Living briefly in Texas, Sly Stone (nee Sylvester Stewart) and his family moved to the Bay Area during the '50s. And while at the point in the countries evolution the Beats were waning, to say the least, and the seeds of hippiedom hadn't yet been sowed, the area seemed as good as any other to raise a family in an atmosphere of diversity.

During high school, at the age of 16, Stone recorded and released a local hit called "Long Time Gone." Of course, this would only be an initial glimpse into what he would eventually achieve. But it probably served as some sort of early incentive to continue making music.

Finishing high school, Sly Stone enrolled in community college in a North Bay city. And while attending school, he played in a variety of groups and worked at a local radio station, which obviously provided an opportunity to take in as many new discs as possible. The groups, though, that he would participate in would, in some cases, provide him with individuals that would make up the initial grouping of the Family Stone.

Cynthia Robinson was one of these folks. And alongside Fred Stewart (guitar), Larry Graham (bass), Greg Errico (drums), Jerry Martini (saxophone), and Rosie Stone (piano) they made up the Family Stone. What was at first remarkable about this particular group - beyond the fact that they were able to rave up a huge funk groove - was that it included a great many racial backgrounds. Additionally, the fact that two woman were also members of this ensemble was more than noteworthy in 1966 and '67.

Of course, more than the members that made up the group, the music that they created was instrumental in changing the tone and direction funk and soul music. Prior to '66 there was a pretty subtle take on civil rights and justice - Nina Simone is an obvious exception. But the straight speak from the band and its albums served to politicize a significant portion of its audience. Not every listener burnt a draft card a few years on, but the lyrical tone of Sly's albums was different from early soul singers. Sam Cooke, for instance, touched on race, but didn't negotiate any sort of action.

Between the Family Stone, the Meters a few years later and Mr. James Brown, one could figure that funk as we know it today was really formed during the transition from the mid to latter '60s. It makes sense amidst the political turmoil and the like. And to get a decent look at how the Family Stone arrived at its sound, the compilation Slyest, Freshest, Funkiest, Rarest Cuts sets it out rather plainly.

The disc is only made up of four completed tracks - including the band's first successful single "I Ain't Got Nobody." But the twenty outtakes tacked on to fill out the disc are almost as rewarding to listen to as those first few. Even if the majority of those outtakes are brief sketches of what was to come in the following eight years or so, they're worth more than most other material cut out by artists from roughly the same time period.