Customer Reviews

There's a Riot Goin' On

5 star:		(48)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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!

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.

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."

Yes, it is an extraordinary album -- percolating with lo-fi, hard funk rhythms, bitter, anguished vocals, and a seething undercurrent of alienation and hostility that burns holes in my speakers with every spin. Unfortunately, EPIC hasn't seen fit to grant this masterwork any dignity in its reissue. This edition has NO NOTES WHATSOEVER, no credits, no lyrics, and not even the original cover (it uses the cover of a cheesy LP reissue instead). This record deserves appreciation and context, and this reissue gives it neither. Look for the LP instead -- at least until EPIC outgrows their fear and elevates this record to the status that it deserves.

When I first played this album I just sat there in a daze. I had never heard anything so brilliant in my life. During this time Sly was riding off the success of his previous albums and was living the high life in Bel Air. He was of course, being influenced by some of the negative things in life which provided the emotional impact of this album. Of all the things he was going through, only a genius could make an album this great. The highest point of the album is Family Affair where Rose is singing the chorus. You can't really appreciate the full genius of this album unless you get the original vinyl from 1971. The title track is left off the CD because its just silence which is an artistic statement. I am still REALLY REALLY REALLY disappointed that after all these years the original album cover is not on the American CD's. Since Sly put black in the field of stars people thought this was some kind of Black power statement but it was a statement of unity. Of course, the overseas version has the original art because they are not as uptight about race and country like America is.

This is simply one of the best albums of all time. It can be said without an atom of hype that it's one of the 5 or 10 most significant and influential albums ever released in the U.S., since most of subsequent funk music in particular and black music in general stood on the musical shoulders of these songs. Hell, it STILL sounds contemporary----so why, may I ask, did the geniuses at Columbia decide to put out the CD version with a DIFFERENT front cover? The front cover of the original vinyl album showed a close-up of a waiving American flag with sunbursts instead of five-pointed stars. The cover of the CD makes this most studio-bound of albums look like a concert recording. It would be just the same as if Capitol had released Rubber Soul on CD with a cover of the Beatles at Candlestick Park. It's absurd and maddening. It also causes one to wonder if and how they also meddled with the music contained within the cover. I'll just hang on to my vinyl copy, thank you.

I agree with the other reviewers who have said that the sound quality on this CD deserves to be greatly improved, and I'm especially perturbed that the original cover art is censored, but this album is so good and so essential that if this is the only version that you have access to, then it is still WELL worth buying. So, I'm simply going to review the priceless, timeless work on this CD. This is the quintessential Funk masterpiece. I have never heard an album as deeply and spiritually funky as this. This album is like an unfiltered glimpse into the soul of a man who is losing his mind. The fact that the artist was deep into some heavy drugs is more obvious on this album than on any other album that I have heard in my life (especially on the aptly titled 'Spaced Cowboy'). But ultimately, what this album truly is, is the brilliant chronicle of the breakdown of a disappointed idealist...a greatly disappointed idealist. This disappointment resulted in an inward retreat that is starkly pronounced in the first line of the album when he sings, "Feels so good, inside myself don't wanna move"! on 'Luv N' Haight'. The song itself is an extremely powerful and lively experience, but you can hear the bitter disappointment in Sly's voice, especially when he sings in his raw barely decipherable murmur. This contrast makes for an absolutely gripping and engulfing piece of work, and this contrast is pretty much prevalent throughout this entire album. 'Just Like A Baby' is a moving peek into the subconscious with a deep affecting base line, and Sly moaning and groaning throughout the song. The lyrics are a series of profound lyrical tidbits such as, "Just like a baby, when I'm down I cry, just like a baby, I can feel it when you lie to me", and "Just like a baby, everything is new, just like a baby, come to find out, I'm whole lot like yoooouuuu!", followed by moans that can only be described as the release of pent up pressure and frustration. The soulful funk ballad 'Time' is very similar with several indecipherable yet strikingly honest and clear moments scattered throughout. Other noteworthy moments include 'Poet' which is just absolutely brilliant. This could very well be the funkiest song ever made. When he sings, "My only weapon is my pen!, oh that's the frame of mind I'm in yea, I'm a songwriter!...a poet!", he speaks of being a poet and songwriter with a sense of purpose and meaning that makes the sense of importance that he says it with utterly convincing (not that I had any question of the serious importance of poets and songwriters, but Sly says it with such naked conviction that he makes you really, really believe it). On 'Runnin' Away', he sings, "Runnin' away, to get away, ha ha ha, you're wearing out your shoes,...look at you foolin' you!" almost as if he's his own reflection singing to himself. Sly was a brilliant lyricist and he proves it throughout this entire album. This entire album is a powerful ride; from the vibrant opening licks of 'Luv N' Haight' to the seriously subdued Funk of 'Thank you for talkin' to me Africa', the latter basically being a seriously slowed down and diminished version of 'Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)'. The stark contrast between these two takes on the same song is a powerful illustration of the dramatic change that had taken place in Sly's world during such a short amount of time. This album is an extremely powerful piece that is hard to stop listening to once you grasp it, and that is equally rewarding no matter how many times you play it, Sly's indecipherable gurgling and all :-). I encourage all true music lovers out there to add it to their collection.

"Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread..."

Oh, man.

This is one of the most black-hearted (not to mention Black-hearted) records ever made, and it's a work of undiluted genius: the sound of a man's heart breaking, possibly the sound of a man (or is it a nation?) losing his mind...

From what I understand, legend has it that Sly more or less lived in the studio for over a year while making this monstrous, blood-chilling masterpiece; if that's true, you can definitely hear the obsession. (I won't speak to the sound-quality issues that others have mentioned; buy the record in the best version you can find, but BUY the damn record!)

When you consider how upbeat and optimistic and all-embracing was so much earlier work by the Family Stone, the about-face of this record (a bit foreshadowed in "Stand!," but with nowhere near the power or totality of this one's bleakness) is all the more surprising.

In Sly's hands, warm funk rhythms become a vehicle for the frozen outer limits of sorrow and regret, teetering over the cliff towards an existential despair. There's the same kind of searing edge that you find in the greatest, bleakest works of Robert Johnson and Son House.

What Sly Stone is doing here is great Art. With a capital A, and so on. This, my friends, is the record that Samuel Beckett would have made, if he could play the bass and find the groove. You may never get over it.

Sly & The Family Stone were known for their bright and happy songs of unity like "Everyday People" and "Dance To The Music". They started to get a darker edge with their funk laced hit "Thank You (Fallettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin)" in 1970. For their 1971 album, There's A Riot Goin' On, the band turned even darker as the album is brooding mix of funk and soul that has a purposely muddy production. "Family Affair" is a hypnotic, loping song with a fuzzy bass line that became an unlikely number one hit. Mr. Stone was heavily abusing drugs at the time and there is a drug undercurrent running throughout the album in songs like "Spaced Cowboy", "Runnin' Away", "Smilin' (You caught Me" and "Time". The band also looks at the race relations in the country in songs like the aforementioned "Family Affair", "Luv 'N' Haight" and the slowed down reworking of "Thank You", "Thank You For Talkin' To Me Africa". On the original album, the title track is listed with a time of 0:00 which is telling. The band saw that there was a riot goin' on in the country, but no one seemed to have any time for it. The album became the band's only one to hit number one and was the last real commercial success they had.

One of the truly great albums. Everyone else seems to be more eloquent than myself but it is incredible and sad how thin and useless anything done in the last twenty years (since "The Clash" by The Clash) sounds compared to this. A less homogenized time. Not necessarily a happier or a better time. Heavy.