Sly Stone - I'm Back! Family & Friends

Sly Stone - I'm Back! Family & Friends

2011, Cleopatra Records

August 16, 2011 is the day that Sly Stone makes his grand return.  I'm Back! Family & Friends is Stone's first new album since 1982, and finds him collaborating with the likes of Ray Manzarek (The Doors); Ann Wilson (Heart), Johnny Winter, Jeff Beck and Bootsy Collins. 

With little new to offer, I'm Back! Family & Friends relies on some of Stone's most cherished songs.  "Dance To The Music" gets updated with the subtle help of Ray Manzarek, capturing the catchy, danceable magic of Stone's heyday.  "Everyday People" is solid.  Ann Wilson's guest vocal is solid, but the part she takes up is fairly mundane.  "Family Affair" gets a solid update, while Carmine Appice & Ernie Watts lend their instrumental expertise to the inspired but messy "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)."  Jeff Beck sits in on "(I Want To Take You) Higher", providing some flashy fretwork in the process.  Bootsy Collins adds some style to "Hot Fun In The Summertime" without greatly changing the flavor of the original.

The rest of the collection features mixes of "Dance To The Music" (2), "Family Affair" and "Thank You", as well as one-offs "Plain Jane", "Get Away" and "His Eye Is On The Sparrow", making the collection seem as it is, a retread of past hits updated for today.

I'm Back! Family & Friends is likely to appeal to long time Sly Stone fans, but other than the names of those sitting in with Stone and some new dance mixes, has little to offer to anyone who already has the original recordings.  Sly Stone's voice certainly isn't what it once was, and I'm Back! Family & Friends plays like a cynical effort by Cleopatra records to extract cash by repackaging old songs in new clothes.  The songs are familiar and loved by many, but available too many other places to plunk your money down for this collection.

Rating: 2 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Sly Stone at www.slystonemusic.com or www.slystone.com.  I'm Back! Family & Friends drops on August 16, 2011.  You can pre-order the album through Amazon.com on CD, Vinyl, or as a Download.

Hydrovibe - Nothing Left To Lose

Hydrovibe - Nothing Left To Lose
2009, Orleans Street Records

Hydrovibe has had their share of luck since vocalist Heather St. Marie and guitarist Mat Duzat began working together back in Louisiana. As the band finished recording their first full length album Nothing Left To Lose in 2006, they received notice that their song "Killer Inside" would be featured in SAW III. Quickly switching gears Hydrovibe cut a 5-song EP (including "Killer Inside") to take advantage of the publicity the song placement would bring. Four years later and Nothing Left To Lose finally sees the light of day. With production by Tom Fletcher (Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead), mixing and re-tracking by Kenny Lamb (The Doors, Keane) and a mixing assist from Kevin Churko (Ozzy Osbourne), Nothing Left To Lose has lost little in the interim.

Hydrovibe opens with "Fifteen Minutes", a heavy anthem built on a solid hook and memorable chorus. Vocalist St Marie takes after the celebrity obsessed culture we live in, bemoaning a values system that places an individual’s fifteen minute of fame over almost anything. St. Marie has a voice that can blow you away or lull you into submission, with a dark tone that's gorgeous and scary all at once. "Disconnect Me" is a solid album track, full of great harmonies and a dynamic vocal line. After a solid start things get spotty for Hydrovibe. "Liberate" features some unusual song construction and really isn't a bad tune but gets a little too wrapped up in repetition. "The Devil Comes Disguised As A Friend" is the heaviest track on the album; high powered yet with a sense of control beneath the anger and vitriol.

"Shallow Grave" is an intriguing number. Solid vocal harmonies encapsulate real angst and stress in the arrangement. Unfortunately the song devolves into a repetitive template of pop/metal that will play well to Modern Rock and Edge radio, but fails to maintain the highly charged potency the song starts out with. Hydrovibe takes listeners on an interesting three song trip with "Reborn", "Suture" and "Fame". "Reborn" is a transitional bit of ambient rock; a slightly surprising turn from a band capable of rocking so hard. The song stands out more what it's not than what it is and is a nice change of pace. "Suture" is pure heavy fun, the sort of song that inspires teenage boys (and girls) to strap on a six string and start blasting out power chords. "Fame" bookends the experience with a big hook, tight arrangement and tremendous harmonies. In this moment Hydrovibe recalls the best of 1980's hair metal.

Realizing there are four songs at the end of Nothing Left To Lose, the review ends here, in acknowledgement that sometimes you have to know when to quit. "Contagious", "Evil Side", "Nothing Left To Lose" and "Liberation" add little to the experience (other than the album title). The songs aren't bad, they just don't fit here, and sometimes less really is more. Hydrovibe manages to create some great moments on Nothing Left To Lose, but a trimmer album (or even EP) would pack a lot more punch in terms of quality and continuity. This is a risk anytime an album sits for several years and is revisited. It would be curious to hear the original composition and sound Hydrovibe had at the close of the 2006 recording sessions.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Hydrovibe at http://www.hydrovibe.com/ or www.myspace.com/hydrovibe.  Nothing Left To Lose is available from Amazon.com as both a CD and Download.  CDs and merchandise are also availble from the band's webstore.  Digital copies are available from iTunes.