Continuing our salute to the legendary Sly Stone this week, for today’s Tuesday’s Gone, we’re turning the clock all the way back to 1969, when Sly and the Family Stone were effectively in their prime. It was the same year they released what many critics and fans alike (including this one) consider to be their best album: Stand! It’s a record that finds Sly and the band at their most dynamic and vibrant, featuring classic songs like “Everyday People” and “I Want to Take You Higher” (as featured on yesterday’s Manic Monday).
But for this writer, the main highlight has always been the outstanding opening title track. Not only are the lyrics uplifting, motivational, and affirming, but the music itself effectively harnesses soul, funk, and psych-rock into a distinctively invigorating concoction, especially when that absurdly infectious gospel-infused breakbeat hits in the final (funky AAF) 50 seconds. It’s a thing of pure beauty, as evidenced by this delightfully communal performance of the track which (eventually) gets the crowd at large up singing, clapping, and dancing together, which is what Sly and the Family Stone’s music was all about. Dig it:
