Scheduled for release before Sly Stone’s recent passing, The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967 is a mindblowing document, chronicling the early days of one of the great groups of the ‘60s – or any era. Recorded at a nightclub in Redwood City, CA, this raucous set features the same lineup (minus Rose Stone) that would soon appear on Sly and the Family Stone’s debut album, namely Sly (organ, harmonica, guitar, vocal), Greg Errico (percussion), Larry Graham (bass, vocal), Jerry Martini (sax), Cynthia Robinson (trumpet vocal) and Freddie Stone (guitar, trumpet, trombone, vocal).
And what a band! Tight without being slick, Sly and company turn rough edges into a virtue, driving hard in a performance dominated by rowdy covers that never feel like rote copies of the originals, among them “Show Me” (Joe Tex), “I Can’t Turn You Loose” (Otis Redding), “Baby I Need Your Loving” (The Four Tops) and “Funky Broadway” (Dyke and the Blazers). The ragged but right sound quality of the recording captures the excitement of experiencing a dynamite ensemble up-close.
This electrifying album shows that Sly and the Family Stone could have made a good living as a bar band if Sly had never written any of his classic songs. But greater things were on the horizon, and soon.
