Sly Stone - Dance To The Music (1979 Disco Remix)

From the LP "Ten Years Too Soon", and available on CD. "Sly is a hero, a true legend. He revolutionized music and created a new sound; he explored new forms and developed an audience unrestricted by color or class. His music drew on diversified elements of rock'n'roll and hard driving rhythm and blues. His first album, recorded in 1967 on Epic Records, was appropriately titled A Whole New Thing. That album gave Sly his first national hit, "Dance To The Music," and established Sly as the progenitor of a whole new kind of dance music. Sly did not foresee the disco craze, but he did practically create the sound. Few today would disagree. Sly developed an amazing success story, building from A Whole New Thing, creating hit after hit, including: "Family Affair," "Everyday People," "Stand," "Thank You," and " Hot Fun In The Summertime." Many of us remember each note of those songs; they became an integral part of our culture. The few times they are played on radio now an unmistakable sense of nostalgia overwhelms. But, they are played too infrequently and only as oldies. Ten Years Too Soon was concieved in an attempt to awaken millions of fans of rocking dance music to Sly's ingenious 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 Yorks 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, every syncopated beat - they knew Sly cold. And yet, they sat paralyzed when first confronting their task. To recreate Sly was like demanding a miracle to occur. Never before have we witnessed 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. The 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 Sly's vocals were left as originally recorded. They were cleaned in the mixing stage, and you will hear shouts and licks that were never heard before. But the voice is pure and unsynthesized Sly. We lived and breathed Sly for months, moving on to the next song only when every aspect of perfect recreation was exhausted. In the final analysis, this project was completed out of 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 todays disco sound. Nearly every artist composing rock, funk or disco has borrowed some elements of Sly's music - the list is endless. You need only listen to the radio to note the juxtaposition. Ten Years Too Soon enables a whole new generation, the "Everyday People" of the 1980's, to hear Sly and understand why we, who grew up on his pulsating beat, say he is the forerunner of todays music." - Cheryl Machat

YouTube | April 19, 2008

Tags:. .accomplish. .affair. .altering. .analysis. .appropriately