Sly & The Family Stone: There's A Riot Goin' On (Red & White Colored Vinyl) Vinyl LP

There's A Riot Goin' On marked a special time in musical history. From the gritty funk, to the outlandish lyricism, and outright message delivered by Sly himself there is no doubt why Riot reached number 1 in the charts and continues to gain praise 50 years later. Contains stone cold classics like "Family Affair," "Runnin Away," "Just Like A Baby," "Luv N Haight" and more. This 50th anniversary edition of the 1971 classic sounds incredible and comes packaged in gatefold sleeve with the iconic over featuring the infamous re-imagined flag. Sly definitively explained his concept for the cover art as it related to the overall theme of the album: "I wanted the flag to truly represent people of all colors. I wanted the color black because it is the absence of color. I wanted the color white because it is the combination of all colors. And I wanted the color red because it represents the one thing that all people have in common: blood. I wanted suns instead of stars because stars to me imply searching, like you search for your star. And there are already too many stars in this world. But the sun, that’s something that is always there, looking right at you. Betsy Ross did the best she could with what she had. I thought I could do better.” Recommended.

• red & white 'Luv N' Haight' pinweel colored vinyl
• VMP Essentials Edition
• gatefold sleeve
• includes 8 page booklet + printed insert
• limited edition
• original release year: 1971
• music label: Epic 2023

reviewed by taco vato 09/2013