There's a Riot Goin' On

Sly & The Family Stone | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000024XW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (61 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,581 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Luv N' Haight

2. Just Like a Baby

3. Poet

4. Family Affair

5. Africa Talks to You "The Asphalt Jungle"

6. Brave and Strong

7. (You Caught Me) Smilin'

8. Time

9. Spaced Cowboy

10. Runnin' Away

11. Thank You for Talkin' to Me Africa

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Certain albums both define a specific point in time and yet manage to be timeless. Such an album is There's A Riot Going On. After a few records of sexy, sunny, but never cavalier funk/pop, the twisted genius of Sly Stone turned dark, moody, reflective, angry, but no less funky for the contemplation. Stone created an album that spoke not only to the turmoil gripping America in 1971, but also to the chaos whirling around his increasingly druggy personal life. This is an album of dangerous beauty, where even the hit ("Family Affair") is guarded and haunting. --Amy Linden

Product Description

Reissue of their smash #1 gold album in a digipak, 1971's'There's A Riot Goin' On'. Topping the charts for two weeksin a row at the time, it contains the #1 smash 'FamilyAffair' & the top 30 hit 'Runnin' Away'. 11 tracks total.Also features new sleeve not --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Don't Dance To The Music!", May 24, 2000

By 

WILLIE A YOUNG II "willow" (Houston, TX.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: There's a Riot Goin' On (Audio CD)

Quite frankly, I was terrified of this album. And with good reason, never before or since has such a brutal, bleak, uncomprimising, and at times downright depressing (not to mention mercilessly funky) statement been issued by a genius of pop music. This is Sylvester Stewart's harrowing chronicle of his life, and black life in general, circa 1970-71. Let me first point out the sound of the music presented here, from the opening track "Luv 'N' Haight" with it's gospel tinged backing vocals, wah wah guitars flying back and forth, Larry Graham's low, mournful bass, and the drunk, off-center meter of Greg Errico's drumming, the listener is immediately put on notice that Sly and the rest of the band are not out to make this an easy listening experience. From his first words, almost drunkenly muttered instead of sang, Sly sets the tone for an initially difficult, but ultimately rewarding and unforgettable experience. This song climaxes with an electrifying call and response(feel so good, feel so good, wanna move, wanna move) that almost makes you think this is going to be another good time dance record, when along comes "Just Like A Baby" to drag you right down into the abyss. Utter depression has never hurt this good. This lovely, moaning bummer of a song is highlighted by Larry's lead bottomed, monotonous bass line that burrows it's way into your brain and doesn't let go. "Poet" is almost an instumental that creeps along at a snails pace but Sly does appear briefly to pat himself on the back, justifiably calling himself a poet. The sole hit song here, "Family Affair" actually makes more sense in this setting and is reason alone to own this collection. The remainder of "Riot" follows a similar path, but somehow never repeats itself. My personal favorites are the paranoid "Brave and Strong" (great lyrics; "out and down, ain't got a friend, you don't know who turned you in",)"You Caught Me Smilin' Again" (Cynthia Robinson's trumpet doesn't blare, she lets it fall brilliantly flat, and Sly almost lets loose with some serious soul shouting), "Runnin'Away",(the best song ever written about facing yourself and responsibility ("look at you foolin' you"), and it has a flawless, jazzy little coda with great interplay between Cynthia's trumpet, Larry's bass and Greg's drums. And the album's closer, a slow, molasses paced remake of "Thank You Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin", "Thank You For Talkin' To Me Africa" featuring the funkiest bass playing ever committed to tape, trust me, it'll stink up your whole house, it's that good. All in all this is a very daring move on this gifted group's behalf, Sly & Co. sound like a completely different band than on previous releases and this LP will probably dissapoint fans looking for "Stand!" part II. But don't miss it, music this ingenious doesn't come along every day, and with the current state of affairs in modern black music, this is still an innovative song cycle that demands to be heard. Find this album. Kill if you must!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get this (or another) IMPORT version!, September 12, 2002

By 

M.R. (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: There's A Riot Going On (Audio CD)

Anyone will tell you that the U.S. version ... . Not sure if this import will be in stock at Amazon.com for long, so you should order it from amazon.co.uk instead, where there is a non-digipack version in print at all times. The original "flag" cover is used and the booklet is loaded with the original color photos and text. Best of all, the sound quality is FAR better than that of the awful CD we Americans have to suffer. Amazon.co.uk will only charge you about $$$ for the CD and less than $$$ for shipping. It's well worth it if you want to get the best possible version of this classic soul/funk album.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scary, disturbing, brilliant, September 22, 2001

By 

Michael Topper (Pacific Palisades, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: There's a Riot Goin' On (Audio CD)

This is not a review so much of the CD release (which, as
noted, is unremastered and completely devoid of liner notes),
but of the album itself, which even in the poor CD issue comes
off utterly brilliant. "There's A Riot Goin' On" sounds like
a junkie's suicide note--a fractured, slurred, jittery funk
stew that comes across as one big blur of depression. Sly's
vocals on this album are absolutely harrowing; he sounds beyond
the end of his rope and attempting to find catharsis in a state
of utter dejection. This overall feel makes the album a sometimes frightening listening experience, especially on the
slow, meandering tracks "Just Like A Baby" and "Spaced Cowboy",
whose sluggish melodies and rhythms are almost too painful to
bear. However, Sly never abandons the funk at the heart of
his music, which keeps the album musically interesting--the
bass lines are some of the best-ever in rock. The hit
singles "Family Affair" and "Runnin' Away" pack a serious
punch, coloring their ominous lyrical portraits with a tight
pop savvy. Elsewhere, the off-kilter groove fest "Luv and Haight" (featuring the immortal line "feel so good feel so good don't want to move") sounds filtered through about fifty different chemical substances, and the closing remake of the earlier hit "Thank You" slows the funk down to a devilish heat.
Coming at a time when Marvin Gaye was painting his social prayer
"What's Going On" in sublime symphonic gospel tones and Stevie Wonder was about to break through with his unique keyboard-oriented vision on "Music Of My Mind", "There's A Riot Goin' On"
offered the bleakest angle on black America's state of mind
at the close of the countercultural era. It remains an R&B/funk
masterpiece and presaged The Rolling Stones' similar statement
from the UK side of the fence on "Exile On Main St."