Sly & the Family Stone
There's a Riot Goin' On
About This Review
Re-Play reviews look back at landmark albums — how they were received at the time of release, the influence they've had on music in the years since, and where they stand today.
At Release
Following up a culturally defining, massive hit like Stand! was always going to be a tall order. When the new music finally arrived, the public was geared up for more bright horns and anthems of unity. Instead, listeners were handed a hazy, slow-burning, and deeply cynical record that reflected the heavy disillusionment and political fatigue of the early seventies.
Despite the radical shift in tone, it actually hit number one on the charts based on the group's sheer momentum. However, it left a significant portion of fans and journalists scratching their heads. The mix was notoriously muddy, the vocals were buried under layers of tape hiss, and the vibrant energy of their Woodstock days seemed to have completely vanished into a drug-fueled fog.
This one is muted, claustrophobic, deliberately unfinished-sounding — a funk record that sounds like it was recorded through a mattress.
The Influence
Not the Sly Stone album most people know. This one is muted, claustrophobic, deliberately unfinished-sounding — a funk record that sounds like it was recorded through a mattress. It was. That murkiness became a blueprint. D'Angelo built Voodoo around what this album did to production. Kendrick Lamar draws from it. Frank Ocean. It changed what it was acceptable for R&B to sound like more than any other single release.
It was also one of the earliest major pop releases to heavily feature a rhythm box, acting as a primitive drum machine. The decision to blend cold, mechanical beats with Larry Graham's subdued, slinky bass lines created a completely new sonic architecture that would eventually become the backbone of modern groove-oriented music.
Where It Stands Today
It is now universally regarded as a masterpiece of soul and funk. The very elements that alienated casual listeners back then—the thick atmosphere, the quiet vocals, the lack of polish—are exactly what make it sound so incredibly visionary in the current era.
It feels like a direct ancestor to the lo-fi beats and alternative R&B styles dominating today's streaming platforms. By leaning into the messiness of the recording process, the project redefined what a commercial pop record was allowed to be, cementing its status as a timeless piece of art.