Album: Stand!
Year: 1969
. . .
And so the two singles that preceded Stand! had the same format: message song on the A-side; party banger on the b-side. Of course, the outcomes were totally different: the message song “Everyday People” became a standard while topping the charts, clearly overshadowing its party banger b-side, “Sing A Simple Song,” whereas the message song “Stand!” got its ass whomped by the party banger “I Want To Take You Higher.”
Which is hardly fair to “Stand!” of course, but even in its truncated 2:56 single version, “I Wanna Take You Higher” is irresistible. And that version is an absolute patch on the fully-crazed version that not only sits on Stand! but also leads off 1970’s fabulous Greatest Hits album.
[Read more…] about Certain Songs #2257: Sly & The Family Stone – “I Want To Take You Higher”