There’s a Riot Goin’ On album cover
There’s a Riot Goin’ On

Sly & the Family Stone

1971
Epic

There’s a Riot Goin’ On pulls you in and pushes you away at the same time, just like the drugs which were likely doing the same to Sly Stone when the album was recorded. The MRK-1 rhythm box, aka the funk box, takes center stage on “Family Affair,” “Luv N’ Haight,” etc. — the same sound soon to permeate future releases by Stevie Wonder and many more R&B radio wonders. Full of odd stereo separations, slurred vocals and mixes muddled from constant re-recording, this masterpiece marked the close of an era in American culture as well as the Family Stone band.

Miles Marshall Lewis

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