SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE Fresh (Epic)

Puncturing the received wisdom that Sly fell apart musically immediately after the seminal "There’s A Riot Goin’ On", this 1973 offering still seems surprisingly (wait for it!) fresh - even the cover photo of Mr Stone decked out in black leather and studs looks more redolent of punk than the fag-end of the hippy era. Good bits include "If You Want Me To Stay" and "Let Me Have It All", later covered by Mercury Rev and Simply Red respectively, and a faintly bizarre (in concept if not in execution) cover of "Que Sera Sera". Not the first Sly Stone album you should buy, but don’t ignore it if you should see it cheap (like what I did!)