sly stone's 'fresh'

spoonieteespoonietee 110 Posts
edited December 2013 in Strut Central
is there anything out there that sounds comparable to this? that certain melodic funk warmth is killing me right now. 'inspiration information' is kind of playing an all right methadone, but i'm wondering if there's more out there. thanks in advance strut!

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  • Yes. Sly's 1974 follow up, 'Small Talk'. I usually listen to both back to back.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    warm comfort food records








  • jamesjames chicago 1,863 Posts
    Oh, man--such a serious record for me. Catch me on the right day and I'll talk your leg off about this one.

    As a continuation of the more straightforward aspects of that record's particular warmth, Inspiration Information and Small Talk are pretty good choices, actually (though Small Talk is never as good or as deep as I want/remember it to be). If you're feeling obscurantist, maybe a couple of the cuts on that Rick Mason and Rare Feelings have the right vibe, but a lot of that record leans toward the hectic and/or cornball. That self-titled American Gypsy record has some cuts.

    Picking up the more complex warmth of Fresh is trickier. Maybe reach backward to There's A Riot Goin' On, or check out some stretches of Miles Davis's Get Up With It. I don't know.

  • I agree that Small Talk definitely isnt as good, but that's almost why I choose it.

    Since Fresh is so good, it leaves you wanting more.
    So when I continue onto Small Talk, it fills my jones and let's me down easy.

    Peace

  • disco_chedisco_che 1,115 Posts
    Not exactly comparable soundwise as it's more modern soul/disco but the "Darwin's Theory" has a similar positive and warm vibe to it. And then again it might be no coincidence that this has been recorded in Sly's studio in Santa Monica.




  • i burned out on fresh a while back but it's sly's best for my money. agreed that small talk is similar in places ("can't strain my brain"..etc) but is far inferior.

    i heard that on fresh sly plays all the instruments, save for the drums and horns, can anyone confirm? i know rusty allen is pictured and credited as bassist but i don't think he actually plays on that album. has someone put out at a book that focuses on the recording of this album?

    sort of similar vibe ont he following:

    jon lucien- mind's eye and rashida
    any p-fun ballad with glenn goins like "smokey", "the placebo syndrome", "etc, etc
    cosine american gypsy (esp the tune "inside out")
    geoffrey stoner

  • disco_chedisco_che 1,115 Posts
    crabmongerfunk said:


    jon lucien- mind's eye and rashida

    Warmth yes, but the huge orchestral approach makes for a very different feel. What strikes me so much about "Fresh" is the intimicy of the sound. Sometimes makes me feel like Sly is playing all the instruments alone in a very small living room.

  • jamesjames chicago 1,863 Posts
    Saucy Tweenbal said:
    I agree that Small Talk definitely isnt as good, but that's almost why I choose it.

    Since Fresh is so good, it leaves you wanting more.
    So when I continue onto Small Talk, it fills my jones and let's me down easy.

    Ha ha, word--that's kind of a genre in its own right: Records That, While Not Without Their Merits, Are Easier To Turn Off Than The Records That Preceded Them.

    Shout out to Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, Back To The World, Lovesexy, et al.

  • thanks, all. i imagined it were a pretty singular record. 'riot' was the first family stone album i ever listened to in full, and, naturally, i listened to it almost exclusively for months, and have since 'burned out' on it. somehow i didn't make it to 'fresh' until recently and i wanted to supplement it but it is understandably tough to match.

    however, i don't really get why, but 'hot buttered soul' seems to work. so very different but it is hitting right now for my mood--very soothing, very attractive melodies and progressions.

  • disco_che said:
    Not exactly comparable soundwise as it's more modern soul/disco but the "Darwin's Theory" has a similar positive and warm vibe to it. And then again it might be no coincidence that this has been recorded in Sly's studio in Santa Monica.




    whoa this is super rad, thanks dude

  • ketanketan Warmly booming riffs 3,170 Posts
    love this album - have you all heard the "alternate" version? i think i posted it here a while back... so nice.

    http://floweringtoilet.blogspot.ca/2007/05/sly-family-stone-fresh-version-b.html

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts





  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts
    Fresh is a top10 all-time album for me.

  • james said:


    Ha ha, word--that's kind of a genre in its own right: Records That, While Not Without Their Merits, Are Easier To Turn Off Than The Records That Preceded Them.

    Shout out to Don Juan's Reckless Daughter, Back To The World, Lovesexy, et al.

    Haha.

    And yo, I know that Hot Buttered warmth. Maybe you'd wanna give some Donny Hathaway a spin. The only one I have/heard is Everything Is Everything, but boy is it warm.


    Edit: and Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway, def way less awesome (to my ears) but still very warm and comforting

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    The magic of this album is the stripped down Funk.
    Getting that drum machine, three backup singers in the bathroom minimal steez is hard to find.

  • it was -17 degrees when i left my apartment this morning, maybe that's why i need the funk warmth. dam-funk's 'adolescent funk' blasting in the pickup truck all day, doing the trick

  • HarveyCanalHarveyCanal "a distraction from my main thesis." 13,234 Posts

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    I have to admit I have spent very little time with this LP but this thread will change that now.

  • Rockadelic said:
    I have to admit I have spent very little time with this LP but this thread will change that now.

    listen end-to-end with the lights low in a smokey room

    apparently, miles davis played "in time" over and over to members of his new band. he considered that drum pattern to be genius and indicative of the direction he wanted to go in...

    andy newmark just kills on this record and is a huge part of the sound. he tells a story that he was in a line of drummers auditioning for sly while the man lay apathetically in his famous studio bed (pictured on the back of "small talk"). apparently, newmark played as funky as he could and sly jumped up from bed and started dancing in his tightie whities and said "you're the new drummer!" check out his live playing here:




    "if it were left up to me" is track from the 60's that got tacked onto Fresh and, of course, it totally sticks out like a sore thumb. it's the only drawback on the entire album imho.

  • upskibooupskiboo 2,396 Posts
    one of those records, recalling, although something like 20 years ago, where/ what place excactly i pulled this, o.g. minty copy too, at that point, already been after that album for years, bet i shouted YESSS at the ceiling, grabing it from the thrift bins haha.. coke drenched mellow funk soooo nasty!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • disco_chedisco_che 1,115 Posts
    Heard this today and immediately thought about this old thread.

    )

    Attitudes - Drink My Water
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