Sly & The Family Stone - Greatest Hits (Remastered) (2021) [Hi-Res]

"Greatest Hits" is a compilation album by American recording group Sly and the Family Stone. It was first released on November 21, 1970, by Epic Records. Comprising five singles and their b-sides along with one additional single and one album track, it includes all of the singles from the albums Dance to the Music (1968), Life (1968), and Stand! (1969), and all of their charting B-sides.

At the time, the normally prolific Stone was holed up in the studio, laboring over what would become There's a Riot Goin' On, and the label was getting nervous. So they cobbled together a greatest hits disc from the four albums Stone had recorded so far (as well as some b-sides), and rushed it to the stores so listeners wouldn't lose interest. Never conceived as anything more than a stalling tactic, Greatest Hits doesn't even bother to adopt a chronological presentation to illustrate the group's growth into a soul/rock/psychedelia powerhouse.

"Released in 1970 during the stopgap between Stand! and There's a Riot Goin' On, Greatest Hits inadvertently arrived at precisely the right moment, summarizing Sly & the Family Stone's joyous hit-making run on the pop and R&B charts. Technically, only four songs here reached the Top Ten, with only two others hitting the Top 40, but judging this solely on charts is misleading, since this is simply a peerless singles collection. This summarizes their first four albums perfectly (almost all of Stand! outside of the two jams and "Somebody's Watching You" is here), adding the non-LP singles "Hot Fun in the Summertime," "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," and "Everybody Is a Star," possibly the loveliest thing they ever recorded. But, this isn't merely a summary (and, if it was just that, Anthology, the early-'80s comp that covers Riot and Fresh would be stronger than this), it's one of the greatest party records of all time. Music is rarely as vivacious, vigorous, and vibrant as this, and captured on one album, the spirit, sound, and songs of Sly & the Family Stone are all the more stunning. Greatest hits don't come better than this -- in fact, music rarely does." (Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AMG)

Digitally remastered