![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Album Title: The Essential Sly & the Family Stone
Why I Bought It: Not for any particular song; it's just that the Family filled enough slots in my personal jukebox that they deserved a formal place in my collection.
What I Like (Mellow): "Hot Fun in the Summertime". Just a nice, pleasant song about those lazy hazy days. (I seem to have quite a few of those in my collection.) Honorable Mention: "Everybody Is a Star".
What I Like (Hopeful): "Everyday People". A plea for mutual understanding, with a kicky sound to it. "And so on, and so on, and scooby-dooby-do...".
What I Like (Indescribable): "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)". Come to think of it, this one is thematically related to "Everyday People" (which is one of the songs name-checked in the lyrics). Good beat, pleasant tune, and it deserves its place as one of their signature songs. I suppose "Thank You For Talkin' to Me, Africa", which is sort of a reprise of this one, deserves mention here too.
What I Don't Much Like (Harsh): "Don't Call Me N*****, Whitey". I understand where they're coming from and why they wrote and performed it, but it's not pleasant to listen to, musically or textually.
Overall: This is a rather thorough album - two disks, thirty-five songs. It's kind of a mixed bag, to my mind. There are songs here that I'm really glad are in my collection, and songs that I'd as soon not have; the balance is more "yes" than "no", but it's close. I can't say they're among my favorite groups, but they did perform some songs in my personal top-100 list.
Why I Bought It: Not for any particular song; it's just that the Family filled enough slots in my personal jukebox that they deserved a formal place in my collection.
What I Like (Mellow): "Hot Fun in the Summertime". Just a nice, pleasant song about those lazy hazy days. (I seem to have quite a few of those in my collection.) Honorable Mention: "Everybody Is a Star".
What I Like (Hopeful): "Everyday People". A plea for mutual understanding, with a kicky sound to it. "And so on, and so on, and scooby-dooby-do...".
What I Like (Indescribable): "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)". Come to think of it, this one is thematically related to "Everyday People" (which is one of the songs name-checked in the lyrics). Good beat, pleasant tune, and it deserves its place as one of their signature songs. I suppose "Thank You For Talkin' to Me, Africa", which is sort of a reprise of this one, deserves mention here too.
What I Don't Much Like (Harsh): "Don't Call Me N*****, Whitey". I understand where they're coming from and why they wrote and performed it, but it's not pleasant to listen to, musically or textually.
Overall: This is a rather thorough album - two disks, thirty-five songs. It's kind of a mixed bag, to my mind. There are songs here that I'm really glad are in my collection, and songs that I'd as soon not have; the balance is more "yes" than "no", but it's close. I can't say they're among my favorite groups, but they did perform some songs in my personal top-100 list.
