A Whole New Thing

by

Sly & The Family Stone

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When I first picked up this CD, I did it only to complete the collection. I was amazed at how great this album is. "Underdog" leads off the set with a bang, and in my opinion Greg Errico's best drumming performance. "Let Me Hear It From You" & "What Would I Do" are lost soul classics. The album's mixing, production, and over all sound are better than any other of Sly's 1960's albums. It's a must listen for headphones. The sound quality is so superb that you will be reaching for the CD case again and again to look for the sound engineer's name. FYI - I read somewhere that the album was done on a 4-Track machine.

1967 in San Francisco music is probably best remembered for the psychedelic rock bands and the Summer of Love, but perhaps the most criminally overlooked emergence in that scene is that of Sly & the Family Stone. Formed by DJ and producer Sly Stone, the band was (as best I can recall) the first integrated pop act, with white and black musicians (and a woman in a role other than as a vocalist) working out Stone's stew of funk, soul and psychedelic rock. While debut album "A Whole New Thing" is a bit less ambitious and worthwhile than future albums, it certainly has all the pieces-- Stone's great, hook-laden songwriting, ably performed by a band anchored by a virtually unparalleled rhythm section of bassist Larry Graham and drummer Greg Errico.

Opener "Underdog" is a great example of everything that's right here-- Sly hits a hot vocal on the verses over a galloping funk rhythm with the whole piece hitting a boil at the chorus-- the band's many vocalists chant the chorus over which Stone cries in an almost preacher-like fashion. This is the formula under which the band seems to succeed best-- similar great efforts can be found on "If This Room Could Talk" and the fierce "I Cannot Make It". The rest of the album doesn't fare as well, alternating between mid-tempo funk pieces ("Run, Run, Run", "Advice") and soul balladry (Larry Graham's turn at a lead on "Let Me Hear It From You" is the best of these). None of it is bad per se, but a lot of it is fairly generic, the notable exception being "Trip to Your Heart", featuring what sounds like a psychedelic improv intro and bridge.

This reissue remasters the album, appending several bonus tracks (leftovers, additional album tracks from reissues and some mono single mixes). It sounds fantastic, crisp and clean, that has the effect of actually rendering the music a bit more relevent-- it sounds a bit more timeless with a clean sound. The artwork reproduces the original liner notes and includes a new essay on the album.

"A Whole New Thing" is really a beginning-- Sly and the Family Stone would go on to a lot better material in the next few years. This ons has its moments, but pales in comparison to the band's later work.