What the funk is goin on with him man!!!?? DAYM. I heard he was on drugz n stuff, but he was really trippin on "Spaced Cowboy" damn. What kind of madness was he on? Were the background songers messed up 2?

I found myself with a headache and saddened at the end of it all. I c y this album has so much talk now. Damn. Feel like i just went on a acid trip with him.

paisleypark4 said:

Paisley, you're my boy and all, but damn...I think you must've been smoking' something to say this. Just kidding!!!

I understand that this album may not be for everyone, but it was a very pennacle time for Sly. His sound changed (as he became one of the first artists to use and incorporate live drums over a "rhythm box") and it was something new and refreshing to the table.

I'm just trippin' on the "Spaced Cowboy" comment 'cause that's my favorite track on the album!

However to answer your question, yes...he (and the Family Stone) was tore up from the floor up! I have this 8-hr mega tape of Sly and there are these performances he did right before the release of Riot... on the Dick Cavett Show. He was so high, he forgot the words to "Thankyou...", his singing was all slurred, and you could see his nose running (from the yeyo ). After performing, he talked with the host and was in a world of his own!

it's one of My All-time favorite Albums.I still remember Sly on stage with Tom Jones on the Mike Dougless Show&It was scary.but this Album is a Must.

There's a Riot Goin' On


The blueprint for the modern funk album


-SWANGsaidit

okaypimpn said:

no i didnt say it was a bad album! I just said that it was a very hard hitting and sad album. I would give it a 8 out of 10. It is musically dope, and the emotion is far far out there. Spaced Cowboy scared me 1/2 2 death though, i had 2 turn it down. I took 2 asprins after that depression. But i did enjoy the album, $10 well spent.

Do they plan on remastering the Sly catalog anytime soon?

paisleypark4 said:

Oh, okay. BIG misunderstanding. I hear ya.

okaypimpn said:

I was just thinking about buying this album!!

gainsbourg said:

Please do. You won't be disappointed.

okaypimpn said:

make sure u got ur bottle O ASPRIN by ur side, or sum
[This message was edited Wed Sep 17 9:09:57 PDT 2003 by paisleypark4]
[This message was edited Wed Sep 17 9:10:45 PDT 2003 by paisleypark4]

paisleypark4 said:

When I first read this thread, I thought "Is Paisley kidding?". The album is a F***in' CLASSIC!!!

The dark, bleak, pessimisstic atmosphere was what made it so great. It was a response to Marvin's "What's Goin' On", and Sly's title was the answer. It's half-assed, drug-addled, nihilistic, uneven, crazy, etc. But it's also the funkiest, coolest, laid-back album of any era of R&B. It showed Sly's political stance and showed that by the dawn of the '70s the dream of Peace & Love in the '60s was over. It was also Sly's only #1 record on both R&B & Pop charts.

Gotta love that drum machine.

NWF said:

Wow! I never knew it was Marvin's "answer" to What's Goin' On. Was there any beef between the two or was he just basically setting the record straight and answering Marvin's question?

okaypimpn said:

No beef...these were the days before all that sh*t...artists respected each other back then...



-SWANGcaughtyousmilingagain

SWANG said:

what was goin on was the

anyway. I really liked the album as a whole, but after i was done...people said, "what's wrong with u?" and i told them i had a bustin headache and it was stressful listening 2 him the way he was. I hav 2 go and hear it again 2morrow, but i am scared!

This thread made me finally go out and buy that album. Thank You to all who contributed to this thread, especially paisleypark4.

I love that rhythm box shit!! Reminds me of Shuggie Otis' Inspiration Information album from 1974, but I see that There's A Riot Goin' On came out in `71.

I listened without headphones, just on my stereo speakers, and I didn't require medication!

CinisterCee said:

Didn't know what you were missing, huh?!

CinisterCee said:

cool! Thanx 4 the comment man!

I made a song which samples the loop from "U Caught Me Smilin" called "Quarter Past The 2's". it's about gettin HIII on drugz (even though im not a druggie) last night. Turned out quite funky. Nasty.

paisleypark4 said:

Riot is in essence "the feel of nodding off to a heroin hit"

i think riot is a pretty somber listen but ive never found it as 'scary' or 'depressing' as the critics like to make out. i think the subtext and story behind it is quite frightening and sad but the music itself, its closer to being wry or dark than outright nihilism.

thirstinhowlVIII said:

Please elaborate on the story behind this album.