High Moon Records is proud to share the second track from Sly & The Family Stone's The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967, available Friday, July 18, 2025 on CD, LP, and digital download. "I Can't Turn You Loose" Is streaming now at all digital services.
From the album's liner notes: "For such a straightforward dance number, 'I Can't Turn You Loose' held a remarkably long-lived position in the band's early repertoire. A holdover from Freddie's first group, The Stone Souls, it was recorded at the first demo session, an unissued version was subsequently cut for Epic, and the song was still in the set as late as the end of 1968. It was, of course, also turned sideways to become 'Turn Me Loose' on A Whole New Thing. With a pulsing pocket that outstrips the gotta-gotta gait of the Stax original, most every rendition of 'I Can't Turn You Loose' was invariably as frenzied and breathless as it is here, but always on point."
"I think it was one of the early ones in development, and you're trying different things out," said drummer Greg Errico. "That song just happened to be there at that time."
The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967 is the earliest live recording of the pioneering band and is accompanied by a deluxe booklet with liner notes from the set’s GRAMMY®-nominated producer Alec Palao, featuring exclusive interviews with Sly Stone and all of the original band members, never-before-seen photos, rare memorabilia, and more. The CD edition includes a bonus performance of Otis Redding’s classic “Try A Little Tenderness.”
"The Winchester Cathedral recordings showcase a one-of-a-kind outfit that was already at the peak of its powers, long before it became internationally famous. Sly is fully in command, while the unique arrangements and tighter-than-tight ensemble playing point clearly to the road ahead, and the enduring influence of Sly & The Family Stone's music.” —Alec Palao
Sly & The Family Stone were true pioneers on so many levels: black/white, male/female, rock/soul, the act shattered all preconceptions of what popular music could be and would go on to become one of the most innovative and influential groups the world has ever witnessed. Originally released as a sold-out, limited edition LP, earlier this year for Record Store Day, The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967 is an electrifying live performance by the original Family Stone line-up, a full year before their chart breakthrough with “Dance To The Music.”
This fascinating recording was featured in Questlove’s critically acclaimed 2025 documentary, Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) and spotlights Sly Stone’s singular brilliance on a tremendously exciting and atmospheric set of vintage soul covers and original compositions, peppered with the arrangements, motifs, and intoxicating energy that would soon become familiar during the group’s ascent.
The album was heralded last month with the release of the electrifying "I Gotta Go Now (Up on the Floor)/Funky Broadway."
Sly & The Family Stone served as the house band at Redwood City, CA’s Winchester Cathedral from December 16, 1966, to April 28, 1967, lighting up the club with their dynamic, crowd-pleasing performances. The First Family: Live at Winchester Cathedral 1967 was recorded in the early hours of March 26, 1967, by Sly & The Family Stone’s first manager, Rich Romanello. Upon the group’s signing to Epic Records later that year, Romanello put the 7-inch analog tapes into storage where they sat for thirty-five years. The reels were rediscovered in 2002 by Dutch twins Edwin and Arno Konings, renowned Sly & The Family Stone archivists, and carefully restored by their co-producer, Palao, for this set.
With mastering by Dan Hersch and a lacquer cut by Kevin Gray, the result is an electrifying 50 minutes that proves that the genius and skill of Sly & The Family Stone came fully formed. Indeed, this is where it all began.
Tracklist:
I Ain’t Got Nobody
Skate Now
Show Me
What Is Soul?
I Can’t Turn You Loose
Try A Little Tenderness *
Baby I Need Your Loving
Pucker Up Buttercup
Saint James Infirmary
I Gotta Go Now (Up On The Floor) / Funky Broadway
*CD Only Bonus Track
