Description
Sly & The Family Stone were true pioneers on so many levels: black/white, male/female, rock/soul, the act shattered all preconceptions of what popular music could be, and went on to become one of the most influential artists the world has ever witnessed.
The First Family is an unprecedented live performance by the original Family Stone personnel, recorded just prior to their signing to Epic Records, and a full year before their chart breakthrough with ‘Dance To The Music.’ This is where it all began.
An after-hours set captured in March 1967 in Redwood City, just south of San Francisco, this fascinating recording explicates Sly Stone’s genius on a tremendously exciting and atmospheric set of vintage soul covers, peppered with the arrangements, motifs and intoxicating energy that would soon become familiar during the group’s ascent.
The band had burst forth on the Bay Area scene in late 1966 seemingly fully formed, but all its constituents were already seasoned veterans of the local scene: Sly’s brother Freddie Stone on guitar, Larry Graham on bass, Greg Errico on drums along with Jerry Martini on saxophone and Cynthia Robinson on trumpet, and led by the enigmatic, charismatic Sly who brainstormed this band of bands.
What we hear on The First Family is an ensemble already deeply in tune with each other, fully playing to each other’s strengths to ride a tremendous and dynamic wave. These might be the soul hits of the day, but The Family Stone was no mere cover band. Freddie’s heartbreaking vocal on ‘Try A Little Tenderness’ the dramatic retooling of familiar Stax and Motown items, Cynthia’s showcase ‘St James Infirmary’, the acapella hook of ‘Skate Now’ – all clearly point the way to a groundbreaking future.
The historic performance on The First Family had lain buried for decades on a pair of 7-inch analog reels in the possession of the band’s first manager Rich Romanello. Accessed by top Sly sleuths Edwin & Arno Konings, Grammy-nominated reissue producer Alec Palao then worked diligently on the tapes to resuscitate the audio. Palao also contributed a hefty 15,000 word essay to the package’s deluxe 24-page booklet, loaded with rare visuals and memorabilia
With final mastering by Dan Hersch and a lacquer cut by Kevin Gray, the result is an electrifying forty minutes that proves that the genius and skill of Sly & The Family Stone came fully formed right from the womb. Indeed, this is where it all began.
Sly & The Family Stone
The First Family: Live At Winchester Cathedral 1967
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- I Ain’t Got Nobody (For Real)
- Skate Now
- Show Me
- What Is Soul?
- I Can’t Turn You Loose
- Try A Little Tenderness **
- Baby I Need Your Lovin’
- Pucker Up Buttercup
- Saint James Infirmary
- I Gotta Go Now (Up On The Floor) / Funky Broadway
**CD/Digital Bonus Track
