Sly and the Family Stone: Stand! CD Track Listing

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Sly and the Family Stone Stand! (1969)
Stand! (Remastered + Expanded)\n2007 Epic/Legacy\n\nOriginally Released May 3, 1969\nCD Edition Released August 1987\nGold MasterSound CD Edition (Longbox) Released May 11, 1993\nGold MasterSound CD Edition (Slipcase) Released August 30, 1994\nLimited Deluxe Edition Collector's Box Set Released March 20, 2007\nRemastered + Expanded CD Edition Released April 24, 2007\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Stand! is the pinnacle of Sly & the Family Stone's early work, a record that represents a culmination of the group's musical vision and accomplishment. Life hinted at this record's boundless enthusiasm and blurred stylistic boundaries, yet everything simply gels here, resulting in no separation between the astounding funk, effervescent irresistible melodies, wildly psychedelicized guitars, and deep rhythms that were tight, yet expansive, popping in knotty cadences while never coming close to losing the groove. Add to this a sharpened sense of pop songcraft (that was developing into a sophisticated art form by this time), elastic and instinctual band interplay, and a flowering of Sly's political consciousness that didn't need t be hidden by calls for dancing and other social forms and the result is utterly stunning. Yes, the jams ("Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey," "Sex Machine") wind up meandering ever so slightly, but they're surrounded by utter brilliance, from the rousing call to arms of "Stand" to the unification anthem "Everyday People" to the unstoppable "I Want to Take You Higher." All of it sounds like the Family Stone, thanks not just to the communal lead vocals but to the brilliant interplay of instruments, voices and rhythms assembled so tightly. Each track is distinct, emphasizing a different side of the band's musical personality. As a result, Stand! winds up as a creation that is infectious and informative, invigorating and thought-provoking -- it's stimulating in every sense of the word. Few records of its time touched it, and Sly topped it only by offering its opposite the next time out. Legacy's gorgeously remastered reissue of the album includes five bonus cuts. There are mono single versions- of the title track, and "I Want To Take You Higher," as well as a beautiful unissued single version of "You Can Make It If You Try," freaky instrumental called "My Brain (Zig Zag)," and the unreleased "Soul Clappin' II." -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Thom Jurek\n\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: (Collector's Box Set) Sly & the Family Stone: The Collection contains the seven albums the group released on Epic Records between 1968 and 1974 (which were recorded between 1967 and 1971). Sony BMG has simply packaged these discs -- A Whole New Thing, Dance to the Music, Life, Stand, There's a Riot Goin' On, Fresh, and Small Talk -- all of which have been completely remastered and contain bonus material and liner essays, all in a slipcase box. They've all been released separately in digipack, so there isn't anything additional to be had. The price point isn't really different either, and given the wildly varying quality of some of these sides, buying the box is for a very specific kind of fan or collector. -- Thom Jurek \n\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Review\nNeed proof of how great Sly and The Family Stone were? Just check out the track listing for Stand! The title track, "I Want to Take You Higher". "You Can Make it if You Try", "Everyday People",(before it was a car commercial)--and this isn't even the greatest hits package! Hippies with attitude (and serious soul moves), Stone and crew were one of the most influential and free-wheeling forces in R&B/rock. Stand shows why. Gut bucket bass lines (thank you Larry Graham), joyous take-you-there anthems, and seething racial politics that made you move--and think--while on the dance floor. --Amy Linde\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\n"I wanna take you higher..." (4.5 stars), November 24, 2006\nReviewer: finulanu "As long as it rhymes, we can have it make sense later" (A parallel universe)\nA classic record indeed - out of the eight tracks, FIVE became hits: Everyday People is a just classic, a catchy, but intelligent call for unity that topped the charts and is behind only Dance to the Music in terms of being Sly's signature song; I Wanna Take You Higher is an electrifying jam, with great trumpet and harominca solos, and my favorite Sly Stone song; Sing a Simple Song is an effective showpiece for the group's monster horn section; the title track is another classic, with a heartstopping coda and positive, message-oriented lyrics; and You Can Make It If You Try is a catchy, popwise tune with some cool gospel-influenced group vocals. I'd also pull for the jam Sex Machine, though the talkbox part dates the song slightly, there is some really cool wah-wah and fuzz guitar, as well as a nice sax solo. You don't hear much about it, but it's actually a good song. The rest? Somebody's Watching You is album filler; and while you have to commend Sly for being brave enough to call a song "Don't Call Me N&^*@$, Whitey" (here it is 2006 and I'm still afraid to say it!) in 1969, the song hasn't held up that well. Sure, it's not as important, or as good, as There's a Riot Goin' On, and the contemporary singles Hot Fun in the Summertime; Everybody is a Star and Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) would've been welcome bonus tracks. But it's a solid record all the same. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nSly at His Best, March 4, 2005\nReviewer: R. F. Brummer "Spike" (Florida)\nI would have to agree with Brady's review that the novice should start with Greatest Hits, but Stand is probably the most eclectic, and therefore most representative album Sly ever did. \n\nI was a college student in Columbus Ohio from '69 to '71 and had the privilege of ushering at all the rock acts that came thru the college town. \n\nOnly Ike and Tina Soul Review could even come close to Sly live and in concert. Even though he showed up a couple hours late, no one remembered that after he got done with us. The snippet of Sly in the Woodstock movie is a very small sip of Sly live. \n\nAs for "Sex Machine", I once sat in the backyard of my boyhood farm with my girlfriend and watched a Midwestern, summertime thunderstorm roll in across the prairie horizon. The noises, the anticipation, the buildup, were all perfectly captured in Sex Machine. I never tire of it. \n\nYeah, Sly's lyrics may sometimes be repetitive, but this was 1969 and Sly and his group broke so much new ground in music, texture, topical lyrics, politics, that the depth of the lyrics can be forgiven. The total package was a great ride for the short time they lasted.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nFantastic funk, January 26, 2005\nReviewer: Greg Brady "columbusboy" (Capital City)\nWhen Sylvester Stewart decided to come out from behind the microphone (as a San Francisco DJ) and focus attention on making music for other DJs to spin, he crafted some of the best funk/R&B ever made. Taking rock solid funk rhythms, melding them to catchy melodies and integration minded lyrics made him one of the late 60s/70s era's big hit makers as well. The title track, "I Want to Take You Higher","Sing a Simple Song", "Everyday People" and "You Can Make it if You Try" all graced the charts. \n\nListening to these tunes even now, it's obvious why. Sly knows exactly what needs to be added to keep momentum going and the tune interesting: Handclaps and a blaring clarinet figure in "Stand", the "All together now" shouts that punch up "You Can Make it If You Try", the "boom-acka-lacka-lacka-boom" in "I Want to Take You Higher", the "do-re-mi" section of "Sing a Simple Song". Even non-hit "Somebody's Watching You" is tuneful and compelling. \n\nThe only complete wash is "Sex Machine" which begins orgasmically with a great guitar riff ridden by what SOUNDS like a guitar talkbox effect that REALLY starts to cook when a second one is added...but unfortunately this goes on WAY past the point when there are still good musical ideas. (It's a 13:45 long instrumental..) \n\nIf you're new to Sly, start with the Greatest Hits..they'll give you a reason to delve further into his catalogue. When you start to do that, this is a great album to make your 2nd buy.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nSly and the Family Stone at the height of their craft, 1969, January 10, 2005\nReviewer: Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota)\nSly and the Family Stone are one of the great live bands of all-time, which they more than proved when they performed at Woodstock, although I can remember them doing a couple of great gigs on "The Dick Cavett Show." So every time I hear anything by this group I cannot help but lament that I am not listening to them live, but that does not take away from the quality of their 1969 album "Stand!" What makes this the group's best work is that better than any other one of their albums it represents Sly Stone's vision of everything that music could be. That means covering a lot of music styles with the common denominator being an infectious enthusiasm that was always their defining element. \n\nThere were four hit singles off of this album, with "Everyday People" making it all the way to #1 on the Billboard charts, while "I Want to Take You Higher" made it to #60 in 1969 but #38 in 1970, "Sing a Simple Song" made it to #89, and the title tune topped out at #22. Musically I think "I Want to Take You Higher" is the best thing Sly and the Family Stone ever did. The opening groove with that awesome guitar riff, the driving beat and that blues harmonica, all combine to make this their definitive performance piece. Then there is the message of how music can bring everybody together, so it is not just all fun and games. "Stand!" made it to number 13 on the album charts, but the key thing is that it spent over 100 weeks on the charts, which is a testament to both its quality and its importance. \n\nBehind the funky sound and the catchy melodies, Sly Stone was writing songs with a cohesive social consciousness. "Stand!' is an overt effort to bridge the gap between black and white audiences, not to mention a precursor for the coming disco movement. The second track, with its relatively shocking title for the late 1960s, also talks about the virtues of integration, which makes sense given that the Family Stone was one of the most integrated bands of that period. "Sing a Simple Song" presents this view of the world as well, but obviously "Everyday People" represents the epitome of Stone's perspective, as we learn that the key to the world is "different strokes, for different folks." \n\nThe only track that is really at odds with the tone and tenor of the rest of the album is "Somebody's Watching You," which takes on some added significance given the personal trouble Stone would be facing in the 1970s. This song has darker lyrics than any of the others. "Sex Machine" is an instrumental, with a rather innovative use of the wah-wah box and another infectious groove. The final track, "You Can Make It If You Try," is another reminder of how the band was always thinking about how songs would work live (in this case, as a set-up for the group to do jam like crazy at the end of their concert). Certainly you want to have the first "Woodstock" album for the group's live tracks and you need to have something with "Dance to the Music" on it, like a Sly and the Family Stone hits collection, but "Stand!" remains a must-have album from the late 1960s. \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nStand: an overlooked classic, May 22, 2004\nReviewer: A music fan\nI just bought this CD after reading about it in a guide to funk published in SPIN magazine. I personally have loved funk, soul, and hip-hop for years, but somehow I'd always overlooked Sly Stone, though I did enjoy the radio hits. Well, what they play on the radio is merely scratching the surface. "Stand" is a true masterpiece- a delicious mix of heavy funk, hook-laden pop, and still-relevant politics. It's not hard to see how influential Sly's music was, since one can hear traces of it in artists ranging from P-Funk to Snoop Dogg. The chunky yet melodic riffs on this album have also become a staple of 70's movie soundtracks. Favorite tracks include "Somebody's Watching You," "Sex Machine," and the timeless "Everyday People." And then there's "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey", with its scathing look at racism set to a choppy, irresistible groove. "Stand" has led me to search for Sly's other works, as well. Truly an underrated and satisfying CD.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe Funk Blueprint For Millenniums To Come, September 28, 2003\nReviewer: Tall Paul (San Diego, CA United States)\nJames Brown created the Funk but Sly took his groove to another level. This album even influenced James himself. Sly's "Sex Machine" was made before James made his. Album was so powerful it even influenced Jimi Hendrix. You can hear Jimi play the riff to "Sing A Simple Song" on his own Band Of Gypsys album. This album influenced too many artists to mention, the most noteworthy being George Clinton, Stevie Wonder, and Prince. This album was about 6 or 7 years ahead of its time back in 1969 and made all the other artists play catch-up. Of all the funkiest albums ever created by Man, this is in the Top 3. This is the album where Larry Graham pioneered the slap bass technique. "Hot Fun In The Sunshine" was not included on this album but was later released on Greatest Hits a year later.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nWhat does anybody see in this album?, October 29, 2002\nReviewer: "simnia" (snowy bayou country, USA)\nI know this is a classic album that influenced a lot of bands, but I just never cared for it, not then and not now. There's just not enough substance to it--musically, technically, or lyrically. From the interesting song titles ("Stand!," "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey," "Somebody's Watching You") one would expect some good political lyrics, but in these examples there's almost no message, just a lot of repetition of the song titles. Since the music is basically funk, there are no interesting chord progressions, either. "Sex Machine" is a boring 13-minute funk jam based on an inane 2-note riff, and "Stand!" seems to wander pointlessly. The idea of shouting "Time!" at the end of the "Sex Machine" jam was probably just copied from the Chamber Brothers' song "Time Has Come Today" from 1968, so that wasn't original, either. There are no technically good solos, either. The only instrument of interest is the pre-Frampton wah-wah guitar mixed with voice, but the interest is in the sound, not melody or virtuosity. It's also sad to note that their biggest hit song here, "Everyday People" from 1969, was based on a trivial melody from a children's rhyme. "I Want To Take You Higher" has some energy here, but is nothing like Sly's mind-blowing show at Woodstock later the same year. Maybe these guys were innovative on stage, and were influential in the late '60s, but this album doesn't showcase their songwriting skills or any other skills, from what I can see.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nthe gold standard, September 8, 2002\nReviewer: E. D. Daniels (tampa, florida United States)\nKiddies, this is the album i judge any black good music by, the prototype black music album from which any black artist worth his or her salt has as their primary musicial influence, these cats broke more musical ground from 67-73 with the exception of the Beatles or Motown, the prototype funk album, social statement. Marvin Gaye, George Clinton, Gamble and Huff and Norrman Whitfield drank from its fountain, Miles Davis changed his music because of it and it holds up as major musical statement 34 yrs later enuf said.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA Brilliant Band At the Height of thier Powers., August 8, 2000\nReviewer: WILLIE A YOUNG II "willow" (Houston, TX.)\nTime has done nothing to diminish the impact of this music. This is the most perfect collection of songs this dynamic band ever recorded. Notice I used the term band? Because Sly Stone and Co. were truly a band in every sense of the word; a strong, cohesive unit that kept pushed one another to new hieghts on every new release and played with such funk and fire in concert, that thier power could get an entire audience dancing and chanting to the heavens (for proof, check out the bands appearance on film at Woodstock!) From Sly's soulful singing and organ playing, to the (still unmatched) funky fervor of Larry Graham's bass playing and Cynthia 'Ecco' Robinson's drop dead, blaring trumpet the band finds a groove on EVERY tune, locks in and never lets up until the closing song. The title track is a transendent piece of pop music that still gives me chills (on the second chorus when all the voices join in to sing, with building intensity;STAND! STAND! STAND! , crank up your volume and see if it doesn't give you goosebumps!) and urges the listener to take responsibilty in thier lives. "Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey" is still one of the most overtly political, innovative songs ever recorded. With it's almost robotic, hypnotic arrangement, and pointed lyrics, it's a mini-masterpiece on an album chock full of them. "I Want To Take You Higher" does just that, it's simply impossible to not dance when this tune is playing. "Sing A Simple Song" has yet another tricky arrangement with several breakdowns, vocal interludes, spoken word courtesy of pianist/vocalist Rosie Stone, and a jazzy horn section over Greg Errico's snapping, funky drums in the background that will have you nodding your head and pressing rewind, several times! We are all familiar with "Everyday People", a classic that secures Sly Stone's place in history as a brilliant songwriter, and is still uplifting no matter how many times you've heard it. The sprawling, epic and almost unbearably bluesy "Sex Machine" is the bands' recorded tour-de-force, and not a single note is wasted. The group truly stretches out on this extended (13:43) track that, breaks down to the slowest drumbeats I've ever heard and a really cool coda (Special Note: the joy these people felt when recording is apparent when you hear them say, 'Time' which is followed by a burst of laughter, and Sly accurately summing up the listeners' feeling with a classic one-liner, 'we blew your mind huh! ') \nDAMN RIGHT.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nStones Too Cold., April 11, 2000\nReviewer: yygsgsdrassil "yygsgsdrassil" (Crossroads America)\nTo those who may have missed it when it was originally released, just imagine how thrilled we all were to have the sounds of revolution captured by THIS California soul family...I always did love SATFS' version of "Somebody's Watching You" and if you are not mesmerised or mind blown (as Sly himself is laughing about) by "Sex Machine" even now then you are amongst a small minority. Sounds of the revolution and the Summer of Love by Stewart and family....\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe worthy successor to a great intro album., March 17, 2000\nReviewer: Eric V. Moye (New York, by way of Dallas)\nSly. What an innovator! Seems as if just about every popular group from Chicago Transit Authority to Funkadelic owed Sly many props (not to mention Toyota!)\nIt was sure hard to top Sly's first album but somehow this one did. "I Want To Take You Higher", "Stand", "Everyday People", "Sex Machine".There was not much better in that time. This music still sounds great today, with sharp horn sections, LIVE vocals, and driving rhythms.\n\nWonderful music. Great messages. It doesn't get any better than this.\n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe document of a musical revolution, October 29, 1999\nReviewer: Philip Eldring "Flow de Cologne" (K

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