Higher!, a new, fancy box set from Sly And The Family Stone comes out Aug. 27, and in anticipation, The A.V. Club has the premiere of a previously unissued track from the 4-CD set. “Undercat” is an instrumental recorded during the A Whole New Thing period in August 1967 and was produced by Sly Stone for Stone Flower Productions. According to Family Stone drummer Greg Errico, “this track was recorded during the same time period as ‘Underdog,’ as it has many of the same attributes (similar horn lines, highly syncopated rhythms, etc.). It ended up becoming the song ‘Plastic Jim’… You’ll hear the similarities. With most of our songs, they would develop or morph through experimentation…”
A full tracklist for the box set is below, and Higher is available for pre-order now.
Higher! Tracklist:
Disc One (1964-1967)
01. I Just Learned How To Swim by Sly Stewart (Autumn Records single, 1964)
02. Scat Swim by Sly Stewart (Autumn single, 1964)
03. Buttermilk (Part 1) by Sly (Autumn single, 1965)
04. Dance All Night by Sly and Freddie (1965, originally unissued)
05. Temptation Walk by Sly (Autumn single, 1965)
06. I Ain’t Got Nobody (For Real) (Loadstone single, 1967)
07. I Can’t Turn You Loose (Loadstone single, 1967)
08. Higher (mono Epic single master, promo only, 1967)
09. Underdog (mono Epic single master, 1967)
10. Bad Risk (mono Epic single master, 1967)
11. Let Me Hear It From You (mono Epic single master, 1967)
12. Advice
13. If This Room Could Talk
14. I Cannot Make It
15. Trip To Your Heart
16. I Hate To Love Her
17. Silent Communications (1967, previously unissued)
18. I Get High On You (version one, 1967, previously unissued)
19. I Remember (1967, previously unissued)
20. My Woman’s Head (instrumental demo, 1967, previously unissued)
Disc Two (1967-1968)
01. What’s That Got To Do With Me (1967, previously unissued)
02. Fortune And Fame (1967, previously unissued)
03. What Would I Do (1967, originally unissued)
04. Only One Way Out Of This Mess (1967, originally unissued)
05. I Know What You Came To Say (1967, previously unissued)
06. Dance To The Music (mono Epic single master, 1967)
07. Ride The Rhythm
08. Color Me True
09. Are You Ready
10. Don’t Burn Baby
11. We Love All
12. Danse A La Musique by The French Fries (mono Epic single, 1968)
13. Small Fries by The French Fries (mono Epic single, 1968)
14. Chicken (mono Epic single master, 1968)
15. Into My Own Thing
16. Life (mono Epic single master, 1968)
17. Love City (1968, previously unissued mono mix)
18. M’Lady (mono Epic single master, 1968)
19. Dynamite! featuring Johnny Robinson on vocals (1968, previously unissued)
20. Undercat (instrumental, 1967, previously unissued)
Disc Three (1968-1970)
01. Everyday People (mono Epic single master, 1968)
02. Sing A Simple Song (mono Epic single master, 1968)
03. I Get High On You (version two, 1968, previously unissued)
04. Wonderful World Of Color (instrumental, 1968, previously unissued)
05. Pressure (originally unissued)
06. I Want To Take You Higher (mono Epic single master, 1969)
07. Seven More Days (originally unissued)
08. Feathers (instrumental, 1968, previously unissued)
09. Somebody’s Watching You
10. Sex Machine
11. Hot Fun In The Summertime (mono Epic single master, 1969)
12. Everybody Is A Star (mono Epic single master, 1969)
13. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) (mono Epic single master, 1969)
14. Stand! (LIVE at the Isle of Wight Festival, August 30, 1970)
15. You Can Make It If You Try (LIVE, same as track 14)
16. Dance To The Music (LIVE, same as track 14, previously unissued)
17. Music Lover / I Want To Take You Higher / Music Lover (LIVE, same as track 14, previously unissued)
Disc Four (1971-1977)
01. Luv N’ Haight (Epic single master, 1971)
02. Family Affair
03. Brave & Strong (Epic single master, 1971)
04. Runnin’ Away (Epic single master, 1971)
05. (You Caught Me) Smilin’ (Epic single master, 1971)
06. Spaced Cowboy
07. You’re The One featuring Little Sister (LIVE on Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert, September 1973, previously unissued)
08. In Time
09. If You Want Me To Stay (Epic single master, 1973)
10. Frisky (Epic single master, 1973)
11. Skin I’m In
12. If It Were Left Up To Me (Epic single master, 1973)
13. Time For Livin’ (Epic single master, 1974)
14. Can’t Strain My Brain (Epic single master, 1974)
15. Loose Booty
16. Le Lo Li (Epic single master, 1975)
17. Crossword Puzzle (Epic single master, 1975)
18. Family Again (Epic single, 1976)
19. Hoboken by Sly Stone (originally unissued, 1975-1977)
20. High by Sly Stone (1975, previously unissued)