167. Stand - Sly and the Family Stone

A well known band that I know nothing about, I was quietly excited about this album. I thought it would be all raucous funk, horns and jams, and whilst this may not always work, it would carry me along. Unfortunately, this wasn't really the case.

This album was the highlight of the group's career, being released in 1969, and going on to be certified platinum in 1986. The band were renowned for their live performances, and you can hear this in the album, with lots of seemingly improvised sections honed from their time on stage together. The band were hugely influential, and were ranked 43 on the Rolling Stones' list of greatest artists of all-time.

The opening track, Stand is a straightforward song about pride and supporting each other. Whilst this is clearly a lovely sentiment, the song doesn't quite manage to pull it off. Don't call me Nigger, Whitey is a well observed song about racial tensions, although it seems a bit lightweight in a sense given the content it's covering. It does make nice use of the wah pedal though. I want to take you higher is more what I was hoping for with this album, full of energy and a variety of instrumentation. There are also some outstanding vocal performances from Cynthia Robinson, and the horn section is crisp and on the button. Everyday People is another great song, popularising the phrase "different strokes for different folks", but Sex Machine is frankly just time that I want back - it starts nowhere and manages to end up there too. The intro to Somebody's Watching You is also a musical travesty - it sounds like a half-baked children's TV theme tune.

As stated before, I was hoping for funk. At the same time, I was slightly fearing disco. What I got was something that really was neither, and in the end, it just didn't grab me or Chloe. Whilst I can put up with good instrumental sections, too much meandering without any real purpose can just be frustrating. A few songs stand out as well put together and catchy, but this was not a sufficiently high proportion of the album to warrant a better score.

Chloe's rating: 5 
Chloe's favourite track: 7. Everyday People 
Olly's rating: 5
Olly's favourite track:  3. I want to take you Higher

Next week's album is 261. The Eagles self-titled debut album. Not bowled over by that, but let's give it a shot.