There was a brief thread on this a few months back but I'm starting a new one for the Sly-heads on here now that the "Live At The Fillmore East" set has been out for a little over a month. Personally, I've had a few opportunities to listen to whole shows (and the whole 4 show set) in their entirety but not a day goes by when I don't jam at least 1 or 2 of the live cuts going to and from work.

First off, I love this set of concerts. Before this, the only live Sly that I've heard has been a few You Tube videos that come and go, the Isle of Wight joint that Amazon released last year, and the Woodstock Experience which, for the last several years, has ranked in my top 3 of all-time great live albums. In the last couple of weeks, the Live At The Fillmore East keeps blowing me away for 2 main reasons:

1- This may be the only instance where I hear live "deep" cuts from Sly's 1st 3 albums. The various versions of "Are You Ready" jam hard, as does "Color Me True" and "Turn Me Loose". I was never a big fan of "Chicken" from Life but I love the live version of that song from the 1st show.

2- These shows gave me a new appreciation for the individual members of the Sly and the Family Stone. I knew that Gregg was a bad man on the drums and Larry's innovative bass technique, but Larry's bass really kicks ass throughout all 4 shows. I knew he was the man, but DAMN! As for Freddie- never knew he was that damn tight and versatile on the guitar nor did I know that he was such a great (and possibly better than Sly) singer. Same goes for Cynthia- her trumpet skills really come through on "St. James Infirmary" in such a way that I realized how much I'd slept on her as a trumpet player. Lastly, I knew Sly as a songwriter, arranger, etc..., but Sly was in straight beast mode on the organ throughout these shows.

My Top 6 songs on the set:

1. Love City (show #1)

2. Are You Ready (show #4)

3. Music Lover (show #2)

4. St. James Infirmary (show #2)

5. We Love All (show #1)

6. Life (show #3)

this shit is straight fire from begining to end

CoolMF said:

There was a brief thread on this a few months back but I'm starting a new one for the Sly-heads on here now that the "Live At The Fillmore East" set has been out for a little over a month. Personally, I've had a few opportunities to listen to whole shows (and the whole 4 show set) in their entirety but not a day goes by when I don't jam at least 1 or 2 of the live cuts going to and from work.

First off, I love this set of concerts. Before this, the only live Sly that I've heard has been a few You Tube videos that come and go, the Isle of Wight joint that Amazon released last year, and the Woodstock Experience which, for the last several years, has ranked in my top 3 of all-time great live albums. In the last couple of weeks, the Live At The Fillmore East keeps blowing me away for 2 main reasons:

1- This may be the only instance where I hear live "deep" cuts from Sly's 1st 3 albums. The various versions of "Are You Ready" jam hard, as does "Color Me True" and "Turn Me Loose". I was never a big fan of "Chicken" from Life but I love the live version of that song from the 1st show.

2- These shows gave me a new appreciation for the individual members of the Sly and the Family Stone. I knew that Gregg was a bad man on the drums and Larry's innovative bass technique, but Larry's bass really kicks ass throughout all 4 shows. I knew he was the man, but DAMN! As for Freddie- never knew he was that damn tight and versatile on the guitar nor did I know that he was such a great (and possibly better than Sly) singer. Same goes for Cynthia- her trumpet skills really come through on "St. James Infirmary" in such a way that I realized how much I'd slept on her as a trumpet player. Lastly, I knew Sly as a songwriter, arranger, etc..., but Sly was in straight beast mode on the organ throughout these shows.

My Top 6 songs on the set:

1. Love City (show #1)

2. Are You Ready (show #4)

3. Music Lover (show #2)

4. St. James Infirmary (show #2)

5. We Love All (show #1)

6. Life (show #3)

Real good assessment, agree with most of your observations/sentiments. In many ways, it is a revelation and when that revelation is as funky as this is I am in heaven.

Another CD that I gotta add to my 'want list'