Reviews

In 2003, a live CD of Sly & the Family Stone at the Fillmore East in 1968 was scheduled for official release, but ultimately not issued. This two-CD bootleg compilation is likely what that official release would have been, or at least presents the source tapes from which that release might have been compiled. For it boasts excellent, official-standard sound quality, one disc presenting material from their early show at the Fillmore East on October 5, 1968, and the other material from their late show on the same date. Is the band at their absolute live best? Most likely, no; though the performances are good, they had yet to put out most of their best and most innovative original songs ("Dance to the Music" being the only big hit in these sets). Some serious fans might find the discs interesting for precisely that reason, however, since they catch the group at an earlier stage of their development than the phase that's most celebrated. Most of the songs are taken from their 1968 Dance to the Music and Life albums, and you can still hear them sounding more or less like a more conventional James Brown-influenced soul group at points, particularly on "It Won't Be Long" and "Are You Ready?" It's only on the 11-minute medley of "Dance to the Music"/"Music Lover"/"Higher" (from the late show) that things really catch fire, and you get a full sense of their groundbreaking absorption of psychedelic music into their brand of soul, as well as their equally groundbreaking interplay between numerous instrumentalists and singers. Certainly it's enjoyable (and respectably funky) the whole way through, however, and it does include versions of some of their other strongest early songs, like "Life" and "M'Lady." It's undoubtedly deserving of official release, although the repetition of material (six of the songs appear on each disc, in different versions) might turn off some more casual Sly fans. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi

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