Third Man Records, in conjunction with Sony Music, has announced Sly and the Family Stone’s Turn Me Loose: Live at the Fillmore East 1968 as the 69th entry in Third Man Records’ long-running archival audio series, The Vault. Recorded in October 1968 over two nights at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East in New York City, Turn Me Loose: Live at the Fillmore East 1968 compiles all four of the band’s performances onto a single LP. Of the four LPs, each is pressed on 180-gram colored vinyl “evocative of the mood of the evening” and was pressed at Third Man Record Pressing in Detroit, MI.
In addition to four LPs and a gatefold showcasing the historic performance shot by Amalie Rothschild, Vault package #69 comes complete with a slip mat featuring artwork from the Joshua Light Show projected at the Fillmore East in 1968, the “liquid light look that became the backdrop of an era.” Also, two 6” x 6”, luster-finish photo prints are included, made from unarchived studio portraits shot by Bob Cato, printed by Third Man Photo Studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
Subscriptions to order Vault #69: Sly and the Family Stone – Turn Me Loose: Live at the Fillmore East 1968 are available now through July 31 at midnight (CT), exclusively at thirdmanrecords.com/vault.
In October of 1968, shortly after the release of their classic third studio album, Life, Sly and the Family Stone took the stage at NYC’s Fillmore East for what proved to be four landmark concert performances over two nights. The shows, each one slightly different from the next with jams, vamps, and assorted musical explorations, were recorded for posterity by the band’s label, Epic Records, but remained unreleased for decades. Their eventual unveiling in 2015 was met with excitement and astonishment from fans and critics.
Turn Me Loose: Live at the Fillmore East 1968 offers evidence of just what a force of nature Sly and the Family Stone were at this stage of their career, not yet the dominant Soul-Pop juggernaut, but a still-ascending ensemble whose onstage energy could not be contained.
With deep cuts like “Chicken” and “St. James Infirmary” as well as classics like “Dance To The Music” and “Color Me True,” the overall perspective puts you in the room with Sly and the Family Stone.
VAULT #69: SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE
TURN ME LOOSE: LIVE AT THE FILLMORE EAST 1968
TRACKLIST:
SHOW ONE (OCTOBER 4, 1968 – EARLY SHOW)
Side A:
Are You Ready
Won’t Be Long
We Love All (Freedom)
Side B:
Medley: Turn Me Loose / I Can’t Turn You Loose
Chicken
Love City
SHOW TWO (OCTOBER 4, 1968 – LATE SHOW)
Side C:
M’Lady
Don’t Burn Baby
Color Me True
St. James Infirmary
Side D:
Medley: Turn Me Loose / I Can’t Turn You Loose
Dance To The Music
Medley: Life / Music Lover
SHOW THREE (OCTOBER 5, 1968 – EARLY SHOW)
Side E:
Life
Color Me True
Won’t Be Long
Are You Ready
Side F:
Dance To The Music
Music Lover
M’Lady
SHOW FOUR (OCTOBER 5, 1968 – LATE SHOW)
Side G:
M’Lady
Life
Won’t Be Long
Side H:
Dance To The Music
Love City
Medley: Turn Me Loose / I Can’t Turn You Loose
Riffs
