Before he put it all together musically with
Sly & the Family Stone
,
Sly Stone
worked as a house producer for
Autumn Records
between 1963 and 1966, working with garage-styled
folk-rock
groups like
the Beau Brummels
and
the Mojo Men
, among others. He also turned out a half dozen or so solo singles, which form the basis of this collection. Nothing here is even remotely close to being in
Family Stone
territory (although the closing track here, the impressive
"Take My Advice,"
comes close to that distinctive horn-driven
soul
/
funk
template that
Stone
would soon perfect), but it's by no means uninteresting, and shows
Sly
trying on an assortment of different stylistic hats, some of which work surprisingly well. The clear highlight is the two-part
"Swim,"
's own version of a song that
Bobby Freeman
would soon cover, sleek up, and take onto the
pop
charts. Also worth noting is a sharp take on
Jimmy Reed
's
"Ain't That Lovin' You Baby,"
and fun if hardly original versions of
Willie Dixon
"The Seventh Son"
Leiber & Stoller
"Searchin',"
both done up in the then popular
Johnny Rivers
live-in-the-studio style. More revelatory than essential, but still fun to hear, these early and rare 45s show
moving toward the ground-breaking
synthesis that would make him a star. ~ Steve Leggett