Customer Reviews

High on You

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's too bad this album is only available as an import because it truly ranks with Sly's most seminal works. Combine the raw funk of 'Riot' with the jazzy melodies of 'Fresh' and that's pretty much what you get here. Dig deep into your wallet for this one if you have to because you'll marvel at how good it is.

This album is one of the main reasons why I don't buy the argument that everything recorded by Sly Stone after "Fresh" isn't worth listening to. I bought this disc with low expectations, but after one listen I was convinced that this album was overlooked. To me, "High On You" is like a more upbeat "There's A Riot Goin' On". It almost seems like this album had the same production quality with the funk format of heavy bass, keyboards, backup vocalists, and driving beats. The main difference between the two albums is the lyrics: Sly seemed to be in a much better mood when this one was recorded. This disc seems a little looser and jazzier too. The instrumental "Green Eyed Monster Girl" is a good example, with a funky keyboard solo that sprawls over the entire four minute track. The liner notes indicate that Sly had a heavy hand in the recording of "High On You", stating that he played "Everything - ?!!". It makes sense then that this album was credited to him rather than Sly and the Family Stone. However, this album seems to have been dismissed, which is a shame. This may not have been his most memorable work, but this is a damn funky album and I can't find fault with that.

overall I'd say this Album is about a 3&a half because I wouldn't put it alongside His Peak&Prime Albums like "There's a Riot Going on","Fresh" or even "Small Talk" but in His Defense the title track here is Nice&"Crossword Puzzle" is a Jam that you gotta have.He has some Good Moments on this set but this Set should be available for all as should all of His Catelog because The Guy is way too Important for Music to be not getting any Full Love for His GENIUS Contributions.

If you understand the genius that Sly Stone represented and you're interested in acquiring more of his work, then this album is more than worthy of addition to your collection.

It's somewhat criminal that this release is only offered overseas and at a steep price for those in The States.

Some 'annals of funk' moments are definitely contained herein. The title track smokes, even though you get the distinct impression that Sly is smoking (read: freebasing) throughout the whole thing. His quick utterance after the chorus of "I get high on you" of "you know what I been doin'" makes it implicitly clear what Sly's been doing. De La's famously sampled "Crossword Puzzle" comes up next, and yes of course, it's far better than the "remake." "Crossword" has this bubbling Sly organ on top and combines the trademark rhythm and wit that Sly so famously left his mark with. My last standout is the far too brief "So Good to Me" which features this ridiculous booming fuzz-bass breakdown which probably made Larry Graham a little more than jealous at the time.

At times "High On You" undoubtedly suffers from Sly's preoccupations and "Le Lo Li," Organize" and "Green Eyed monster Girl" attest to that. Still, a recommended if not sensational nightcap from Sly. Sadly, his light never shined this brightly again in his abbreviated career.

I was absolutely shocked when I listened to it. It was so hard to find, I had to import it from Sweden (back in '99).
Just thought I'd give my overall opinion of it for those who are on the fence about buying this album.

I was slightly disappointed by "Small Talk" and had low expectations for this album from all the reviews I had read.

The first song, the title track, forshadows the unexpected burst of energy brought forth in this entire album. Sly's vocals are as powerful as from his "STAND" album and there is a great keyboard solo in the middle of the song. The next song "Crossword Puzzle" is in my top three favorite Sly tracks, behind "Stand" and "Thank You". The bassline is hypnotizing, horns colorful, and Sly's lyrics are witty, socially poignant, and poetically brilliant.
" Woman has a baby cute
Illigitimate to boot,
Who can say it isn't right,
love shines a different light
as the world goes around,
everybody's gettin' down,
how can you wish her pain?
cause she has a maiden name?
You know why? It's a crossworld puzzle."

Well, I can go on and on, but you get my point by now. If you are thinking of buying it, I highly recommend that you do. So as not to gas up the album too highly, perhaps you should listen to it with the expectation of a declining Sly record, and compare that with what you actually get from this album.

maybe four stars is a little high, it doesn't compare with "stand" or even "fresh," but it's a nice surprise, and after all, how much Sly is too much?

1975's 'High On You' finds Sly without his Family Stone.Even though there are some minor instrumental similarities to 'Small Talk' this follow up couldn't be more different.The key is the title song,a pretty good hit for Sly in the mid 70's.A dab of synthesizer at the beginning leads you into the tune itself,which brings Sly's listeners to understand that on 'High On You',he was putting heavy rhythms back up fron again.The 'toned down' Sly of the last album is gone as Sly Stone blasts back to his peak,as if he's stopped at 'Fresh' and was going on from there.This is a very optomistic album-a lot of happy,percussive drumming and funkiness beyond wrekoning with.In fact "Crossword Puzzle","Who Do You Love","Green Eyed Monster" and "Organize" all function on heavy funk overload with the likeminded "Greed" even adds some echo chamber to Sly's bellowing the title out for great dramatic effect."That's Lovin' You",the more uptempo "Le Lo Li" and "My World",the albums closest thing to a ballad have a few strings and a few allusions to family but the gentelness is replaced by a more assertive joy."So Good To Me" pulls everything on the album together-the heavy funk groove,the pop hook,the vocal howling the bass line.'High On You' is in fact Sly Stone's most underrated album and by far his best of the mid/late 70's period.Actually it's one of the only ones.His recording output during this time was sporatic due to his personal and drug problems but even he managed to keep making brilliant music during this time.Unlike 'Riot','Fresh' and 'Small Talk' the sound of 'High On You' is very full and exciting-the druggy emptiness and deliberate minimalism of of his previous three albums is totally absent.If only Sly's commercial gifts hadn't abandoned him by this time 'High On You' would have been as much a commercial success as it was an artistic (and sometimes critical) one.

This album may not rank up there with "Stand or Fresh, but it's still vintage Sly. The grooves on this album was funky and hittin' on all cylinders. It's still a must have for Sly Stone fans. I'm glad to have finally gotten it on cd.

With this release being a solo effort of sorts, High on You has become a record that remains one of Sly's best latter-day efforts for his starcrossed career. This effort is certainly better than his previous release, Small Talk, and while that album was seemingly good, it gave the overall feel of slight indifference and complacency within its songcrafts. High on You has Sly utilizying some of his better talents and songwriting abilities on display, and its quite a funky album to listen to indeed! The title track has a great dynamic feel and is most upbeat and slinky in its overall appeal. Crossword Puzzle is a number that has typical funk overtones and has a slighty repetitive feel about it(check the Small Talk remaster bonus track for a better version, in my opinion). That's Lovin' You contains the strings that adorned most of the previous Small Talk set, but thankfully, Sly has chosen these moments of string arrangement wisely and has kept this quality to a bare minimum on this release.

Who Do You Love is another dirty funky number that is just a simple groovin' song that echoes some of the Sly of old. Green-Eyed Monster Girl is an instrumental driven by organ with a great drum arrangement and has flashes of horns outlining this funky little ditty along with a downright nasty bass line intertwining. Le Lo Li was another single chosen for this release and although, it did little impact on the charts, is a nice carefree number that is uplifting and makes you smile in its positive vibe displayed. My World and Good to Me are lower key tracks that round out the record successfully and give a nice balance of light, shade and color to this varied release. Organize and the album's closer Greed continue the funky R&B vibe that permeates throughout the duration of this collection and are solid numbers that give Sly a few aces up the sleeve.

For serious Sly fans, this release is absolutely essential and even casual fans would probably enjoy this set too. High On You is ultimately, Sly's last hurrah at capturing his greatness, even though at this point in his career, his fame and talent began to go downhill. 4 solid stars

Epic had dropped the Family Stone name from this album, though some of the band's members continued to contribute, alongside a host of others. The material itself harkened back to the message mission of the Family Stone classics, on tracks such as "Organize", "Le Lo Li", and "Greed". Sly's vocals retrieved some of their liveliness and mischief, and at times he sounded every bit as good as any contemporary offering by Smokey Robinson or Marvin Gaye. (Smokey's chart-topping "Cruisin'", from 1979, sounded a lot like this album's "My World" from four years earlier, though Sly's song was prettier.) The high spirits and artful arrangements on this album deserved the kind of recognition that Sly may not have been in condition to follow up on, aside from the fact that his declining public image overshadowed the album's quality and uniqueness.