Before the fame, the fireworks, and the revolutionary funk-rock anthems, Sly & The Family Stone were already a powder keg of innovation. The First Family: Live At Winchester Cathedral 1967 captures that lightning in a bottle, playing with jaw-dropping precision, fueled by the fire of soul a full year before their breakthrough with “Dance To The Music.”

Cut live in the early hours of March 26, 1967, inside Redwood City’s Winchester Cathedral, where the band served as house act, the 50-minute set is electrifying from start to finish. Sourced from analog tapes that sat forgotten for over three decades, the recording feels like a message from the funk gods. It’s a time capsule from a moment when Sly Stone was still assembling his army for the revolution but already sounding like a man with a plan.

You can hear it in the band’s tight-but-loose attack — the irresistible grooves, the fearless arrangements, the blend of covers and early originals that throb with the essence of what would soon shake the world. "The Winchester Cathedral recordings showcase a one-of-a-kind outfit that was already at the peak of its powers," writes Grammy-nominated producer Alec Palao in the liner notes. “Sly is fully in command.” And he’s not exaggerating.

The deluxe package — complete with rare photos, memorabilia, and interviews with every original member — goes deep into the band’s origins. Originally a limited Record Store Day LP, this expanded release is the perfect parallel to Questlove’s documentary Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius), which also highlights this very recording.

For a band that broke every mold; black and white, male and female, rock and soul, this archival release is an exciting glimpse of the ground floor before the band shot to the stars. The First Family were already family. The funk was already on fire and the revolution already in motion. If you want to hear where it truly began - before Woodstock, before “Everyday People,” before the seismic shift - The First Family: Live At Winchester Cathedral 1967 is the sound of music history in real time.