Blerd Briefs: Sly’s Back (?), Common Switches Labels & Doughty Goes On Tour!

In “News You Never Expected to Receive”, how about this one? Sly & the Family Stone are releasing a new album! Well…sort of. I’m Back! Family and Friends is the title of the Sly & the Family Stone album being released on August 16th. It’s the first album released by Sly in nearly thirty years. The album consists of re-workings of Sly classics like “Everyday People” and “Stand!”, as well as three new songs. If you can only come up with three new songs in three decades, I don’t know that I’m gonna come along for the ride. Of course, we know that in those three decades, Sly has become a virtual recluse, only re-appearing to either get arrested or appear on award show tributes in a stupor. Not sure whether this album will restore him to prominence or just become a footnote in an increasingly sad legacy. Guests on the album include Doors keyboardist Ray Manzarek and Heart’s Ann Wilson. We can at least give Sly credit for not having the obligatory Snoop Dogg feature, right?

After over a decade on MCA Records (and it’s various subsidiaries), Common is headed to a new label for the third time in his career. He’s linked up with former Def Jam honcho Lyor Cohen and signed with Warner Brothers Records. His first album for the label, The Dreamer, The Believer, is due out in November. People are wondering if this represents a split from Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint. Kanye was at the controls for Common’s two most commercially successful albums: Be (also Common’s best album period) and Finding Forever. However, Com’s last album, Universal Mind Control (largely helmed by The Neptunes), was a commercial and critical disaster. Will a new label help Common regain his magic? A track called “Ghetto Dreams” (featuring Nas) has already leaked, and if that’s any indication of how Common’s next album will sound, the man just might redeem himself.

http://youtu.be/eajxVPJaq7g

Mike Doughty’s new solo album, Yes and Also Yes, hits stores at the end of August, and to commemorate, Mike is going on tour. That’s news by itself, but also consider this: his upcoming tour will be his first dates with a full band in…well, let’s just say it’s been a while. In typical Doughty fashion, the opening act will be a band called Moon Hooch (I like the name…), a group of musicians that Mike found on a subway platform. Keep your eyes glued to these pages for more Mike news in the next few weeks, and feast your eyes on these dates for the time being. I wonder if Mike can still do the Question Jar with a full band setup…

2 comments

Robert Cass says:

Jul 4, 2011

I thought Snoop made an appearance on “George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love” in 2008 along with Sly, but I was wrong.

I’ll be curious to hear these three new songs. I hope they’re not too watered down.

blerd says:

Jul 5, 2011

There’s a part of me that feels as though those new songs are gonna be a trainwreck from hell.

What do you think?


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