Blood, Sweat & Tears vs. Sly & the Family Stone!

[Foxhound]

Which band do you like better? Why?

Blood, Sweat & Tears










Sly & the Family Stone

[dwill123]

Sly vs BS&T, this may be the strangest pairing I've ever seen on CRF. I love both bands. Blood, Sweat & Tears was my first serious exposure into Jazz/Rock and to this day remains one of my favorites. The "Blood, Sweat & Tears" album sits somewhere (permanently) in my top 25 albums of all time. All that said, even BS&T doesn't even approach how I feel about Sly and the Family Stone. To me they were not just another band, they changed the dynamics of the so-called genera they were hemmed into (Funk/R&B). From their first album I knew they were different. Throughout high school and most of college they were my favorite band. Anyone who has seen my posts on this forum over the years knows that I've been to a concert or two. I've been to more, Sly and the Family Stone concerts than any other performer by a wide number. Why? The sound of the original band. Many got a taste of that sound when the movie Woodstock came out. But unless you’ve seen the original group in a true concert venue there's no way you can imagine the feel of the sound. After some of the originals were replaced (to me) they seemed to lose that 'feel'. I think the loss of Larry Graham contributed to that loss a great deal. When are you a great band? When you have a profound influence on the greats of your profession. Herbie Hancock wrote a song ("Sly") dedicated to Sly Stone (and Sly is still alive). Miles Davis (late 60s) went to a Sly Stone concert in California and from that point forward 'NEVER' wore a suit and tie again for any of his own performances.

[dr wu]

Hmm..not much of a fan of either....I did have the early Sly 45's and Stand lp and the first 2 BST lp's but after thought lost interest in both bands.

[dwill123]

[Foxhound]

Originally Posted by dwill123

Sly vs BS&T, this may be the strangest pairing I've ever seen on CRF.

Huh?! Why? I thought it was a very natural pairing.

For me the single most important factor when I'm putting a poll together is that the artists be contemporaneous. If they competed for both radio play and sales in record stores at the time, why should they not go head-to-head in a poll today? The years of Blood, Sweat & Tears' main impact on the charts were 1969-1970 while Sly & the Family Stone's years were 1968-1972.

Moreover both bands were relatively big. Both had eight+ members at the time of their main chart impact. In addition both bands had horn players with Blood, Sweat & Tears actually being a brass dominated ensemble.

Sure the two bands sound a lot different, but why would you not want a choice instead of an echo in a poll?

Originally Posted by dwill123

I love both bands. Blood, Sweat & Tears was my first serious exposure into Jazz/Rock and to this day remains one of my favorites.

Since the brass dominated jazz infused sound of Blood, Sweat & Tears has always annoyed me, Sly & the Family Stone gets my vote here almost by default. While never one of my favourites, in recent years I've actually come to appreciate Sly & the Family Stone more than I did back in 1968-1972. Had they been more disciplined and professional back in the day, their mark on the music business might now be comparable to that of Chicago or Santana.

[dwill123]

Originally Posted by Foxhound

Huh?! Why? I thought it was a very natural pairing.

My comments on the pairing was based more on the bands initial musical direction or more the audiences the bands were probably more aimed at when their early albums were released. The physical elements of both bands had similarities but clearly approached the commercial (radio) audience from opposite directions. If it were not for their embrace of jazz, BS&T might have been considered just another rock band of the time. The Family Stone was clearly directed (commercially) toward the funk\soul-oriented music of the likes of James Brown and others. I think what ultimately happened was the groups ultimate individuality and a thing called 'Woodstock' (and maybe Vietnam to a degree). After that line had been breached it was much easier to see the synergy of both groups.