He was considered the first black musical genius in pop: Sly Stone, here in 1973 in London.
Photo: Imago/Avalon.red
In his documentary »Sly Lives!« Director and drummer Questlove reconstructs life and work of the producer, singer and multi -instrumentalist Sly Stone as the work of the first black musical genius in pop, which became a projection surface. And it broke: First a lot of cocaine, then withdrawal, disappear.
Stone, who was born in 1943 as a Sylvester Stewart in Texas, was one of the inventors of the radio and leader of the six -member band Sly & The Family Stone, with which he contributed significant to politicizing pop and electrification of Black Music. The gifts that Sly Stone made of pop music until his death in June of this year are – that makes “Sly Lives!” Sure – large and numerous.
It is all the more touching today to hear one of the first preserved live recordings of a concert by Sly & The Family Stone. “The First Family: Live at the Winchester Cathedral 1967” documents a concert one year after the band was founded and two before the breakthrough, which was accompanied by the third album “Stand” in 1969. The music looks as if it were played by a band that is just taking an attempt, but the members are still involved and magically connected to each other.
Only one song is an own composition, the opener “I ain’t Got Nobody (for real)”, which should later be heard on the second album “Dance to the Music”. The remaining nine pieces are cover of contemporary soul and R&B titles and hardly any radio. First of all, this is brilliant craft. And also goes beyond that when the band manages, at least from today’s perspective, frosted pieces such as Otis Reddings “I Can’t Turn You Loose” to wrestle an immense energy.
What can be heard in the songs that the six-minute border can hear is the religious foundation of the music of Sly & The Family Stone as well as black music as a whole before hip-hop. Exact wind lines, driving bass and an excessive, also precise playing play are one, the basis of all of this is not only instrument control, talent or even something like genius, but one in the tradition in which these songs are, expressing spirituality: in the spiritual songs of the slaves and their work songs, in the early jazz Gospel and thus also in the Church of God in Christthe community in which Sly Stone grew up.
The Motown classic “Baby I Need Your Loving” brings what Sly & The Family Stone could trigger with her instruments and voices and with her listeners. Over eight minutes, the piece increases in three attempts to a kind of secular call, and the loudly present audience behaves less than at a pop concert, but like during a gospel service. It doesn’t matter that the sound quality is not ideal. The drums and the wind players are very loud, the voice sounds like sung from the corner of the room. This results in a roughness that the music of Sly & the Family Stone gives something light, in contrast to the studio perfectionism of the albums: garage soul.
Sly & The Family Stone: »The First Family: Live at the Winchester Cathedral 1967«(High Moon /Membran)
sbobet akun demo slot judi bola online link sbobet