Greatest Hits (Sly & the Family Stone album)

Infobox Album | Name = Greatest Hits
Type = Greatest hits
Artist = Sly & the Family Stone

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Released = November 21, 1970
Recorded = 1967 – Fall 1969
Genre = Psychedelic soul/funk
Length = 39:56
Label = Epic
PE 30325
Producer = Sly Stone
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ze6m96oo3ep1 link]
*Review-Christgau|A+|album=3191
*PopMatters Rating|8|10 [http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/46403/sly-and-the-family-stone-greatest-hits/ link]
*"Rolling Stone" (mixed) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/slythefamilystone/albums/album/217030/review/5942778/greatest_hits 1970]
*"Rolling Stone" (favorable) [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6597906/60_greatest_hits 2003]
*Warr.org Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.warr.org/sly.html#GreatestHits link]
Last album = "Stand!"
(1969)
This album = "Greatest Hits"
(1970)
Next album = "There's a Riot Goin' On"
(1971) |

"Greatest Hits" is a greatest hits album by soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, released November 21, 1970 on Epic Records. It includes all of the singles from the albums "Dance to the Music" (1968), "Life" (1968), and "Stand!" (1969), and all of their charting b-sides. The album also includes one non-charting album track, "You Can Make It If You Try" from "Stand!", and three non-album singles from 1969: "Hot Fun in the Summertime", "Everybody Is a Star", and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)". Music journalist Robert Christgau has called "Greatest Hits" "among the greatest rock and roll LPs of all time." [ [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=3191 "Greatest Hits" review at robertchristgau.com] ] RS500|60

History

Released in the midst of an eighteen-month stretch from late 1969 to late 1971, during which Sly & the Family Stone released no new material, "Greatest Hits" was designed by Epic Records to appease consumer demand and keep the band's name and music in the public's eye. "Greatest Hits" peaks at number-two on the Billboard 200, and was the band's second most successful album sales-wise (behind "There's a Riot Goin' On").

The songs from this album were remixed into quadraphonic format in 1970 (some of these mixes contain different running times or alternate vocals/instrumentation to the original versions), and "Greatest Hits" was simultaneously issued with quadraphonic sound. However, Sly Stone and his engineers never got around to making standard stereo mixes of the three non-album singles, and Epic had to resort to taking the mono versions and making simulated stereo versions by electronically rechannelling the mono mixes' frequencies. True stereo mixes of these three songs were finally done when the Sly & the Family Stone catalog was digitally remastered in the 1990s. The album was properly reissued by Epic/Legacy in 2007.

Track listing

"All songs written by Sylvester Stewart, and produced and arranged by Sly Stone for Stone Flower Productions. Superscripts denote original album sources, referenced below."
#"I Want to Take You Higher" – 5:22 ^c
#"Everybody is a Star" – 3:00
#"Stand!" – 3:08 ^c
#"Life" – 2:58 ^b
#"Fun" – 2:20 ^b
#"You Can Make It If You Try" – 3:39 ^c
#"Dance To The Music" – 2:58 ^a
#"Everyday People" – 2:20 ^c
#"Hot Fun in the Summertime" – 2:37
#"M'Lady" – 2:44 ^b
#"Sing a Simple Song" – 4:47 ^c
#"Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" – 3:55

Notes

Album sources

*^a from "Dance to the Music" (1968)
*^b from "Life" (1968)
*^c from "Stand! (1969)
*"Everybody is a Star", "Hot Fun in the Summertime", and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" are all new to album.
*Tracks 1-6 make up Side One on the vinyl release, tracks 7-12 make up Side Two.

Personnel

* Sly Stone: vocals, organ, guitar, piano, harmonica, and more
* Freddie Stone: vocals, guitar
* Larry Graham: vocals, bass guitar
* Rosie Stone: vocals, piano, keyboard
* Cynthia Robinson: trumpet, vocal ad-libs
* Jerry Martini: saxophone
* Greg Errico: drums
* Little Sister (Vet Stone, Mary McCreary, Elva Mouton): background vocals

Chart history

amples

References