Not only did 1971’s There’s a Riot Going On create a blueprint for the soul, funk and boundary busting records that followed, it’s jumped again to the front of the pack in sounding as current, vital and sweet to the ear now as it did more than 50 years ago.
Is there a riot going on here? Not if you listen to the title track that closes Side 1 with 0:00 seconds of silence. It could be a statement or not — Sly is sly that way. Yet his discontent with the turbulent times and the effect on relationships and people’s states of mind — a riot on the inside — sustains the album’s mood.
Recorded largely by Sly in a home studio and employing drum machines and overdubs, the album has a lo-fi feel with guitar, bass, harpsichord and horn accents substituting for lead instruments in songs that rarely lift themselves out of a minor key. “Luv N’ Haight” and “Family Affair” are songs you may have heard the most, but be sure to check out the beautiful “(You Caught Me) Smilin'” with its ever-shifting moods, unison background singing and Sly’s trademark grunts and howls. Sly Stone richly deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Bob Dylan for his uncanny knack to tap into the sentiment of his times and Brian Wilson for songwriting and production genius. There is a Riot Goin’ On is the proof.
