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Sly Stone-vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass; Rose Stone Bankskeyboards, vocals; Freddie Stone-guitar, vocals; Cynthia Robinson-trumpet; Rustee Allen-bass; Bill Lordan-drums; Vet Stone-vocals, keyboards; Jerry Martini-saxophone; Pat Rizzo-flute, saxophone; Sid Page-violin; Kathy Silva, Sly Stone Jr.-background vocals

Technically this was the last Sly & the Family Stone album, but there was little left of the original group's sound, most of whose members had either departed or had been placed in subsidiary roles. Although some of the newer players were musically talented, the material Sly gave them for this project had little of his familiar songwriting sparkle, and the layering in of strings did little to dress up the lackluster arrangements and the quirky production. Rustee Allen helped perk up the livelier tracks, "Loose Booty" and "Livin' While I'm Livin;' and "Mother Beautiful" suggested an upbeat approach to family life, in a mode that Stevie Wonder would later borrow. The alternate version of "Time for Livin"' sounded rather ragged with the syrupy strings fading in and out, but on "Positive," you can hear drummer Bill Lordan making good use of what he said Sly taught him about funk.

SLY STONE

High on You Epic, 1975

(1) I Get High on You; (2) Crossword Puzzle; (3) That's Lovin' You; (4) Who Do You Love?; (5) Green Eyed Monster Girl; (6) Organize; (7) Le Lo Li; (8) My World; (9) So Good to Me; (10). Greed

Sly Stone-vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass; Freddie Stone-guitar, vocals; Cynthia Robinson-trumpet, vocals; Jerry Martinisaxophone; Dennis Marcellino-saxophone; Rustee Allen-bass; Bobby Vega-bass; Gail Muldrow-guitar; Bill Lordan, Michael Samuels, Jim Strassburg, Willie Sparks-drums; Bobby Lyles, Truman Thomas-keyboards; Dawn Silva, Elva Mouton, Vet Stewart, Rudy Love-background vocals

Epic dropped the Family Stone name from this album, though some of the band's members continued to contribute, alongside a host of others. The material itself harkened back to the message mission of the Family Stone classics, on tracks such as "Organize," "Le Lo Li," and "Greed." Sly's vocals retrieved some of their liveliness and mischief, and at times he's every bit as good as any contemporary offering by Smokey Robinson or Marvin Gaye. (Smokey's chart-topping "Cruisin'," from 1979, sounded a lot like this album's "My World," from four years earlier, though Sly's song was prettier.) The high spirits and artful arrangements on this album deserved the kind of recognition that Sly may not have been in condition to follow up on, aside from the fact that his declining public image overshadowed the album's quality and uniqueness.

Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back Epic, 1976

(1) Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back; (2) What Was I Thinkin' in My Head; (3) Nothing Less Than Happiness; (4) Sexy Situation; (5) Blessing in Disguise; (6) Everything in You; (7) Mother Is a Hippie; (8) Let's Be Together; (9) The Thing; (10) Family Again

Sly Stone-vocals, keyboards; Cynthia Robinson-trumpet; Dwight Hogan-bass, vocals; Anthony Warren-drums; Joseph Baker-guitar, vocals; John Colla-saxophone; Steve Schustersaxophone, flute; John Farey-keyboards, trombone; Armando Peraza-percussion; Lady Bianca-lead and background vocals, clavinet; Dawn Weber, Virginia Ayers-percussion, background vocals; Vicki Blackwell-violin; Peter Frampton-guitar

In its overall sound and happy tone and in the look of the backcover photograph, this project was evocative of a '60s or '70s musical along the lines of Hair or Jesus Christ Superstar. From the opening title track on, there was much involvement of the chorus and relatively little of Sly's solo voice. An exception was "Nothing Less Than Happiness," which showcased, more than just about any other song in his canon, Sly's mastery of vocal phrasing and texture; it was a homage to doo-wop and early rock that was fabulously well written, arranged, and performed. Among the musicians drawn to the making of this album were veteran conguero