Sly And The Family Stone - Greatest Hits

YOURZ

While this is one of Mine's contributions to the collection, I am a fan of Sly and co because they have provided some of the best source material for sampling this side of James Brown.

And while some of this is just a bit too disco for my liking, there's no denying its ability to make the listener smile (or, in my case, grimace a little less).  That Sly And The Family Stone go down in history for breaking boundaries by being both integrated and mixed-gendered is very cool indeed.  This paved the way from so many acts that followed, too many to name here.

While I know the hits, Stand, Dance To The Music and Everyday People, all anthems in their own right, the rest of this collection is new to me, except for the occasional recognition of a break.  But it's also a little frustrating because I'm left wondering where I had heard the sample.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

MINE

A Forgotten Gem for me, and not for the truly excellent music, but for the strong, positive messages the Family manage to weave into their funky, hook-laden efforts.  Take Life - it says "You might get angry sometimes/ But don't let it turn you around" and of course You Can Make It If You Try goes without saying.

It's the perfect accompaniment to cooking - so it's going in the Kitchen Collection right away - and it's so positive it's gotta make the Grumpy Pants Abolisher playlist as well.  And for once I'm grateful i don't have the music-producer ears my husband does.  I can enjoy this music as it is, in its entirety, and not give two hoots about who sampled what or when.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP

For more information: http://www.slystonemusic.com/

Beck - Midnite Vultures

MINE

I must admit I was never much of a Beck fan before YourZ came along, and I'm still not really, although I do admire his musicianship. It's mostly because I don't really like his voice.

YourZ calls this "Beck's disco album" and I kind of agree, but I think I'd call it "Beck's annoying album" because it's just a bit too clever for me. Not that the tunes are bad or anything, but there's so MUCH in there! So many instruments, multi-tracking, sound effects, bells and whistles, you can't really get to grips with the music. In fact, it's like he snorted a whole bunch of coke in the studio and didn't know where to stop.

It's no Mellow Gold or Odelay - so I'd mark it as the album only for completists.

VERDICT: TURN IT DOWN

YOURZ

Bek David Campbell, aka Beck, is a musical pixie who sprinkles weird-ass instrumentation, samples and stream-of-consciousness lyrics throughout his releases like nose-candy for a drug-free generation. Personally, he's been a source of inspiration ever since I heard his first major release, Mellow Gold, 15 years ago. After this, there was the Grammy-winning Odelay, which saw him become one of the biggest artists in the world at the time.

Three years on from that, he released Midnite Vultures, his 7th studio album, where he channelled disco grooves by way of Bowie and Prince, tossed these with his eclectic instrumentations, assembled a massive crew of musicians, including Johnny Marr, Beth Orton and his producers of choice, the Dust Brothers, and came up with an indefinable musical melding as only he is capable of doing. A typical example of his eclecticism happens at the end of the first song, Sexx Laws, where he drops a banjo line into what's otherwise been a horn-laden piece of white soul.

I saw him live a few years after this album was released and he included a number of tracks in his set. He played up the disco elements of these tracks with some hokey b-boy dance moves and a lot of cheek. It still has to be one of the best live shows I’ve ever seen.

Not one of his best albums, but certainly not one of his worst, Midnite Vultures is still a great example of the eccentric world of the artist called Beck.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (and boogie down, y’all)

Click here for more info: http://www.beck.com/

In our collection, we also have Mellow Gold, Stereopathic Soul Manure, One Foot In The Grave, Odelay, Sea Change, Guero, Guerolito, The Information and Modern Guilt.