Fresh (Sly and the Family Stone album)

Fresh is the sixth album by American funk band Sly and the Family Stone, released by Epic/CBS Records in June 1973. Written and produced by Sly Stone over two years, Fresh has been described as a lighter and more accessible take on the dense, drum machine-driven sound of its landmark 1971 predecessor There's a Riot Goin' On. It was the band's final album to reach the US Top 10, entering the Billboard Album Chart on June 30, and their last of three consecutive number-one albums on the R&B chart. In 2003, the album was ranked number 186 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Recording and release

The album's biggest hit was "If You Want Me to Stay". Other notable tracks include "Frisky" and "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)", a cover of Doris Day's Academy Award-winning song from Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 film The Man Who Knew Too Much, sung here by Rose Stone. "Que Sera, Sera" is notable as the only cover song issued on an original Family Stone album. The cover photo is by Richard Avedon. The track "If It Were Left Up to Me" is purportedly an outtake from 1968's Life.

As with There's a Riot Goin' On, Stone held on to the Fresh masters well beyond the record's official release, constantly remixing and re-recording the tracks. As a result, alternate and significantly different versions of at least ten songs from the album are known to exist. In 1991, Sony Music, by then owner of the Epic catalog, accidentally issued a sequencing of Fresh on CD featuring alternate takes of every song except "In Time", which remained unchanged. Sony allowed the alternate version to remain in stores to be bought up by fans and then later issued the standard 1973 version of the album. However, the mix-up sparked debate among fans over which release was superior. When Sony BMG reissued Fresh in CD and digital download formats for Sly & the Family Stone's 40th anniversary, five alternate mixes were included as bonus tracks. These tracks are extremely similar, if not identical, to the alternate, accidental 1991 release. The alternate version is known to be very accessible in Japan, while it is very scarce in the U.S.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Christgau's Record Guide	A
The Guardian
Rolling Stone
Stylus Magazine	B+
Uncut

Fresh was met with positive reviews. Writing for Creem in 1973, Dave Marsh believed Stone is "coming to terms with himself as rock star" on an album that is among the richest from 1973, if not all time. He went on to predict the album would produce hits "because Sly, however great the contradictions he feels may be, is a truly great rock singer in the first place." In a review for Crawdaddy!, Vernon Gibbs found the music to be "quite worthy of the founder of progressive soul", saying it offers "plenty of ass-shaking rhythms for the present and reason for optimism about the future". Stephen Davis from Rolling Stone hailed Fresh as Stone's "masterpiece", "in its own sense, and on its own terms", and "a growing step for Sly — out of the murky and dangerous milieu that infused Riot and into a greater perspective on his own capacity to make music a positive form of communication". While crediting Stone for "open himself up lyrically" albeit for the sake of making commercial music, he found the album to be "both new and cheeky: It aims for honesty and decadence at the same time. It focuses on certain of his hassles while thoroughly entrancing his listener with the conjuring charms of the rhythms of black life. It's a bitch."

In a year-end list for Newsday, Robert Christgau ranked Fresh sixth among 1973's best albums. He later called the album "Riot-lite, which equated to minor funk classic" and said both Fresh and its predecessor are "easily best albums-as-albums".

Legacy

Jazz legend Miles Davis was so impressed by the song "In Time" from the album that he made his band listen to the track repeatedly for a full 30 minutes. Composer and music theorist Brian Eno cited Fresh as having heralded a shift in the history of recording, "where the rhythm instruments, particularly the bass drum and bass, suddenly the important instruments in the mix."

George Clinton, who has listed Fresh as one of his favorite albums, later convinced the Red Hot Chili Peppers to cover "If You Want Me to Stay" on their second 1985 album Freaky Styley, which was produced by him.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 186 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list.

In 2006, Robert Randolph and the Family Band recorded a cover of "Thankful N Thoughtful" for their second studio album Colorblind.

Track listing

All songs written, produced and arranged by Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart, except where noted.

Side one

"In Time" – 5:48
"If You Want Me to Stay" – 3:03
"Let Me Have It All" – 2:56
"Frisky" – 3:10
"Thankful N' Thoughtful" – 4:40

Side two

"Skin I'm In" – 2:53
"I Don't Know (Satisfaction)" – 3:51
"Keep on Dancin'" – 2:23
"Qué Será, Será (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" (Ray Evans, Jay Livingston) – 5:20
"If It Were Left Up to Me" – 1:58
"Babies Makin' Babies" – 3:38

Sides one and two were combined on CD reissues as tracks 1–11.

CD reissue bonus tracks

"Let Me Have It All" (alternate mix) – 2:19
"Frisky" (alternate mix) – 3:27
"Skin I'm In" (alternate mix) – 2:48
"Keep On Dancin'" (alternate mix) – 2:44
"Babies Makin' Babies" (alternate version) – 4:20

Personnel

Sly and the Family Stone

Sly Stone – vocals, organ, guitar, bass guitar, piano, harmonica, and more
Freddie Stone – vocals, guitar
Rose Stone – vocals, piano, keyboards
Cynthia Robinson – trumpet
Jerry Martini – saxophone
Pat Rizzo – saxophone
Rusty Allen – bass guitar on "If You Want Me to Stay", "In Time", "Let Me Have it All" and "Keep on Dancin'"
Larry Graham – bass guitar on "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" and "If It Were Left Up to Me" (uncredited)
Andy Newmark – drums
Little Sister (Vet Stone, Mary McCreary, Elva Mouton) – vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1973)	Peak positions
U.S. Billboard Pop Albums	7
U.S. Billboard Top Soul Albums	1
Canadian RPM Albums Chart	17

Chart (2007)	Peak positions
Japanese Chart (Oricon)	84

Year-end charts

Chart (1973)	Peak positions
U.S. Billboard Pop Albums	76
U.S. Billboard Top Soul Albums	17

References

^ Christgau, Robert (May 3–17, 2007). "Extended Family". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
Rabaka, Reiland (2013). The Hip Hop Movement From R&B and the Civil Rights Movement to Rap and the Hip Hop Generation. Lexington. p. 249. ISBN 9780739181171.
^ Glickman, Steve (1992). "Sly Stone". In Rubiner, Julia M. (ed.). Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music. Vol. 8. Gale Research. p. 257. ISBN 0-8103-5403-9.
^ Petridis, Alexis (April 5, 2007). "Sly and the Family Stone". The Guardian. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
"Sly chart history". Billboard.
Selvin, Joel (1998). For the Record: Sly and the Family Stone: An Oral History. New York: Quill Publishing. ISBN 0-380-79377-6. pp. 164-167.
Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (n.d.). "Fresh". AllMusic. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 9, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
Stylus Archived October 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
"Sly And The Family Stone - Reissues - Review - Uncut.co.uk". April 3, 2007. Archived from the original on April 3, 2007. Retrieved July 9, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
Davis, Stephen (August 2, 1973). "Fresh". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
Christgau, Robert (January 13, 1974). "Returning With a Painful Top 30 List". Newsday. Retrieved June 6, 2021 – via robertchristgau.com.
Christgau, Robert (October 16, 2019). "Xgau Sez". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
"Drummerworld: Andy Newmark". Drummerworld.
"Brian Eno: "The Studio as Compositional Tool"". Downbeat.
"500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
"Sly & the Family Stone". Billboard. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
"Sly & the Family Stone". Billboard. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
"スライ&ザ・ファミリー・ストーンのアルバム売上ランキング". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
"Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End". Billboard. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
"Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Year-End". Billboard. Retrieved September 10, 2021.

External links

v t e Sly and the Family Stone
Sly Stone Freddie Stone Rose Stone Cynthia Robinson Greg Errico Jerry Martini Larry Graham Vet Stone Rustee Allen Pat Rizzo Andy Newmark Bill Lordan
Studio albums	A Whole New Thing (1967) Dance to the Music (1968) Life (1968) Stand! (1969) There's a Riot Goin' On (1971) Fresh (1973) Small Talk (1974) Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back (1976) Back on the Right Track (1979) Ain't But the One Way (1982)
Live albums	The Woodstock Experience (2009) Live at the Fillmore East October 4th & 5th, 1968 (2015)
Compilations	Greatest Hits (1970) Different Strokes by Different Folks (2005)
Singles	"Dance to the Music" "Everyday People" "Sing a Simple Song" "Stand!" "I Want to Take You Higher" "Hot Fun in the Summertime" "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" "Everybody Is a Star" "Family Affair" "Runnin' Away" "If You Want Me to Stay"
Related articles	Discography Sly Stone solo discography Little Sister Coming Back for More On the Sly: In Search of the Family Stone Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (book)
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