Sly and the Family Stone – The Collection

When you know as much about music as I do, you know when to spot a good deal. And the seven-disc issue of The Collection by Sly and the Family Stone is such a deal. Collecting the group’s seven albums for Epic (all rife with bonus tracks) in one tidy box, it provides the listener with a collection of all but three* of the 111 commercially available tracks that the group released between 1967 and 1974. It’s essential listening for any fan of great music. But hurry, it’s limited edition!

*=The group’s non-album tracks “Hot Fun in the Summertime”, “Thank You (Fallentinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” and “Everybody Is A Star” are missing. These were supposed to be the cornerstones for a 1970 album by the group but due to Sly Stone’s increasingly erratic nature, the album never materialized. Epic released those three songs on Greatest Hits instead. Sly and the group eventually emerged with There’s A Riot Goin’ On one year later.

Here’s the group doing a medley for television in 1969. It’s great!