Re: Album of the day (#7585): There's A Riot Goin' On by Sly & The Family Stone

DommeDamian — Sat, 24 Oct 2026 17:18:10 GMT

Author: DommeDamian

Posted: 10/24/2026 21:18

Not my favorite of theirs but it needs a revisit. Influenced D'Angelo.

Album of the day (#7585): There's A Riot Goin' On by Sly & The Family Stone

BestEverAlbums — Sat, 24 Oct 2026 16:00:24 GMT

Author: BestEverAlbums

Posted: 10/24/2026 20:00

Today's album of the day

There's A Riot Goin' On by Sly & The Family Stone (View album | Buy this album)

Year: 1971.
Country:
Sly & The Family Stone discography rank: 1st (out of 19 albums listed on BEA)
1971 rank: 19th
1970s rank: 97th
Overall rank: 418th
Average rating: 81/100 (from 713 votes).

Tracks:
1. Luv N' Haight
2. Just Like A Baby
3. Poet
4. Family Affair
5. Africa Talks To You 'The Asphalt Jungle'
6. There's A Riot Goin' On
7. Brave & Strong
8. (You Caught Me) Smilin'
9. Time
10. Spaced Cowboy
11. Runnin' Away
12. Thank You For Talkin' To Me Africa

indicates a top-rated track.

Top voted comments:

"YES..... yesssss.... The dirty churning angst on this recording is so very raw, yet understated... powerful beyond explanation.... This is not the "Dance to the Music" Sly... This is the ruminatin' dark and burnin' out Sly... a hard rude awakening coming over the war-torn survivors of the Sixties sunshine utopia... now a sick joke, in the form of race riots across the country and the nation in flames.... Sly even mocks his own naivete with the return of the "Thankyoufaletinmebemicelf" refrain, words updated to reflect a new awareness... Despite album notes crediting The Family, Sly recorded much of the album by himself, instrument by instrument, and layered the tracks together with vocals....Maybe that partly accounts for a sort of lo-fi dirty sound that compliments the mood, lyrics, and vocal style here so perfectly... It's no frills hard and frustrated writhing funk....

When I think of the stunning quality of the honest and gut-wrenching emotion here, and the time, I think of two albums from other artists: Plastic Ono Band album, and especially "Tonight's the Night", by Neil Young... another very moody, thoughtful, sentimental but pissed-off album in the wake of the hopeful hippie revolution....

I have listened to "Riot" hundreds of times over the years... It's just blown me away along with so very many other fans and musicians.... Somehow the underlying tension and malevolent struggle to bust the hell out of the pit of despair has struck a very personal chord in so many of us at some point in our lives.... As good an example as any of the miraculous and transcendent power of music to convey something beyond mere word and sound.... If you know, then you know...."
- @muzikluvah (Rating: 95/100)
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"It is interesting how you described this album, because before Miles Davis recorded "Bitches Brew", he attended a Sly and the family stone concert and was so moved by the crowd's excitement by Sly's music that he wanted to make an album that would produce a similar effect and so "Bitches Brew" was born."
- @ffudnebbuh (Rating: 100/100)
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About album of the day: The BestEverAlbums.com album of the day is the album appearing most prominently in member charts in the previous 24 hours. If an album, or artist, has previously been selected within a x day period, the next highest album is picked instead (and so on) to ensure a bit of variety. A full history of album of the day can be viewed here.

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Re: Album of the day (#7585): There's A Riot Goin' On by Sly & The Family Stone

Album of the day (#7585): There's A Riot Goin' On by Sly & The Family Stone