There's a Riot Goin' On - Sly and the Famliy Stone - Essay Example

There is A Riot Goin’ On There is A Riot Goin’ On was recorded by Sly and the Family Stone in 1971. Its production was the immediate follow up of Sly& Family Stone’s Stand, produced in 1969 and had a huge success. (Fones, LeRoi 2) In Stand, Sly and Family Stone had presented exuberance and widely celebratory affair. But Riot was exactly the opposite of the Stand. It had revealed all of what would be referred to as the demons that Sly had kept inside for quite long and profiled Sly, a supremely talented individual, as one who was at the verge of complete madness. (Guess, Teresa 23) There was strong sense of darkness, paranoia and some strangeness. This was not to mean that Stand was that innocent, but there was extremely growing creep especially in the side of the sound that was presented with its hard and defiant edge. Its sound was unhinged with sound accompanied with quite mumbling lyrics with long, dense, sparse jams as well as dense mix, which played along in presenting a tense atmosphere. (Lewis, Miles Marshall 26) This album had a bearing in the definition and reflection of the African American experience in the early 1970s. In the subsequent sections of the paper, the study will focus on how social and historical factors informed the album. Further, relationship between the wider contexts of black music as at the time of production will be examined in relation to music style that has been used. First, the album was produced at a time when there was some cultural fusion presented in the form of R&Bs. In 1960s, Motown sounds had paved way for the African American “sounds” which would later follow in 1970s including Sly& Family Stones’ group. In 1971, Gaye released What’s Going On, an album which was inspired by jazz. (Lewis, Miles Marshall 27) The album had become so popular among particularly based on the fact that it was examining environmental and social decays which touched on discrimination based on the race as well as war that Americans had engaged in with the Vietnamese. There is a Riot Goin’ On marked the changing point of the Rhythm and Blues and how this genre was presented. Sly was part of the movement of African- American pop artists who had endeavored to infuse social and historical issues that affected the black Americans in their music. (Lewis, Miles Marshall 37) His goal was to create emphasis on the power that Black Americans had and the influence that the black movements had created. This was the time when the voices of Black Americans dominated the radio and was quite a boom in terms of economic viability. (Lewis, Miles Marshall 38) In this album, there was a strong concept of gender and race and how these two were used to affirm white male dominance. It was the first time that Sly and the family had presented so much pessimism in their music. It is based on these factors that affected the Black Africans, which influenced the views that pop musicians had. (Gulla, Bob 32) There was a drastic move from the traditional Rhythm and Blues to a more communicating style of music that would as well present some theme, not necessarily through lyrics, but also through arrangement of instrumentation. From the beginning, one notices that the manner in which Sly presents There is A Riot Goin’ On,, makes it kicks off perfectly with some introduction that may be referred to as funky coupled with harmonious Sly Styles. (Gulla, Bob 12) This presents some nostalgia, in case one had a chance to listen to Stand. But in a quick turn of events, there is heavy settlement which gradually builds up before one begins to decipher the lyrics. When eventually that happens, one immediately begins to realize that There is A Riot Goin’ On is quite different, the tone the mood and the wording as used in the lyrics, present a much darker and quite pessimistic, boldly discussing social issues, unlike their traditional renditions and styles that went deep on love music. (Gulla, Bob 21) It is this new approach that reveals the overarching and unresolved feelings that Black Americans had. Though they had largely been quite about it, the revolution and rise of the civil rights movements unearthed the salient issues in many realms including among the musicians. To this end, the paper will attempt to examine the shift from traditional music approaches that There is A Riot Goin’ On made as a breakaway. Even the sleeve was in desolate disparity to the renditions that had preceded it. Even at the band photograph cover, there was some alteration made on the American flag, where black color replaced the usual blue field and the five pointed stars replaced with the nine pointed sun. The album had, unlike any other ever recorded, sliced part of the future and brought it close to the present. This was done through a benumbed energetic hub of some dark heat, which was put together in a form of eleven songs presenting deep emotions, sometimes presented in great length, sometimes muted, at some point with the light, sometimes with noxious solemn, while sometimes presenting humorous comic. All these opposing emotions were brought together by Sly to form a pin-wheeling progression of an album. . (Lewis, Miles Marshall 37) One could note the balancing that Sly made with the instruments. The loose guitar was now at the forefront in the replacement of original ubiquitous arrangements of horns, and was now weaving and bobbing against metronomic drums. What now made the album to stand out unlike ever heard before was; much of the interplay of the music and vocals, which left much for one to read between the lines. These attributes isolated There is A Riot Goin’ On from the rest of the styles that were used by the Jackson 5 and Stevie Wonder. (Lewis, Miles Marshall 37) Sly and Family Stone had developed what would be referred to as a incorporeal relationship, which did not only present some opposite of the hit, clarity and drive of the great albums they had produced in the sixties but also disallowed any contact. In conclusions, every bit of the actions of Sly and the Stone family had its own meaning. They were able to capture the dynamics of that time. The distortion of the flag presented the need to bring proper representation of blacks in national matters and appreciation of their roles. This was in tandem with the fact that all these happenings in the 1960s and 70s were at the behest of the civil rights activism. The ending song of the album “Thank you For Talking to Me Africa” is the profound expression of urban tension and blues in early 1960s, capturing all the drama and dissatisfaction of the blacks from decades. The song ‘Africa Talks to You’ describes the real feelings of Sly, the backlash of Sly’s life. The way he got cut down from the tree, by the American whites. The lyrics of the song beautifully portrayed the experiences of Sly, what is to be black in America. In some places the voices and instruments of band are slowed down, expressing the true inner feelings, the grief, tragedies and cries of the blacks from ages. The album brought up the entire social and historical circumstances combined in one package to wake up the sleep America (Lewis 2) Work Cited Fones, LeRoi. Black Music. Da Capo Press, n.d. Guess, Teresa J. The social construction of whiteness: Racism by intent, Racism by consequence. USA, 2006. Gulla, Bob. The African American Experience. n.d. 28 April 2014 . Lewis, Miles Marshall. Theres a Riot Goin On. New York - London , n.d Read More