News 03 Jul 2013

Sly & The Family Stone / Higher! 4CD box set with unreleased rarities

By Paul Sinclair

Epic/Legacy (ie Sony) are to release Higher! a four-CD deluxe box set celebrating the music of Sly & The Family Stone.

This career-spanning package will feature 17 previously unreleased tracks, alternate versions, mono singles, demos, instrumental and live performances from concerts and TV appearances. A 104-page book comes as part of the set, and the discs and book will reside in a ten-inch square deluxe slip-case.

The book sounds excellent, featuring fully comprehensive liner notes, an illustrated timeline of Sly’s career, track-by-track annotations, rare photography, 45 rpm label and picture sleeve repros, vintage concert posters and ticket stubs from Sly & The Family Stone shows.

Higher! includes 77 tracks in total and is released on 26 August 2013. See track listing below for more details.

Purchasing notes: As well as the 4CD box set, US Amazon is offering an ‘exclusive’ (and expensive) 8LP+CD package, with the bonus CD said to contain “6 more extremely rare and previously unreleased tracks”. There is also a ‘best of the box’, 16-track, single CD ‘highlights’ edition which manages to squeeze into its running order a few of the unreleased gems. The UK box set is available for pre-order at the time of writing for a decent price of £39.

4CD Box Set

Japanese 4xBlu-Spec CD2 box set

• CANADA Pre-order: Higher!

8LP+CD Vinyl box set (bonus CD Amazon.com exclusive)

1CD ‘Highlights’ release

Higher! – Sly & The Family Stone full track listing:

Disc One (1964-1967):

1. I Just Learned How To Swim by Sly Stewart (Autumn Records single, 1964)
2. Scat Swim by Sly Stewart (Autumn single, 1964)
3. Buttermilk (Part 1) by Sly (Autumn single, 1965)
4. Dance All Night by Sly and Freddie (1965, originally unissued)
5. Temptation Walk by Sly (Autumn single, 1965)
6. I Ain’t Got Nobody (For Real) (Loadstone single, 1967)
7. I Can’t Turn You Loose (Loadstone single, 1967)
8. Higher (mono Epic single master, promo only, 1967)
9. Underdog (mono Epic single master, 1967)
10. Bad Risk (mono Epic single master, 1967)
11. Let Me Hear It From You (mono Epic single master, 1967)
12. Advice (A)
13. If This Room Could Talk (A)
14. I Cannot Make It (A)
15. Trip To Your Heart (A)
16. I Hate To Love Her (A)
17. Silent Communications (1967, previously unissued)
18. I Get High On You (version one, 1967, previously unissued)
19. I Remember (1967, previously unissued)
20. My Woman’s Head (instrumental demo, 1967, previously unissued)

Disc Two (1967-1968):

1. What’s That Got To Do With Me (1967, previously unissued)
2. Fortune And Fame (1967, previously unissued)
3. What Would I Do (1967, originally unissued, B)
4. Only One Way Out Of This Mess (1967, originally unissued, B)
5. I Know What You Came To Say (1967, previously unissued)
6. Dance To The Music (mono Epic single master, 1967)
7. Ride The Rhythm (C)
8. Color Me True (C)
9. Are You Ready (C)
10. Don’t Burn Baby (C)
11. We Love All (D)
12. Danse A La Musique by The French Fries (mono Epic single, 1968)
13. Small Fries by The French Fries (mono Epic single, 1968)
14. Chicken (mono Epic single master, 1968)
15. Into My Own Thing (E)
16. Life (mono Epic single master, 1968)
17. Love City (1968, previously unissued mono mix)
18. M’Lady (mono Epic single master, 1968)
19. Dynamite! featuring Johnny Robinson on vocals (1968, previously unissued)
20. Undercat (instrumental, 1967, previously unissued)

Disc Three (1968-1970):

1. Everyday People (mono Epic single master, 1968)
2. Sing A Simple Song (mono Epic single master, 1968)
3. I Get High On You (version two, 1968, previously unissued)
4. Wonderful World Of Color (instrumental, 1968, previously unissued)
5. Pressure (originally unissued, F)
6. I Want To Take You Higher (mono Epic single master, 1969)
7. Seven More Days (originally unissued, F)
8. Feathers (instrumental, 1968, previously unissued)
9. Somebody’s Watching You (G)
10. Sex Machine (G)
11. Hot Fun In The Summertime (mono Epic single master, 1969)
12. Everybody Is A Star (mono Epic single master, 1969)
13. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (mono Epic single master, 1969)
14. Stand! (LIVE at the Isle of Wight Festival, August 30, 1970, H)
15. You Can Make It If You Try (LIVE, same as track 14, H)
16. Dance To The Music (LIVE, same as track 14, previously unissued)
17. MEDLEY: Music Lover / I Want To Take You Higher / Music Lover (LIVE, same as track 14, previously unissued)

Disc Four (1971-1977):

1. Luv N’ Haight (Epic single master, 1971)
2. Family Affair (I)
3. Brave & Strong (Epic single master, 1971)
4. Runnin’ Away (Epic single master, 1971)
5. (You Caught Me) Smilin’ (Epic single master, 1971)
6. Spaced Cowboy (I)
7. You’re The One featuring Little Sister (LIVE on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, September 1973, previously unissued)
8. In Time (J)
9. If You Want Me To Stay (Epic single master, 1973)
10. Frisky (Epic single master, 1973)
11. Skin I’m In (J)
12. If It Were Left Up To Me (Epic single master, 1973)
13. Time For Livin’ (Epic single master, 1974)
14. Can’t Strain My Brain (Epic single master, 1974)
15. Loose Booty (K)
16. Le Lo Li (Epic single master, 1975)
17. Crossword Puzzle (Epic single master, 1975)
18. Family Again (Epic single, 1976)
19. Hoboken by Sly Stone (originally unissued, 1975-1977)
20. High by Sly Stone (1975, previously unissued)

Epic Records album index:

A – from A Whole New Thing (originally released November 1967, as Epic LN 24324, mono)
B – from A Whole New Thing (Expanded Edition) (originally released April 2007, as Epic/ Legacy 82796 90277 2)
C – from Dance To The Music (originally released April 1968, as Epic BN 26371)
D – from Dance To The Music (Expanded Edition) (originally released April 2007, as Epic/Legacy 82796 90274 2)
E – from Life (originally released November 1968, as Epic BN 26397)
F – from Life (Expanded Edition) (originally rel. April 2007, as Epic/Legacy 82876 83945 2)
G – from Stand! (originally released April 1969, as Epic BN 26456)
H – from The First Great Rock Festivals Of The Seventies (originally released August 1971, as Columbia C 30807)
I – from There’s A Riot Goin’ On (originally released October 1971, as Epic KE 30986)
J – from Fresh (originally released June 1973, as Epic KE 32134)
K – from Small Talk (originally released July 1974, as Epic PE 32930)

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