dreadpirateroberts Sly and the Family Stone's 'There's a Riot Goin' On' is a funk classic that's marred by Sly's overdubbing (which eroded the quality of masters) making for a murky production that's unsatisfying overall.

The songwriting shines through, and it could be argued that the dim production suits the dark subject matter, but for the early seventies, much clearer recordings were certainly achievable - 'What's Goin On' or 'Curtis' anyone? In particular, much of Sly's vocals are buried in the mix and are basically muffled so that he becomes, at times, illegible. The rest of the instrumentation fades in and out of clarity, drums probably suffer the most and guitar and bass will probably cut through most of the time.

But this doesn't detract too much from some of the fantastic songs present. Much of the album is said to be performed by Sly alone, with overdubbing by other band members one at a time. If so, it's probably Graham that has tracks with more slap-bass, and his playing in particular is right on the money - 'Just Like a Baby' comes to mind.

Number one single 'Family Affair' is quite a dark duet, its weariness echoed in much of the rest of the album, but contrasted nicely by more upbeat moments like '(You Caught Me) Smilin' (despite a poorly recorded lead vocal) or 'Running Away.' Sly and the band incorporate blues, rock and soul into their funk, only occasionally stretching out like on the reasonably directionless 'Africa Talks to You...' and the most excellent closer, 'Thank you for Talkin' to me Africa' (a reworking of an old single.) It reveals Graham's trademark bass sound (sounding very much like he would on, for instance, Betty Davis' debut or his other work) in a cathartic song that also manages to strut.

This album bears repeated listens, and probably deserves four stars but for the poor production and a few songs that don't match up to the rest of the record, I don't feel I can go any higher. For anyone interested in a dark version of funk, this is worth a look. It's a landmark album that takes its cue from Gaye and Mayfield but trades in (sonic) clarity of message for an almost nihilist-produced sound that almost derails proceedings.

Warthur Rock fans acquainted with the history of Pink Floyd will know how after their debut album Syd Barrett soon ran into some severe issues, and under the influence of heavy drug use transformed into a troubled introvert whose musical output revealed a rapidly crumbling psyche. Well, imagine the album which Pink Floyd might have produced if they had stuck around with Syd and provided a full band backing to his ideas rather than retiring him from the band to make his sparse solo albums; There's a Riot Goin' On is the funk equivalent of that.

Sly's drug-affected behaviour from this era is legendary, as is the dark tone of the album; the sunny optimism of Stand! is gone, the Sixties are well and truly over and the Seventies are here to stay, and whilst the opening Luv n' Haight's refrain of "feel so good, feel so good, wanna move, wanna move" ought to be uplifting, it feels more compulsive and involuntary, the product of a nervous energy which infuses the album. Drowning in a swamp of fuzz, There's a Riot Goin' On is the sound of a funk pioneer caught in the quicksand of drug abuse and yet still possessing the insight to produce this devastating look at how the dream of the Woodstock Nation, the civil rights era, and all the movements that had informed Stand! had met with setbacks, failure, and deep, deep trouble in the intervening years.