Sly & the Family Stone
's brilliant, integrated mix of pop, soul, rock, R&B, funk, and even light psychedelia in the late 1960s prefigured disco, even rap and hip-hop, and it's difficult to imagine an artist like
Prince
without the template that
Sly Stone
provided at least a decade before.
Stone
, of course, derailed his career with drugs and addiction, but for one stretch of the road there, he was arguably the most fascinating performing artist of his era, generating an amazing string of indispensable classic hits like "Stand!," "Family Affair," "Dance to the Music," "I Want to Take You Higher," "Hot Fun in the Summertime," and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," all of which are included in this budget greatest-hits collection. A couple classics are missing, most notably "Everyday People" and "Everybody Is a Star," but there's still plenty of brilliance here, more than enough to get you dancing. ~ Steve Leggett