Artist: Sly Stone & Various Artists
Album: Precious Stone: In the Studio with Sly Stone 1963-1965 (1994)
Original Release Date: September 13, 1994
Original Label: Ace
Original Catalog No:
Reissue Date: 2003
Reissue Label: Rhino
Reissue Catalog No: CDCHD539
Genre: R&B
Styles: Rock and Roll, Soul, Funk
Run Time: 1:13:56.373 (195644064 samples)
File Size: 434 Megabytes (455,495,035 bytes)
Quality / Bitrate: libFLAC 1.2.1 20070917 / 765 Kbits / 44.1 KHz / Stereo
~ T R A C K L I S T I N G ~
01. The Swim - Sly Stone And Rose
02. Scat Swim - Sly Stone
03. I Taught Him - Gloria Scott & The Tonettes
04. Don't Say I Didn't Warn You - Gloria Scott & The Tonettes
05. Help Me With My Broken Heart - Sly Stone
06. Out Of Sight - Sly Stone
07. The Nerve Of You - Emile O'Connor
08. Every Dog Has His Day - Emile O'Connor
09. On Broadway - Sly Stone [Leiber, Mann, Stoller, Weil]
10. Searchin' - Sly Stone
11. Lord, Lord - Sly Stone
12. The Seventh Son - Sly Stone [Dixon, Mabon]
13. The Jerk - Sly & Sal - Sly Stone And Sal
14. That Little Old Heartbreaker Me - Bobby Freeman
15. I'll Never Fall In Love Again - Bobby Freeman
16. Ain't That Lovin' You Baby - Sly Stone And Billy Preston [Dixon, Mabon]
17. Buttermilk (Part 1) - Sly Stone
18. Fake It - George & Teddy
19. Laugh - George & Teddy
20. Little Latin Lupe Lu - Sly Stone And Billy Preston
21. Dance All Night - Sly Stone & Freddy
22. Temptation Walk - Sly Stone
23. Underdong - Sly Stone
24. Can't You Tell I Love Her - Sly Stone And Billy Preston
25. Life Of Fortune And Fame - Sly Stone And Billy Preston
26. Take My Advice - Sly Stone And Billy Preston
27. As I Get Older - Sly Stone And Billy Preston [Alaimo, Curcio, Stewart]
28. Radio Spot - Sly Stone
~ P E R S O N N E L ~
Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart Performer
Bobby Freeman Performer
George & Teddy Performer
Emile O'Connor Performer
Billy Preston Performer
David Young Post Production
Alec Palao Compilation Producer, Liner Notes
"Precious Stone: In The Studio With Sly Stone" is a fascinating exploration of how Sly was to so convincingly integrate rock with dance music. It captures the early recordings he made tor the Autumn label when, as Tom Donahue and Bob Mitchell's house producer and A&R staffer, the 19-year old Sly also cut many early 60s West Coast rock sides with bands like The Beau Brummels. Between 1963 and 1966, Sly was also leading the house band and MCing at Bay Area spectaculars at the Cow Palace, DJing on KDIA and KSOL and, generally, pulsing to the heartbeat of the emerging West Coast rock and R&B scenes. From the start, Sly produced his own sessions tor Autumn. Often these were unfinished, probably no more than demos or ideas for other artists to use. I'll Never Fall In Love Again is included here in a fast, previously unissued, version by Bobby Freeman. Sly liked the song enough to include it later on his own "Dance To The Music" album. Freeman also cut C'mon And Swim for Sly and it blasted to the top of the charts, propelling Freeman to the premier position at Autumn. Also of great interest are 4 previously unissued demos Sly made with Billy Preston (all probably remained in the can as Preston was then signed to Vee Jay) and a previously unissued Dance All Night with brother Freddie (later of The Family Stone). 16 of the cuts are previously unreleased tracks. Alec Palao's detailed sleevenotes tell the early Sly story and the whole package is a must both for fans of Sly Stone and those who savour all things West Coast pop. --Ace Records
Before forming the Family Stone, Sly Stone gained a lot of experience in the studio as the virtual in-house producer for the San Francisco-based Autumn label. The sessions he worked on during this era (performed by both himself and other artists) have appeared on numerous scattershot compilations. This 28-song anthology is the most comprehensive and intelligently assembled of these, including Sly solo performances, Sly collaborations with Billy Preston, and obscure soul-pop sides by Bobby Freeman, Gloria Scott, George & Teddy, and others. Over half of the cuts were previously unissued, and the lengthy liner notes provide an in-depth overview of his early accomplishments. Only serious collectors should seek this out, though. While Autumn afforded Stone the opportunity to experiment in the studio and devise various primitive collisions of soul and pop, his compositional, instrumental, and vocal skills were still in a very formative (if very promising) stage. Much of this is routinely pleasant, if lightly eccentric, period pop-soul, with occasional bursts of inspiration like Sly's wild scat vocals on "Scat Swim," and the folk-rockish "As I Get Older," and a few songs that would be reworked for inclusion on the first couple of Family Stone albums. ~ Richie Unterberger