I'm Back! Family & Friends
I'm Back! Family & Friends is the second solo album by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, released by Cleopatra Records in 2011. It contains remixes and covers of his old material, along with three new tracks.
I'm Back! Family & Friends | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 16, 2011 | |||
Genre | Funk | |||
Label | Cleopatra | |||
Sly Stone chronology | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 37/100[1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
The A.V. Club | D[3] |
Entertainment Weekly | C[4] |
Rolling Stone | [5] |
The Washington Post | (unfavorable)[6] |
Track listing
- "Dance to the Music" (featuring Ray Manzarek) – 3:01
- "Everyday People" (featuring Ann Wilson) – 2:58
- "Family Affair" – 3:19
- "Stand!" (featuring Carmine Appice and Ernie Watts) – 3:14
- "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (featuring Johnny Winter) – 4:55
- "(I Want to Take You) Higher" (featuring Jeff Beck) – 4:44
- "Hot Fun in the Summertime" (featuring Bootsy Collins) – 2:54
- "Dance to the Music" (Extended Mix) – 6:39
- "Plain Jane" – 4:24
- "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" – 4:18
- "Get Away" – 3:46
- "Dance to the Music" (Club Mix) – 4:12
- "Family Affair" (Dubstep Mix) – 4:44
- "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (Electro Club Mix) – 4:32
Critical reception
Although expressing disappointment that most of the tracks were remakes of previous hits, Rolling Stone praised the new elements of the album: "a brass-and-organ-driven take on the gospel standard "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" and two originals: the gutbucket funk of "Plain Jane" and "Get Away," a gorgeous soul vamp with a refrain – "Keep singin' that melody!" – that whets the appetite for a full-fledged Sly comeback."[7]
AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was less positive, noting of the new tracks that they were "saddled with the same awful production that hobbles the re-creations, the same sticky, tacky, desperate replication of the past that only underscores just how long ago Sly's golden years were."[8]
The Washington Post's Allison Stewart was also unfavourable towards the release, stating that "Stone seems more like a visitor to these tracks, like somebody assembled them and he showed up sometimes. He sounds tired."[6]
References
- I'm Back! Family & Friends - Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart Review. Metacritic. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
- AllMusic
- Hyden, Steven (August 23, 2011). Sly Stone: I’m Back! Family And Friends. The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- Colter Walls, Seth (August 10, 2011). I'm Back! Family & Friends - Sly Stone review. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
- Rolling Stone
- Sly Stone CD ‘I’m Back! Family & Friends’ - The Washington Post
- I'm Back Family Friends | Album Reviews | Rolling Stone
- I'm Back! Family & Friends - Sly Stone, Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic