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Sly Stone "Ten Years Too Soon" (LP)
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Genre: funk
Rating: ** (2 stars)
Title: Ten Years Too Soon
Company: Epic
Catalog: JE 35974
Year: 1979
Country/State: Denton, Texas
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: --
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 143
Price: $15.00
I own some truly bizarre albums and one of the strangest has to be this 1979 remix collection - "Ten Years Too Soon".
Anyhow, here's what Cheryl Machat's liner notes had to say: "[the album] was conceived in an attempt to awaken millions of fans of rocking dance music to Sly's impressive style. The music has been "disco fied" to expose his undiscovered talents to a young and growing radio audience. Extreme measures were taken to accomplish this task without drastically altering the essence of Sly. New York's finest musicians were contacted, each one considered Sly his mentor. They knew everything about Sly -- they studied the kind of guitars he used, each finger, each drum lick, each syncopated beat -- they knew Sly cold. And yet, they sat paralyzed when first confronted with the task to recreate Sly was like demanding a miracle to occur. Never before have witnesses sessions as magical and mystical. Eyes revealed bewilderment as time lost significance. The meter scans as the tape reversed. Years fluttered by at the touch of a button. This year is 1979, but history was recreated. To bring Sly into the modernized sound of disco, certain sounds had to be added, some parts elongated, certain beats exaggerated. Some new tracks were added, including new drums, guitars, bass guitars, fresh handclaps, timbales, syndrums. The original horns and Sty's vocals were left as originally recorded. They were cleaned in the mixing stage, and you will hear shots and licks that were never heard before. But the voice is pure and unsynthesized Sly. We lived and breathed Sly for months, moving n to the next song only when every aspect of perfect recreation was exhausted. In the final analysis, this project was completed out of a deep respect and the sincere belief that the world needs to hear Sly again. The key is the title, Ten Years Too Soon. Sly practically created today's disco sound. Nearly every artist composing rock, fund or disco has borrowed some elements of Sly's music - the list is endless. You need only listen to radio to note the juxtaposition. The Years Too Soon enables a whole new generation, the "Everyday People" of the 1970's to head Sly and understand why we, who grew up on his pulsating beat, say he is the forerunner to today's music."
So, giving credit where due, from a historical standpoint, the set was interesting in that it stood as one of the first remix collections to hit the market. I also took a little comfort in knowing Sly's direct participation in the project was seemingly nonexistent ... it was nice to know that he wasn't responsible for this phase of his career meltdown (I read somewhere Sly actually considered suing Epic). So who gets the blame ? Well I don't know if he was the creative force behind the project, but John Luongo was credited with the remixes ... as such, I'd point the finger at him. And ultimately you had to wonder why they'd bothered ... The original songs were simply too strong to totally redo, so Luongo and company were left to large fiddle around the edges adding needless disco effects here and there; none really making much of a difference. Bottom line for me was that with the possible exception of a bubbly arrangement on 'I Get High On You', none of these remixes was going to make you forget the originals. And what was with the ghastly cover photo ?
- The extended acapella opening to 'Dance To the Music' was actually intriguing, but then the arrangement slapped syndrums and a pseudo-disco feel on the song, which led to it quickly loosing most of its original charm. Stick with the original version. Naturally Epic tapped this one as a single. rating: ** stars
- Probably he dullest of he seven tracks, 'Sing a Simple Song' added a bunch of those subtle disco-fied touches to the original arrangement - the most noticeable additions were a disco-fied bass line and beefing up the original Greg Errico drum track. The overall effect was bet described as negligible. rating: ** stars
- Surrounded by far better know hits, 'I Get High On You' was an interested choice for a remix. Originally recorded for the 1975 "High On You" LP, this may be the one track that actually benefited from the remix effort, which as far as I can tell, seemingly only added a couple of innocuous handclaps the the original arrangement. rating: **** stars
- 'Everyday People' was probably the song given the most extensive remake. After the first 20 seconds or so, the basic melody finally kicked in and things returned to semi-normal. For what it was worth, the bouncy bass line really didn't add anything, nor did the unexpected mid-song guitar break. rating: ** stars
- The original 'You Can Make It If You Try' never made much of an impression on me and the remix dos nothing to change that original feeling. rating: ** stars
- 'Stand!!' was stretched out and given a strange, lightweight disco feel that threatened to turn the song into the soundtrack for a rental car commercial. I always loved finger poppin' bass lines but this one made be think twice. Yech. rating: ** stars
- Maybe due to the fact it's original '50 doowop edge remained largely intact, 'This Is Love' was another track that emerged relatively unscathed. rating: *** stars
As mentioned, Epic tapped the album for a single:
12" single
- 1979's 'Dance To The Music' b/w 'Sing A Simple Song' (Epic catalog number AS 675)
And as you've probably figured out, the album was a critical and commercial disaster. I can remember seeing piles of them reduced to 99 cents and there were no takers. Guess there's landfill somewhere in New Jersey with a big stash of these slowly decaying ...
"Ten Years Too Soon" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Dance To the Music (Sylvester Stewart) - 6:37
2.) Sing a Simple Song (Sylvester Stewart) - 6:04
3.) I Get High On You (Sylvester Stewart) - 5:50
(side 2)
1.) Everyday People (Sylvester Stewart) -5:58
2.) You Can Make It If You Try (Sylvester Stewart) - 3:42
3.) Stand! (Sylvester Stewart) - 6:16
4.) This Is Love (Sylvester Stewart) - 2:47
Rating: ** (2 stars)
Title: Ten Years Too Soon
Company: Epic
Catalog: JE 35974
Year: 1979
Country/State: Denton, Texas
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: --
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 143
Price: $15.00
I own some truly bizarre albums and one of the strangest has to be this 1979 remix collection - "Ten Years Too Soon".
Anyhow, here's what Cheryl Machat's liner notes had to say: "[the album] was conceived in an attempt to awaken millions of fans of rocking dance music to Sly's impressive style. The music has been "disco fied" to expose his undiscovered talents to a young and growing radio audience. Extreme measures were taken to accomplish this task without drastically altering the essence of Sly. New York's finest musicians were contacted, each one considered Sly his mentor. They knew everything about Sly -- they studied the kind of guitars he used, each finger, each drum lick, each syncopated beat -- they knew Sly cold. And yet, they sat paralyzed when first confronted with the task to recreate Sly was like demanding a miracle to occur. Never before have witnesses sessions as magical and mystical. Eyes revealed bewilderment as time lost significance. The meter scans as the tape reversed. Years fluttered by at the touch of a button. This year is 1979, but history was recreated. To bring Sly into the modernized sound of disco, certain sounds had to be added, some parts elongated, certain beats exaggerated. Some new tracks were added, including new drums, guitars, bass guitars, fresh handclaps, timbales, syndrums. The original horns and Sty's vocals were left as originally recorded. They were cleaned in the mixing stage, and you will hear shots and licks that were never heard before. But the voice is pure and unsynthesized Sly. We lived and breathed Sly for months, moving n to the next song only when every aspect of perfect recreation was exhausted. In the final analysis, this project was completed out of a deep respect and the sincere belief that the world needs to hear Sly again. The key is the title, Ten Years Too Soon. Sly practically created today's disco sound. Nearly every artist composing rock, fund or disco has borrowed some elements of Sly's music - the list is endless. You need only listen to radio to note the juxtaposition. The Years Too Soon enables a whole new generation, the "Everyday People" of the 1970's to head Sly and understand why we, who grew up on his pulsating beat, say he is the forerunner to today's music."
So, giving credit where due, from a historical standpoint, the set was interesting in that it stood as one of the first remix collections to hit the market. I also took a little comfort in knowing Sly's direct participation in the project was seemingly nonexistent ... it was nice to know that he wasn't responsible for this phase of his career meltdown (I read somewhere Sly actually considered suing Epic). So who gets the blame ? Well I don't know if he was the creative force behind the project, but John Luongo was credited with the remixes ... as such, I'd point the finger at him. And ultimately you had to wonder why they'd bothered ... The original songs were simply too strong to totally redo, so Luongo and company were left to large fiddle around the edges adding needless disco effects here and there; none really making much of a difference. Bottom line for me was that with the possible exception of a bubbly arrangement on 'I Get High On You', none of these remixes was going to make you forget the originals. And what was with the ghastly cover photo ?
- The extended acapella opening to 'Dance To the Music' was actually intriguing, but then the arrangement slapped syndrums and a pseudo-disco feel on the song, which led to it quickly loosing most of its original charm. Stick with the original version. Naturally Epic tapped this one as a single. rating: ** stars
- Probably he dullest of he seven tracks, 'Sing a Simple Song' added a bunch of those subtle disco-fied touches to the original arrangement - the most noticeable additions were a disco-fied bass line and beefing up the original Greg Errico drum track. The overall effect was bet described as negligible. rating: ** stars
- Surrounded by far better know hits, 'I Get High On You' was an interested choice for a remix. Originally recorded for the 1975 "High On You" LP, this may be the one track that actually benefited from the remix effort, which as far as I can tell, seemingly only added a couple of innocuous handclaps the the original arrangement. rating: **** stars
- 'Everyday People' was probably the song given the most extensive remake. After the first 20 seconds or so, the basic melody finally kicked in and things returned to semi-normal. For what it was worth, the bouncy bass line really didn't add anything, nor did the unexpected mid-song guitar break. rating: ** stars
- The original 'You Can Make It If You Try' never made much of an impression on me and the remix dos nothing to change that original feeling. rating: ** stars
- 'Stand!!' was stretched out and given a strange, lightweight disco feel that threatened to turn the song into the soundtrack for a rental car commercial. I always loved finger poppin' bass lines but this one made be think twice. Yech. rating: ** stars
- Maybe due to the fact it's original '50 doowop edge remained largely intact, 'This Is Love' was another track that emerged relatively unscathed. rating: *** stars
As mentioned, Epic tapped the album for a single:
12" single
- 1979's 'Dance To The Music' b/w 'Sing A Simple Song' (Epic catalog number AS 675)
And as you've probably figured out, the album was a critical and commercial disaster. I can remember seeing piles of them reduced to 99 cents and there were no takers. Guess there's landfill somewhere in New Jersey with a big stash of these slowly decaying ...
"Ten Years Too Soon" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Dance To the Music (Sylvester Stewart) - 6:37
2.) Sing a Simple Song (Sylvester Stewart) - 6:04
3.) I Get High On You (Sylvester Stewart) - 5:50
(side 2)
1.) Everyday People (Sylvester Stewart) -5:58
2.) You Can Make It If You Try (Sylvester Stewart) - 3:42
3.) Stand! (Sylvester Stewart) - 6:16
4.) This Is Love (Sylvester Stewart) - 2:47
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