FOUR STARS

Sly and the Family Stone influenced pop music for all time. Band members were black and white. The women not only sang ? they played instruments. The group?s bass player is said to have invented the slap-bass sound. Its tight rhythm section has been widely sampled AND imitated.

The group had some big hits, some still heard on the radio today. But not everyone remembers or knows Sly and the Family Stone.

This one-hour program is a great (re)introduction. Critic Ben Fong Torres is an affable host. And the program comes at a good time: the band?s first seven albums were recently released as COLLECTION, a boxed set.

The name of the program is FAMILY AFFAIR, one of the group's hits. So the program, fittingly, begins with some early family history. The five Steward kids grew up in Vallejo, California, outside the orbit of San Francisco and the post-World War Two black immigration. They honed their musical chops as the Steward Four, a gospel outgrowth of the family?s Pentecostalism.

Then, Sister Rose and original drummer Greg Errico take us through the formation of the later, hit-making group. The story of how three of the five Stewards joined back together builds well. We also hear about the group?s later, troubled times. So, at some level, the group?s decline makes sense.

The band?s original bass player Larry Graham adds memory and insight too. His story about the song ?Dance to the Music? and Sly?s subversiveness around that is a lot of fun. Chuck D, Issac Hayes, and Joel Selvin of the San Francisco Chronicle add context. Nonetheless, I finished my listen feeling I wanted to hear a little bit MORE about why the band left such a mark and how it influenced what we hear today.

This is great holiday or weekend programming. The rise of neo-soul -- and the boxed set -- make it all the more timely.

Anthea Raymond
PRX Editorial Board
June 26, 2007
Los Angeles, CA