Sly and the Family Stone – We Love All (Freedom) (live at the Fillmore East on October 4, 1968)
This powerful message song was recorded live fifty-five years ago tonight during the first set of a two-night stand in NYC, but remained unreleased until 2015.
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From October 4-5, 1968, Sly and the Family Stone played a two-night stretch in New York City. Their sets were recorded for what was intended to be a live LP, but the project was shelved until finally being released in 2015 as Live At The Fillmore East.
Each night they played an early and late show. One of the first night’s highlights was the powerful, epic message song “We Love All (Freedom),” which appeared a few songs into their early show. It was the only time they played this particular track over the two nights.
They had previously recorded it during the 1967 sessions for their second LP Dance To The Music, released in April, 1968, but it was left off the album and that version remained unreleased until 2007.
Featured in all four sets from both nights was the funky jam “Color Me True,” with lyrics that reminded us to always remain true to ourselves.
The Family Stone closed their early set on the night of October 4 with the extended funk workout “Love City,” which they played once more during their late set the next night on October 5, the second time laying down a shorter but more urgent, funkier jam. Sly called it a “community song” as he asked the audience to sing along with them.
Two-thirds of the way through, the music paused, and Sly made an impromptu announcement:
“This is our second night here, we played last night, and this is our last set for the night. And it's our second night. And we through, and we dug you, and we looking forward to seeing you again. We're Sly and the Family Stone from San Francisco. Love and peace on everybody!”
It was a moment in time that testified to the enthusiasm Sly initially had for performing live, before he and the Family Stone became superstars and his legendary overindulgent drug use resulted in years of late and missed gigs and eventually destroyed the group.
#soul #funk #SlyAndTheFamilyStone