Sly & The Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On (1971)

"Feels so good inside myself, don't 'wanna move..." Sly Stone: "Luv n' Haight," 1971

This, the first line of There's A Riot Goin' On, in many ways sums up the battle raging inside the head of Sly Stone in 1971. By this time, his steady retreat inward was becoming increasingly apparent to those around him, as his dealings with the outside world became marked by disinterested cynicism. The same man who had given inspiration to so many with the positive message of his hit singles ("Stand," "Everyday People," "I Want To Take You Higher") seemed to be methodically destroying the reputation he had worked so hard to build. The concerts that were once like a funkified electric church would start hours late, if at all, inspiring vilification and even violence in his steadily shrinking audience. After two long years between albums, Sly was back--but with a whole new kind of soul.

Riot still sounds remarkably different from all other music even 27 years later (ironically in spite of the fact that the record has had such broad influence), so it should be easy to imagine the confusion it inspired upon its release. The charted singles, "Family Affair" and "Runnin' Away," were only moderately representative of the intense density and stark darkness that lurked in the record's grooves. Certainly indicative of the dark struggle inside Sly, the album also hinted at the dissolution of the band that had spent the five previous years drawing up the blueprint for modern funk and soul music.

Although it certainly was not a necessity, the breakup of the original Family Stone was mother to much of Riot's invention. Sly was not the only one who had become drug addled and disillusioned--band members were frequently absent from recording sessions, leaving Sly alone with virtually unlimited studio time on his hands. The band's drummer, Greg Errico, was steadily phasing himself out of the band (he would be effectively gone by the time the album was released), and in his stead Sly employed the unconventional (and possibly enirely original) technique of mixing live drums with what was at the time a primitive drum machine. Errico himself plays on only a few cuts, the remaining live parts were played by Sly himself. Reputedly, much of the album's musical content was provided by the multi-intstrumentalist band leader.

The muddy, lurching recording style heard on Riot was the result of incessant overdubs, some of which were the result of Sly's search for a new form of expression, orthers are the work of random and uncredited visitors to the studio who were "auditioned" on the master tape. Despite, or perhaps because of, all of these seemingly disastrous elements, Riot is a masterpiece. It had long been Sly's gift to bring disparate factions together into a cohesive and funky whole--on Riot the elements were just a bit darker in nature.

The introspective, yet political lyrics, the hard and dirty funk grooves, the inspirational, yet depressing songs--all of these elements would come to influence not only peers like Marvin Gaye and James Brown, but two generations of rappers and funkateers who paid homage to Sly's vision by making his samples and beats an essential backbone of their own innovations. Sly's riot is still goin' on.

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
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