There's a Riot Goin' On (Bonus Version)

iTunes Review

The band’s previous album, 1969’s Stand!,  and the follow-up non-LP singles, “Hot Fun in the Summertime” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” along with their stunning performance at Woodstock, made Sly & the Family Stone one of the most prominent and influential acts in the country. But as the group’s success shot up, their leader’s private demons were bringing him down. (Sly cancelled 26 of 80 shows in 1970 alone.) The album recorded during this chaos is arguably his crowning achievement. (It’s a toss-up, really, between this and Stand!). It sounds like nothing before it; Its rhythms often stagger where once they would swing and Sly often sings with extra menace in his voice. “Family Affair” was the most prominent track and remains one of the era’s most eerie, the sound of the 1960’s party high coming down. The dense layers of sound and elliptical vocal lines (“Luv N’ Haight,” “Thank You For Talkin’ To Me, Africa”) make this an album that repays with repeated, concentrated listens. Not surprisingly, though there were many sessions for this album, very few studio outtakes are available for release, as only three instrumentals are added.