Overlooked at the time of its release in late 1968 by the success of their previous album, Dance to the Music and its hit single title track, and then by the explosion of “Everyday People” from the group’s next album, their 1969 breakthrough Stand!, Life is the Sly Stone album most primed for rediscovery. It’s the first Stone album to perfectly meld the group’s R&B and soul roots into the democratic funk that became the their trademark and a major influence on every soul music and hip-hop player then and in future generations. From the opening groove of ‘Dynamite!” through Larry Graham’s fuzz bass that cuts through “M’Lady” and Sly’s own surreal growls that permeate “I’m An Animal,” through Freddy Stone’s funk guitar licks that form the basis for future guitarslingers, Life is an album years beyond its time. “Jane Is A Groupee” inspired the Philly Soul and Curtis Mayfield Superfly era, while Parliament-Funkadelic would be unthinkable without tracks such as “Plastic Jim” and “Fun.” The reissue contains three previously unreleased tracks that would have fit comfortably on the original album if not for the vinyl era’s physical limitations: Freddy Stone’s hard rock guitar on “Pressure” meshing perfectly with the Family’s horn section for an energized track that sounds inspired in part by Otis Redding’s “Respect.”