Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back [Import]

Sly & The Family Stone | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 13, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Epic Japan
• ASIN: B0000259MB
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #230,867 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Heard Ya Missed Me Well Im Back

2. What Was I Thinkin In My Head

3. Nothing Less Than Happiness

4. Sexy Situation

5. Blessing In Disguise

6. Everything In You

7. Mother Is A Hippie

8. Lets Be Together

9. The Thing

10. Family Again

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mindless optimism, February 19, 2002

By 

Adam J. Vogt (Ft. Collins, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back (Audio CD)

Though billed as an album with the Family Stone, Sly's band on this album is almost completely different from previous albums, with trumpet player Cynthia Robinson the only returning player. Released in 1976, this album didn't apparently come at a great time in Sly's life, with bankruptcy, drug abuse and divorce recent occurences (soon to be combined with this album failing to make the Top 200. Guess not too many people were missing Sly at this point!). Strange then, that basically all the lyrics on this album are upbeat, offering advice on life's lessons. More then one song's main gist is that, while he may have done bad things in the past, that's all over now and everything's fine (hence the album's title). That doesn't make them bad lyrics really, but it makes one wonder who Stone was trying to convince more, the listener or himself. For fan's of Sly's funk tunes, the music is dissapointing: aside from the second track "What Was I Thinking" (which features a cool instrumental jam section) the album is devoid of funk, sticking mainly to easy-listening pop arrangements. Not bad, but its a big change from the funk odyssey that was his previous album "High On You," which I would recommend even at import CD prices. The main vocal hook from his old song "You Can Make It If You Try" is recycled on "Blessing In Disguise," which I think is the album's best song. Elsewhere, "Family Again" is a sequal to "Dance To The Music," released as a single no doubt to try to copy the former's success (it didn't). The bottom line here is that HEARD YA MISSED ME is a pleasent enough album that Sly completists should seek out, but it is atypical of Sly's best work, and should be approched with caution by the average listener. Although, as an expensive import, the average listener will never come near this album anyway, and that's not that great of a loss.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sly falls off his barstool..., July 29, 2002

By 

Tom (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back (Audio CD)

While I would agree that this LP is hardly in the same league as Sly's best work, this isn't the complete disaster it is often described as (well, not artistically, tho it was certainly a commercial disaster).

I remember reading a critic saying that by '76 (when this LP was released), everybody was doing Sly better than Sly himself - that's a bit cruel, it would be more accurate to say that musicians INSPIRED by Sly were having more success than Sly himself. I don't think too many people actually sounded that much like Sly, with one rather glaring and galling (for Mr Stewart) exception: namely Sly's old bassbuddy Larry Graham who was selling tens of thousands more records than Sly by simply aping the old Family Stone formula (which he did after all help to invent) but accentuating the positive elements and omitting the darker vibes present from "Thank You Falettinme..." onwards. Sly follows suit on this LP which is relentlessly upbeat in that rather irritating way the early Family Stone could be - though here Sly has more of a fixed grin than ever. As one of the other reviewers said, the album is full of "that was then but this is now" positivity which seems to be aimed more at Sly himself than his listeners. At times Sly reminds you of a drunk who corners you in a bar and tells you all about his drinking problems and keeps insisting "But I'm alright now" ....until eventually he falls off his barstool.

Having said that, the title track is a Latin-influenced number which reminds you of how odd and catchy Sly's pop songs could be and though "Family Again" is yet another rewrite of "Dance to the Music", it's perky enough to retain your interest. "What Was I Thinkin'" has a killer bassline, as has "Sexy Situation", though in the latter case that's all the song has. "Nothing Less Than Happiness" is a promising blusey doowoppy ballad, a great verse but unfortunately Sly never got round to writing a chorus (or much of a lyric) to go with it. "Blessing In Disguise" is probably the best song here, with a great arrangement and good singing. In fact Sly sounds in good voice throughout but latterly the album peters out a bit with some rather anonymous songs. All in all, not great, not terrible.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sly Stone: Always ahead of the times, June 16, 2003

By 

Isaac Mullins, Jr. (Conyers, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I'm Back (Audio CD)

This cd, although definitely not the best in the Sly/Family Stone discography, still has some shining moments in my opinion. The title track is one of the first to incorporate reggae into the music mainstream. "Mother is a Hippie" is a nice song for momma, and "Let's Be Together" is a tight disco groove.I like the "STOP-DON'T, STOP-DON'T, STOP-DON'T STOP, STOP-DON'T STOP DON'T STOP!" in the song's hook. It is a clever pre-90's seduction groove minus the R-rated language. Sly gives the listener the ecstasy of the moment without being as verbal and straight to the point as some of the songwriters of today's music.
I really do miss ya Sly...Still waiting for one more blast!!!