Given this ensemble’s legendary status, it’s still fairly surprising that the first live album by SLY & THE FAMILY STONE saw the light of day only in 2009, when the recording of their Woodstock set was out, and that there would be only one other release which followed the 1969 document in 2015, a report of the band’s two 1968 nights at Fillmore East. But now, a decade further down the line, the clock turns back for additional year, and July 18th is the date when the collective’s earliest known tapes will officially hit the shelves on compact disc, because a limited edition vinyl platter made available for RSD a couple of weeks ago could not satisfy aficionados’ appetite.
The First Family:
Live At The Winchester Cathedral 1967
The CD, titled “The First Family: Live At The Winchester Cathedral 1967” and hailing from the artists’ March 26th appearance in Redwood City, is said to be a deluxe offering with a foil cover and to contain a 52-page book that details the performance’s background. And though sound quality, as those who purchased the LP suggest, doesn’t meet audiophile standards, the set list must make it all worthwhile, what with energetic delivery of pieces, including “I Can’t Turn You Loose” by Otis Redding, who was still alive then, which wouldn’t appear on the combo’s studio records – their first platter got released six month after this show – apart from opener “I Ain’t Got Nobody” which landed, one year later, on the FAMILY’s sophomore album. An essential issue.
1. I Ain’t Got Nobody
2. Skate Now
3. Show Me
4. What Is Soul?
5. I Can’t Turn You Loose
6. Baby I Need Your Loving
7. Pucker Up Buttercup
8. Saint James Infirmary
9. I Gotta Go Now (Up On The Floor) – Funky Broadway
