Album · Sly and the Family Stone
Fresh by Sly and the Family Stone
Fresh is an album by Sly and the Family Stone, released in 1973. 1 song from it has charted on rock radio countdowns, with 3 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “If You Want Me To Stay”, on 3 lists with a best position of #820.
Fresh, Sly and the Family Stone's sixth album, rolled out on Epic in June 1973, and after the murky, drum-machine haze of There's a Riot Goin' On it's like somebody finally cracked open a window. Sly Stone wrote and produced it over two years, and while the funk is still sly and slippery, it's lighter on its feet and a whole lot easier to get close to.
The band had shuffled by now, with Rusty Allen on bass and Andy Newmark on drums alongside Freddie Stone's guitar, Rose Stone's piano, Cynthia Robinson's trumpet and the horns of Jerry Martini and Pat Rizzo. The grooves are lean and sinewy, every instrument poking holes in the rhythm, and "If You Want Me to Stay" is the slinky, sly centerpiece. It became the band's last Top 10 album and the last of three straight number-ones on the R&B chart, and Rolling Stone later ranked it 186th among the 500 greatest albums.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Fresh on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | If You Want Me To Stay | 3 | #820 | – | 2001–2022 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.