One of the foundational albums of the funk era was Sly & The Family Stone's There's a Riot Goin' On. Full of Sly Stone's slapped bass lines, which he pioneered on "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)," the album is incredibly groovy with a tight rhythm section. Nothing less than you would expect from a band loaded with stars like Billy Preston, Bobby Womack, and Larry Graham.
Perhaps the most famous song from the album "Family Affair" is simple, slow, and short. It's highlighted by Sly Stone's almost-spoken singing and interjected by short guitar fills and a vocal chorus by Rose Stone.
On "Africa Talks to You" you can hear the influence of this record on later funk albums of the 1970s like Funkadelic's Maggot Brain and Parliament's Mothership Connection with its disjoint, loose soul vocals and psychedelic instrumentals.
"Spaced Cowboy" is raw and muddy and contains some fantastic yodeling, which is great if you like that sort of thing (I do).
On "Runnin' Away" the band deviates from straight funk to synth-pop that sounds like a funky version of something The Free Design would write. Sly's regular slapped bass and singing feels less front-and-center on this one, but it's a great song regardless.
The final song, "Thank You for Talkin' to Me Africa," is a slow version of the band's single "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)."
This is a great record, with tons of great songs. A lot of funk that I've found comes as singles or hits, but this is a great cohesive record that set the stage for many of the psychedelic funk that came in the 70s and early 80s.
Favorite Tracks
- Luv n' Haight
- Just Like a Baby
- Family Affair
- Africa Talks to You
- Runnin' Away