Sly's undisputed masterpieces from the Columbia years. Titles include the incredible "If You Want Me To Stay" – one of our favorite Sly Stone cuts ever – plus "Keep on Dancin", "Babies Making Babies", "Que Sera Sera", "If It Were Left Up To Me", "In Time", and "Let Me Have It All". LP, Vinyl record album

Sly's still doing pretty nice for himself in 1974 – with a sound that's perhaps a bit warmer than on the early records, but still nice and soulful – and peppered with a good dose of funk! The groove is really great on the set – bubbling with a more "deep down" feel than the skittish funk of the first few records, and breaking out on some great soul numbers that show Sly to be an even better singer than before – touchingly sensitive at times, in a really beautiful way! Titles include "Loose Booty", which has a wonderful popping bass/hollow drum sound, and a tasty break in the middle – plus the cuts "This Is Love", "Wishful Thinkin", "Time For Livin", "Can't Strain My Brain", and "Say You Will". CD also features 4 bonus tracks – an early version of "Crossword Puzzle", the instrumental "Positive", and alternate takes on "Loose Booty" and "Time For Livin". CD

Features two tracks from Higher – the upcoming box set – one of them previously unreleased – plus a previously unreleased instrumental medley created for the band's appearance on the Merv Griffin show! Includes "Medley Music Lover/I Want To Take You Higher/Music Lover (live)", "Higher (mono single master)" and "TV Medley: Sing A Simple Song/Hot Fun In The Summertime/I Want To Take You Higher". 12-inch, Vinyl record

Stunning sounds from Sly & The Family Stone – a searing live performance from 1968, and one that appears here for the first time ever! The music is wonderful – harder, heavier, and even funkier than some of the group's famous records from the period – and that's saying a heck of a lot, if you know the strength of those albums! Given that the group were turning out a non-stop array of great studio records at the time, we can guess that Epic records didn't have any room in their release schedule to get this one out in the 60s – but given the quality of the music, we're also surprised it took so long for the concert to get released – because it offers up a rich document of that other side of Sly and the group – that way of setting fire to a live crowd that made them such a hugely important crossover act at the time, and a key force for uniting audiences from both sides of the scene. Some tracks are nice and long, and really open up – and others are shorter and tighter, but still pack a hell of a punch – and tracks include "M'Lady", "Life", "Are You Ready", "Won't Be Long", "We Love All Freedom", "Music Lover", "Dance To The Music", "Love City", and "Turn Me Loose/I Can't Turn You Loose". LP, Vinyl record album

Hard to find a stronger early album by Sly – as this one has him still funking hard, but also getting his soul bag together a bit more, hitting some really righteous vibes that mix together politics and partying in an incredibly seductive way. The album's filled with anthemic numbers like "Sing A Simple Song", "Stand", "Don't Call Me N_gger Whitey", and "Everyday People" – classic crossover material for the heady crowd of the late 60s – and it also includes a very cool 13 minute track called "Sex Machine", which is a messed-up stoner funk number that shows Sly's ties to the Fillmore freakout scene! LP, Vinyl record album

A landmark album in a landmark package – a set that takes this gem from Sly & The Family Stone, presses it up on a special hi-fidelity gold CD, then cradles the whole thing in special box with a heavy hardcover book with lots of new notes – and a fabric American flag sewn right onto the cover! The album's a wonderful moment Sly and crew – moving way past the straight funk approach of earlier records, into a complicated crossover soul style that's filled with warmth and righteousness! Despite the political tone implied by the "riot" in the title and the co-option of the American flag on the cover, the album's strongest suit is its warmth and personal soul message – sometimes filled with politics, sure, but always sounding like a sexy love song, no matter how hard it tries to get righteous! The flow is wonderful throughout – a very well-thought out album that shows that Sly was singing way past the singles scene – and the record's filled with great cuts like "Family Affair", "Luv N Haight", "Brave & Strong", "You Caught Me Smilin", and "Thank You For Talkin To Me Africa". Also features "There's A Riot Going On" – which runs for "0:00" minutes! The whole thing's completely sublime already – but in this special box, it's really something else. CD

Fantastic funk from Freddi Henchi & The Soulsetters – an incredible group who've got an energy level to rival Sly & The Family Stone at their best – but with a deeper groove that seems to pick up a bit of Hendrix energy in the mix, then deliver the whole thing with the rawness of a funky 45! The collection is a real treasure – rare singles issued on a number of different labels, brought together with full notes that tell the group's story – all in a package that's as beautiful as the music! This is the sort of set that makes you love soul and funk reissues – and it's overflowing with 21 tracks that include "Under Pressure", "Piranha", "Mr Funky", "I Like Funky Music", "Popcorn Baby", "Come Down", "Biscuits & Buttermilk", and "Soul Train". Also features a bonus video from 1975! CD

An incredible snapshot of the funky soul genius of Sly Stone in an early transitional period – featuring all the known recordings of his short-lived Stone Flower label and production house from 1969-1970! Sly was a rising star at this point, and while the Stone Flower Productions name had been established already for Sly & The Family Stone's work-to-date, there was a brief period when he and manager David Kapralik set out make Stone Flower an official management and production house – and recorded some great tunes with female vocal trio Little Sister, funky soul singer and harmonica player Joe Hicks and funk rock sextet 6ix – as well as some gems sung by Sly himself. Sly & The Family Stone were soon to take off in a really huge way, his business relationship with Kapalik was becoming strained, and other factors behind-the-scenes made it impossible for Stone Flower Productions to really take root, but this brief period is fantastic. We're so glad it's been dug up and collected here! The cuts are primarily written and produced by Sly Stone – with Sly out front on "Just Like A Baby", "Africa", "Spirit" and "Scared" – and other great tracks include "You're The One" and "Somebody's Watching You" by Little Sister, "Home Sweet Home (Part 2)" and "I'm Going Home (Part 1)" by Joe Hicks, "Trying To Make You Feel Good", "You Can, We Can" by 6ix and more. 18 tracks in all – with a nice booklet of notes by Alec Palao, and an interview with the elusive Sly Stone himself! LP, Vinyl record album

Rare funk from the East Bay scene of the early 70s – every bit as heavy and hard-hitting as grooves from Sly Stone on the other side of the water at the time! Two Things In One may not be a household name, but they groove as hard as any of the best big funk acts of the early 70s – awash in the free-thinking, open spirits of the Family Stone generation – and graced with a nice dose of spiritualism in the vocals – almost a dash of Stevie Wonder that helps deepen these tunes way more than you'd expect! Production is nice and raw – honed at Oakland's Music City studios – and the album's like finding a whole pile of funky 45s you never even knew about – with a nice diversity in grooves throughout, but a tight cohesive style overall. Titles include "Stop Telling Me", "Snag Nasty", "Silly Song", "Let's Get It Together", "Overdoes Of Your Love", "You're No Good", and "Together Forever". CD features a few more tracks than the LP! CD

Rare funk from the East Bay scene of the early 70s – every bit as heavy and hard-hitting as grooves from Sly Stone on the other side of the water at the time! Two Things In One may not be a household name, but they groove as hard as any of the best big funk acts of the early 70s – awash in the free-thinking, open spirits of the Family Stone generation – and graced with a nice dose of spiritualism in the vocals – almost a dash of Stevie Wonder that helps deepen these tunes way more than you'd expect! Production is nice and raw – honed at Oakland's Music City studios – and the album's like finding a whole pile of funky 45s you never even knew about – with a nice diversity in grooves throughout, but a tight cohesive style overall. Titles include "Stop Telling Me", "Snag Nasty", "Silly Song", "Let's Get It Together", "Overdoes Of Your Love", "You're No Good", and "Together Forever". CD

An amazing look at the early years of Sly Stone – a hip array of rare projects Sly recorded with other artists, plus a few pre-Columbia gems of his own! The package is beautifully put together, and the vibe here is definitely a great precursor to the famous sound of Sly with the Family Stone in the late 60s – a perfect illustration of his early ear for funky rhythms and some of the most righteous soul of his generation! And oddly, even artists who usually sound far from Stone come out definitely sounding a bit Sly-like here – and the package features the usual Ace great notes, to help you understand where all this great music's coming from. Titles include "Danse A La Musique" by The French Fries, "I'm Going Home (part 1)" and "Home Sweet Home (part 2)" by Joe Hicks, "You're The One (parts 1 & 2)" by Little Sister, "Life & Death In G & A" by Abaco Dream, "I'm Just Like You" by 61X, "Underdog" by The Beau Brummels, "Can't She Tell" by Billy Preston, "LSD" by Freddie & The Stone Souls, "Stanga" by Little Sister, "I Remember" by Sly & Billy Preston, "Superfunk" by Freddie & The Stone Souls, and the cuts "For Real (demo)", "I Can't Turn You Loose", "Life Of Fortune & Fame", "You Really Got Me (demo)", and "I Ain't Got Nobody" by Sly Stone himself! CD

Really great work from The Viscaynes – a unique mixed-race band from the northern end of the Bay Area scene at the start of the 60s – and one that provided an early launching pad for the talents of the legendary Sly Stewart! The group sound different than Sly's Family Stone, but have a similar role in soul music during their own period – male and female voices coming together with a great love of doo wop and early group soul modes, often working with arrangements by the young Stewart, who also adds in plenty of guitar to the mix as well. The tunes have much more of an east coast feel than you'd guess – very much in the best Philly street corner vibe – and titles include "You've Forgotten Me", "Help Me With My Broken Heart", "Yellow Moon", "You're My Only Love", "A Long Time Alone", "Heavenly Angel", and "Uncle Sam Needs You". Also features related tracks – "Without Success" by The Individuals, and "Eight Reasons Why" and "Mama Told Me" by The Precisions. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible snapshot of the funky soul genius of Sly Stone in an early transitional period – featuring all the known recordings of his short-lived Stone Flower label and production house from 1969-1970! Sly was a rising star at this point, and while the Stone Flower Productions name had been established already for Sly & The Family Stone's work-to-date, there was a brief period when he and manager David Kapralik set out make Stone Flower an official management and production house – and recorded some great tunes with female vocal trio Little Sister, funky soul singer and harmonica player Joe Hicks and funk rock sextet 6ix – as well as some gems sung by Sly himself. Sly & The Family Stone were soon to take off in a really huge way, his business relationship with Kapalik was becoming strained, and other factors behind-the-scenes made it impossible for Stone Flower Productions to really take root, but this brief period is fantastic. We're so glad it's been dug up and collected here! The cuts are primarily written and produced by Sly Stone – with Sly out front on "Just Like A Baby", "Africa", "Spirit" and "Scared" – and other great tracks include "You're The One" and "Somebody's Watching You" by Little Sister, "Home Sweet Home (Part 2)" and "I'm Going Home (Part 1)" by Joe Hicks, "Trying To Make You Feel Good", "You Can, We Can" by 6ix and more. 18 tracks in all – with a nice booklet of notes by Alec Palao, and an interview with the elusive Sly Stone himself! CD

Really great work from The Viscaynes – a unique mixed-race band from the northern end of the Bay Area scene at the start of the 60s – and one that provided an early launching pad for the talents of the legendary Sly Stewart! The group sound different than Sly's Family Stone, but have a similar role in soul music during their own period – male and female voices coming together with a great love of doo wop and early group soul modes, often working with arrangements by the young Stewart, who also adds in plenty of guitar to the mix as well. The tunes have much more of an east coast feel than you'd guess – very much in the best Philly street corner vibe – and titles include "You've Forgotten Me", "Help Me With My Broken Heart", "Yellow Moon", "You're My Only Love", "A Long Time Alone", "Heavenly Angel", and "Uncle Sam Needs You". Also features related tracks – "Without Success" by The Individuals, and "Eight Reasons Why" and "Mama Told Me" by The Precisions. CD

The legendary first album by Larry Graham and Graham Central Station – Larry's bold move away from Sly & The Family Stone, and the beginning of a new dynasty in mainstream funk! Larry's bass work really drives the set along – pushing the riffing guitars over the top of the heavy drums in a style that's tight, but never too "easy" – still with enough of the raw energy of his roots, despite the later crossover fame of the set. All tracks are Graham originals – except for a version of Al Green's "It Ain't No Fun To Me" – and titles include "Tell Me What It Is", "Ghetto", "Can You Handle It?", "Hair", "We Be's Gettin' Down", and "People". CD

A seminal album from the end of the 60s – the triple-length soundtrack to the legendary Woodstock Festival in 1969 – pulled from all the many hours of material recorded for the film of the event! The set list reads not just like a "who's who" of hipness at the time – but also expands to show just how wide the range of sounds was in the underground – strands that move past the obvious rock material that you might expect, and which have the record standing as a great memory to the time – with maybe more diversity than some of the more monolithic memories! Features work by Canned Heat, Arlo Guthrie, Jimi Hendrix, Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Richie Havens, Santana, Ten Years After, The Who, Country Joe & The Fish, Sly & The Family Stone, Joan Baez, Butterfield Blues Band, Joe Cocker, Jefferson Airplane, John B Sebastian – and yes, Sha Na Na. LP, Vinyl record album

A bit funk, a bit rock, and a bit soul – Sweet Apple proudly followed in the tradition of similar Columbia acts like Sly & The Family Stone or The Chambers Brothers, although they never lasted long enough to get the fame of either of those groups. Most tracks have vocals, which are alright, but the real strength of the band lies in their instrumental ability – which is nice and funky on the best cuts, especially those with more instrumental moments. These include "Fonky McGregor" and "Sweet Apple Jam", both nice groovers with a messed-up funk sound. Other tracks include "I Can't Find My Way", "Sweet Apple", "Silly People", and "Power Of A Man". LP, Vinyl record album

This great series just keeps on getting better and better – and we've got no problem saying that we really love this latest installment of Rewind! As with previous volumes, the focus here is on older tunes, redone by current artists of the global groove underground – served up in a variety of styles that extrapolate the originals nicely. The difference here, though, is that the overall sound is massively funky – harder hitting than even the excellent previous volumes, and in a mode that goes way past the gimmick of a "covers only" album. Tracks include 5 exclusives to the set, plus a few that have been hard to track down in any form – and titles include "Evil Vibrations" by Rebirth, "Word Up" by Willis, "This Land Is Our Land" by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, "Funky Nassau" by Orgone, "Just Like A Baby" by Sly & The Family Stone, "Star Of A Story" by Yam Who, "River Man" by Shawn Lee, "I Love You" by As One, "The Look Of Love" by Platinum Pied Pipers, and "7 Nation Army" by Nostalgia 77. CD

Unreleased work from Edwards Generation – a great San Francisco funk group from the 70s – and one who've reached legendary status over the years, even though their only other full length is pretty darn rare! These guys came to the Bay Area from Pittsburgh, and showed up a few years after Sly & The Family Stone made their first big waves – yet they also seem to work at a level that continues the great spirit of that group – a warmly collaborative approach to funky soul, with lots of tight rhythms at the core, deft musicianship, and a really spontaneous, joyful sort of vibe! The music here shifts a bit as the recordings move from the 70s into the 80s – showing maybe a bit more influence of west coast funk in the mix, but at a level that's still really great overall – and definitely not nearly as commercial as their contemporaries, so that most of the music still feels like funky 45s from the mid 70s. Titles include "Stop All Your Fooling", "Runaway", "Girl Don't Take Your Love From Me", "The Love I Found In You", "Choosing You", 'Get On The Dancefloor", "Do What You Wanna Do", "You Can Do It", and "Falling". CD

Freaky and fuzzy – but also pretty darn funky too – thanks to some tremendous drums on most of these tracks! The album's a great collection of obscure psyche tracks from the late 60s and early 70s – but it's also got a wonderfully funky undercurrent too – rhythms that snap in ways that are mighty appealing to our beathead years – and which come across with the same sort of groove-heavy styles you might expect to hear on a Cherrystones compilation! The package features full color notes with images and text on each tune – and it's filled with rare gems that include "Holding A Dream" by Gene Latter, "What About The Music" by Spice, "Tricky Dicky" by Soundation, "Triste Y Solo" by Mi Generacion, "Walking Down Paradise Street" by Brother T & Family, "Sly Willy" by Blue Beard, "Meaning Of Love" by Putney Bridge, "Swamp Man" by Martha Velez, "Fire" by Pegasus, "Sell Out" by Yellow Hand, and "Igor The Dog" by Tommy Korberg. CD

Stunning sounds from the legendary Prisonaires – the important Memphis vocal group that first formed in prison, but was able to release a fair bit of commercial recordings over the years! The package is a great companion to previously-issued material on the group – as it features rare sides by the lineup, plus related groups that also featured the great tenorist Johnny Bragg in the lead – as well as some very obscure, and well-recorded live tracks that were only pressed on a limited private album for the prison management! Despite their roots behind bars, The Prisonaires have a style that's key in the development of the vocal group in the pre-soul years – a link between older group styles of the 30s and some of the more spiritual inflections that would blossom during the 60s – not really gospel harmonizing, but also not doo wop or pop, either – a really unique hybrid of elements that was very influential over the years. The package is awash in detail – 58 pages of notes and history, with a strong focus on Bragg – and the set features 18 tracks by The Prisonaires, including "In The Garden", "Suppertime", "Gentle Hands", "Just Walkin In The Rain", "Baby Please", "Two Strangers", "Lucy You Know I Want You", and "There Is Love In You" – plus four more by The Marigolds, including "Why Don't You", "Rollin Stone", and "Don't Say Tomorrow" – and six more by The Solotones, including "Two Strangers", "Front Page Blues", and "Pork & Beans". CD