Sly(Stone) & The Viscaynes - Yellow Moon The Complete Recordings 1961-1962(2021)Ace-Doo Wop/R&B

THEIR ENTIRE OUTPUT IN UPGRADED SOUND FROM THE CORRECT MASTER SOURCES,INCLUDING
RECENTLY DISCOVERED TAPES AND UNISSUED DEMOS.
60 YEARS AGO,IN THE SPRING OF 1961,A VOCAL SEXTET FROM VALLEJO HIGH SCHOOL ENTERED
A REGIONAL TALENT CONTEST IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA,AND QUICKLY ROSE THROUGH
THE HEATS TO SNAG FIRST PRIZE,A RECORD CONTRACT AND A TRIP TO HOLLYWOOD.THE TEENAGERS
MADE A HANDFUL OF SINGLES AND ENJOYED SOME LOCAL AIRPLAY,BUT WERE TO BECOME SWIFTLY
DISILLUSIONED BY THEIR BRIEF EXPERIENCE OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS,AND WENT THEIR SEPARATE WAYS.
YES,ANOTHER ALL-TOO-FAMILIAR ACCOUNT OF INNOCENCE AND EXPERIENCE IN MID-CENTURY
AMERICA,SMALL TOWN DREAMS,BIG CITY TRUTHS,AND THE LESSONS INTRINSIC TO THE PATH OF
EVERY FRESH-FACED NEOPHYTE IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY.THE DIFFERENCE HERE IS THAT
ONE OF THOSE TEENAGERS WAS SYLVESTER STEWART,SOON TO TRANSFORM HIMSELF INTO THE HUGELY
SUCCESSFUL,WIDELY ADMIRED AND INCALCULABLY INFLUENTIAL SLY STONE.
IT’S TEMPTING TO VIEW THE VISCAYNES’ FRESH-FACED IRIDESCENCE AS A DRY RUN FOR THE
PARITY OF RACE AND GENDER SYNONYMOUS WITH SLY’S GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT,THE INCOMPARABLE
SLY & THE FAMILY STONE.YET,THE MAKE-UP OF THE YOUNG OUTFIT CELEBRATED IN “YELLOW
MOON:THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS 1961-1962” IS NOT ONLY EMBLEMATIC OF THE CONVIVIALITY
OF ITS MOST FAMOUS MEMBER,BUT ALSO AN INSPIRATIONAL AND HEARTWARMING TALE OF
YOUTHFUL FRIENDSHIP AND CAMARADERIE,MARKED ONLY WITH A BITTERSWEET CODA,GIVEN THAT
THE SOCIO-CULTURAL ISSUES THEY ENCOUNTERED IN VALLEJO,CALIFORNIA IN THE EARLY 1960S
NOT TO MENTION THE CONTINUED DECEITS OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS STILL EXIST TODAY.THE
GROUP ENDURED THEIR OWN PICARESQUE PARADE OF OPPORTUNISTS IN PETE MARINO,GEORGE
MOTOLA AND VIC LUCAS,BUT EMERGED RELATIVELY UNSCATHED,WITH ONLY GOOD MEMORIES TO SHARE.
INCREDIBLY,WHILE THE VISCAYNES WERE TOGETHER IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER FOR THE BEST
PART OF THREE YEARS,THE MUSIC ON THIS COLLECTION COVERS BARELY SIX MONTHS IN THE
MEMBERS’ LIVES.NO-ONE WOULD SUGGEST THEIR LEGACY IS AS GROUNDBREAKING AS SLY STONES
FUTURE WORK OR EVEN AN EARLY INDICATOR OF THE DIZZY HEIGHTS HE WAS ABOUT TO SCALE.
BUT VIEWED IN CONTEXT, THIS IS STATE-OF-THE-ART POP MUSIC FOR ITS TIME AND PLACE,
EXHIBITING VESTIGES OF THE WANING VOCAL GROUP AND TEEN IDOL ERAS, ALONG WITH THE
OCCASIONAL FLASH OF THAT MERCURIAL PERIOD WHEN R&B WAS SLOWLY MUTATING INTO SOUL.
THE VISCAYNES’ SURVIVING RECORDINGS HAVE REAL WARMTH, AND EXHIBIT OBVIOUS POTENTIAL
ON THE BEHALF OF ALL THE PARTICIPANTS.
FOR DECADES,SLY’S JUVENILIA HAS BEEN TREATED WITH CYNICAL DISDAIN BY A PARADE OF
DISINGENUOUS COLLECTIONS,MOST WITH LOW-FIDELITY SOUND,ARTIFICIALLY EXTENDED VERSIONS,
AND MATERIAL BY UNRELATED ARTISTS.EVEN RECENT RELEASES HAVE CONTINUED TO USE THE
WRONG VERSIONS OF TRACKS FIRST HEARD ON THESE EXPLOITATIVE RELEASES.THIS COMPILATION
RECTIFIES THAT INJUSTICE BY OFFERING UP THEIR ENTIRE OUTPUT FROM THE CORRECT
MASTER SOURCES.THE EARLIEST CUTS ARE DRAWN FROM RECENTLY DISCOVERED TAPES AND
INCLUDE THE EXTREMELY RARE B-SIDE ‘REAL, TRUE LOVE’,THE VERY FIRST DISC ON WHICH
SLY SANG LEAD.THERE ARE ALSO SEVERAL UNISSUED DEMO TRACKS PRODUCED BY TEEN IDOL
GARY STITES,AS WELL AS THE SOUGHT-AFTER JASPER WOODS 45,FEATURING AN INCOGNITO RICH
ARD BERRY WITH THE VISCAYNES ON VOCAL SUPPORT.AND FINALLY A CLUTCH OF CUTS THAT
CONSTITUTE SLY’S FIRST OFFICIAL SOLO RELEASES,UNDER THE NAMES DANNY (SLY) STEWART
AND SYLVESTER STEWART,THE LATTER THE ONLY TIME HIS REAL NAME WOULD EVER GRACE A
RECORD LABEL.

ALLMUSICMAN 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                        A TASTER BELOW!

                                                    ARTISTS AND TRACKS ON BACK COVER BELOW

                                                              A VERY YOUNG SLY STEWART STONE