Sly

All through the brilliant highs and the murky lows of the late '60s and early '70s, Sly & The Family Stone had the globe dancing to the music. The creativity of the mixed-race, mixed-gender, and mixed-genre band shines in this new 77-track, four-cd box set. This incredible collection showcases the classic hits not just in stereo format, but in the good ol' mono mixes which went missing long ago with the transistor radio, and in unheard early versions, and concert performances. Also included are gems from Sly Stewarts' pre-Family Stone period, studio outtakes, and potent instrumentals from this archetype of jam bands. With 17 previously unreleased tracks, it's a lot more music than you knew was there all remastered to hit the pinnacle of sound. As a special exclusive for Amazon.com, included is a CD of 6 more extremely rare and previously unreleased tracks!

A fresh theatrical take on Schubert’s final masterpiece - 24 songs based on poems by Wilhelm Müller that recount the tale of a lonely traveller who ventures on a winter journey in the snow to rid himself of his lost love. Philippe Sly’s version is dramatically staged and lit, and includes an on-stage ensemble with all musicians playing from memory. French-Canadian bass-baritone Philippe Sly has gained international acclaim for his “beautiful, blooming tone and magnetic stage presence” (San Francisco Chronicle). Mr. Sly was the first prize winner of the prestigious Concours Musical International de Montréal and a grand prize winner Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions singing the varied repertoire of Mozart, Bach, Handel, Stravinsky, and Wagner. Recently, he was awarded Concert of the Year in Romantic, Post-Romantic, and Impressionist Music at the 16th annual ceremony of the Prix Opus in Québec.

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.

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.

In reggae, all roads lead to the “Riddim Twins”, Sly & Robbie. They’ve been revered as style-defining icons for years, and together and individually have a massive influence on the genre. They are also renowned for their willingness to shatter boundaries and experiment with sounds. Over the past decades, they have never been shy of leaping over into other genres – for instance, their timeless, super-tight production work for Grace Jones…!

Wagram Music Presents Sounds of Reggae Vol.1 The Best of Reggae and Dancehall Selected by Sly & Robbie album original hits and the original artists genre Reggae.

The years 1969 and 1970 were a period of transition for Sly Stone. Sly & the Family Stone's 1969 album Stand! was an unqualified smash that established them as leaders in both rock and soul, their electrifying appearance at Woodstock that summer was widely regarded as one of the brightest moments of the new culture's most celebrated event, and the 1970 stopgap compilation Greatest Hits was a brilliant assessment of their masterful run of hit singles.