186) Fresh

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As the Seventies unfurled, Sly Stone became progressively flakier, frequently disappointing fans at his concerts by keeping them waiting . . . all night. "Sometimes you don't feel your soul at 7:30," he explained. Happily, the increasingly dissolute soul pioneer had one more ace up his sleeve: the intoxicating "If You Want Me to Stay," in which he holed up in the basement of his vocal range while a fidgety bass line kept running up and down the stairs. This burst of residual genius was surrounded by various idiosyncratic gestures, the oddest of which was Stone's ragged take on Doris Day's 1956 hit "Que Sera, Sera." Fresh would be his last Top Ten album.

Total album sales: 500,000

Peak chart position: 7

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