I'm Back! Family & Friends

I'm Back! Family & Friends is the second solo album by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, released by Cleopatra Records in 2011. It contains remixes and covers of his old material, along with three new tracks.

I'm Back! Family & Friends
Studio album by Sly Stone
Released	August 16, 2011 (2011-08-16)
Genre	Funk
Length	44:12
Label	Cleopatra
Producer	Sly Stone, Chris Lietz, Jürgen Engler
Sly Stone chronology
Ain't but the One Way (1982) I'm Back! Family & Friends (2011)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	37/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	D[3]
Entertainment Weekly	C[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
The Washington Post	(unfavorable)[6]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Sly Stone; except where noted

1. "Dance to the Music" (featuring Ray Manzarek) – 3:01
2. "Everyday People" (featuring Ann Wilson) – 2:58
3. "Family Affair" – 3:19
4. "Stand!" (featuring Carmine Appice and Ernie Watts) – 3:14
5. "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (featuring Johnny Winter) – 4:55
6. "(I Want to Take You) Higher" (featuring Jeff Beck) – 4:44
7. "Hot Fun in the Summertime" (featuring Bootsy Collins) – 2:54
8. "Dance to the Music" (Extended Mix) – 6:39
9. "Plain Jane" – 4:24
10. "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (Traditional; arranged by Sly Stone) – 4:18
11. "Get Away" – 3:46

Bonus mixes

1. "Dance to the Music" (Club Mix) – 4:12
2. "Family Affair" (Dubstep Mix) – 4:44
3. "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (Electro Club Mix) – 4:32

Personnel

• Sly Stone - vocals
• Ava Cherry, Eugene Henderson - backing vocals
• Jürgen Engler - additional instruments
• Chris Lietz - additional instruments

Critical reception

Although expressing disappointment that most of the tracks were remakes of previous hits, Rolling Stone praised the new elements of the album: "a brass-and-organ-driven take on the gospel standard "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" and two originals: the gutbucket funk of "Plain Jane" and "Get Away," a gorgeous soul vamp with a refrain – "Keep singin' that melody!" – that whets the appetite for a full-fledged Sly comeback."^[7]

AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine was less positive, noting of the new tracks that they were "saddled with the same awful production that hobbles the re-creations, the same sticky, tacky, desperate replication of the past that only underscores just how long ago Sly's golden years were."^[8]

The Washington Post's Allison Stewart was also unfavourable towards the release, stating that "Stone seems more like a visitor to these tracks, like somebody assembled them and he showed up sometimes. He sounds tired."^[6]

References

1. I'm Back! Family & Friends - Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart Review. Metacritic. Retrieved December 10, 2013.
2. AllMusic
3. Hyden, Steven (August 23, 2011). Sly Stone: I’m Back! Family And Friends. The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
4. Colter Walls, Seth (August 10, 2011). I'm Back! Family & Friends - Sly Stone review. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
5. Rolling Stone
6. Sly Stone CD ‘I’m Back! Family & Friends’ - The Washington Post
7. I'm Back Family Friends | Album Reviews | Rolling Stone
8. I'm Back! Family & Friends - Sly Stone, Sylvester "Sly Stone" Stewart : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic