Soul Sides / Sliced: Breaking Beats Down

Breaking Down: Sly and the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song" (1968)

Joseph Schloss, music scholar and author of two essential books - Making Beats and Foundation - joins the Soul Sides Sliced team by breaking down one of the all-time funk classics, Sly Stone's "Sing a Simple Song" from 1968. He writes:
Sly Stone had been a producer for other musicians before starting his own recording career, so it was natural for him to express himself not only through his voice or instruments, but also through the studio itself. The rise of stereo multi-track recording in the late sixties allowed producers to experiment with new effects like “panning,” the ability to place sounds at different locations in the stereo field.
At this point, begin playing the sound file on the right. It will sound best using headphones to appreciate the panning effects that Joe talks about (but decent stereo speakers will be ok too).