The Long Players Play Sly and the Family Stone's Stand!
You've Been Sitting Much too Long
by Timothy C. Davis
Trying to convince one of the importance of Sly and the Family Stone to the popular music world is a fool's errand. Unless said fool has a book deal, in which case he or she has a shot. The world's first real black "rock star" (yes, we've heard of James Brown and Chuck Berry…hold your letters), Stone's mix of funk, rock and gospel first shook up the African-American musical diaspora, which is to say the world. He helped usher in (for better or for worse) jazz fusion according to none other than Miles Davis, who should know. Unlike his progeny George Clinton, he first freed people's asses so that their minds might follow. According to many listeners, his ludicrously lax/luxe pop/political manifesto Stand! stands as his crowning achievement. You've heard "Everyday People." You've sung along to “Sing a Simple Song." You grabbed the man's Technicolor coattails and said "yes please" when he said "I Want to Take You Higher." You winced when you first heard “Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey,” and then waved your fist in solidarity upon hearing it for the second time. As Stone, who semi-sorta came out of retirement a couple years back, is unlikely to ever again tour extensively (although he did rock a 15-minute set at Chicago's African Festival of the Arts back in September), your next best bet is seeing Nashville's own ridiculously tight Long Players recreate the album in its entirety, with every "boom shaka-laka" right where it should be: up front and in your face. Stand, suckas.
Sat., Dec. 26, 9 p.m., 2009
Sat., Dec. 26, 9 p.m., 2009
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