Parliament ‎– Mothership Connection (1975)

Style: P.Funk, Funk
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Casablanca

Tracklist:
A1.   P Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)
A2.   Mothership Connection
A3.   Unfunky UFO
B1.   Supergroovealisticprosifunktication (The Thumps Bump)
B2.   Handcuffs
B3.   Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)
B4.   Night Of The Thumpasorus Peoples

Credits:
Bass – Bootsie Collins, Cordell Mosson
Drums, Percussion – Bootsie Collins, Gary Cooper, Jerome Brailey, Tiki Fulwood
Guitar – Bootsie Collins, Gary Shider, Glen Goins, Michael Hampton
Keyboards, Synthesizer – Bernie Worrell
Horns – Boom, Fred Wesley, Joe Farrell, Macco Parker, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker
Arranged By (Horns) – Bernie Worrell, Fred Wesley
Arranged By (Rhythm) – Bootsie Collins, George Clinton
Vocals – Bootsie Collins, Calvin Simon, Fuzzy Haskins, Gary Shider, George Clinton, Glen Goins, Grady Thomas, Ray Davis

People talk all the time about the genius of Frank Zappa, how he created a musical universe that was all his own, how he was a master of satire, how prolific he was. These exact claims can easily be made for George Clinton, a man who single-handedly created music for black listeners that was as clever, outrageous, and richly imagined as anything in Zappa's oeuvre. The sci-fi component of Clinton's mythology was instrumental in providing some grand theater to his core urban audience and has taken flower in the work of some electronica and rap musicians, notably the turntablist DJ Spooky. Plus, absolutely everything Clinton did was danceable, which was one reason his music was a crossover smash. 

1976's Mothership Connection is one of the best albums Clinton released under the Parliament banner in the five years between 1975 and 1980. During that period the group released an incredible nine records (no greatest hits or live sets, either) and toured relentlessly. When not busy with Parliament, Clinton was busy supervising recording by his other group, Funkadelic, or the P-Funk All Stars, Bootsy Collins, the Brides of Funkenstein, Bernie Worrell, or Zapp. What is incredible is the high quality of all this music. To say, then, that Mothership Connection stands out among the work of this period is high praise indeed. 

The band opens with the slinky, hilarious, and very funky "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" on which Parliament takes control of the local airwaves and we all emerge the better for it. We meet the Lollipop Man (alias the Long Haired Sucker), who resembles the alien from the track "EXP" on Hendrix's Axis: Bold As Love. Then Bootsy Collins, jester extraordinaire with the bass chops of the Gods, steps in to tell us about, among other things, wearing sunglasses and the lameness of David Bowie's white plastic funk ("It was cool ... but can you imagine Dooby-in' your funk?"). All of this is punctuated by the chorus ("I want the bomb / I want the P-Funk / I wants to get funked up") and then, suddenly, there is Maceo Parker blowing an alto solo over Bernie Worrell's tasty piano punctuations and some sinister synth washes. It's almost sensory overload on the very first track! 

We are booted right into the next track, "Mothership Connection (Star Child)", which unfolds like a medium-tempo James Brown groove with a horn section from heaven and a beat and chorus melody that evokes Steely Dan's "Black Cow" (Becker and Fagin are well-known for "borrowing" certain riffs or rhythms). Writing in the liner notes about the song, Tom Vickers notes that "Pfunk concerts took on a spiritual fervor, especially when singer-guitarist Glenn Goins went into the 'Swing down sweet chariot' refrain during 'Mothership Connection.'" And he's right. It's like a church where you can dance (a completely foreign concept to some ethnic groups). 

Next comes a strafing by the "Unfunky UFO" ("Give us the funk, you punk"), and the more laid back groove of "Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication." It's incredible to hear elements of practically every modern musical genre in here -- jazz, funk, R&B, jive, rock, what would be called disco, fusion -- it's all here. Dave Marsh noted in a Rolling Stone review: "Clinton has taken [Parliament] into a nether world of black rock & roll." Clinton has been very influential in rock 'n' roll, but that is seldom mentioned (though he and the members of Parliament have been induced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), as though the presence of a dance beat negated the power rock that he sometimes layered on top, and his music is seldom included in '70s and '80s-format radio stations' playlists. It took the marrying of rock and funk by such white bands as the Red Hot Chili Peppers to call explicit attention to the rock in the funk and the funk in the rock. 

If there is a weak track here, it is probably "Handcuffs", which, despite some sexual wordplay, never quite gets off the ground. No matter, because the one-two punch of the final tracks, "Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)" and "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples" bring the listener to new heights. It's impossible to forget the scene from Slums of Beverly Hills in which Marissa Tomei and Natasha Lyonne dance provocatively with a vibrator while "Give up the Funk" plays on the radio. That scene is an apt metaphor for the freedom that Clinton's music afforded all listeners, regardless of race or class. "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples", essentially a jam, has a groove and bass line that could be repeated for days without becoming tiresome. 

If anything is missing from this remastered version of the classic album, it is more bonus tracks. The one that is included (the radio edit of "Mothership Connection"), demonstrates clearly what was lost by truncating a Parliament track: at 3'08", the edit never has a chance to develop the near-mystic fervor of the original album track. In any case, Mothership Connection is prime evidence of the genius of George Clinton.

Marshall Bowden / popMATTERS

Funkadelic ‎– America Eats Its Young (1972)

Style: P.Funk, Psychedelic Rock
Format: CD, Vinyl, Cass.
Label: Westbound Records

Tracklist:
A1.   You Hit The Nail On The Head
A2.   If You Don't Like The Effects, Don't Produce The Cause
A3.   Everybody Is Going To Make It This Time
B1.   A Joyful Process
B2.   We Hurt Too
B3.   Loose Booty
B4.   Philmore
C1.   Pussy
C2.   America Eats Its Young
C3.   Biological Speculation
D1.   That Was My Girl
D2.   Balance
D3.   Miss Lucifer's Love
D4.   Wake Up

Credits:
Walter Babiuk - Viola
S. Barnes - Composer
Harold Beane - Composer, Guitar, Vocals
Dianne Brooks - Vocals
Terry Brown - Engineer
Rick Capreol - Assistant Engineer
Bruce Cassidy - Trumpet
Arnie Chycoski - Trumpet
George Clinton - Arranger, Composer, Cover Design, Producer
Bootsy Collins - Bass, Composer, Vocals
Phelps "Catfish" - Collins - Guitar, Vocals
Lee DeCarlo - Engineer
Zachary Frazier - Percussion
Ramon Tiki Fulwood - Percussion
Funkadelic - Primary Artist
Clayton Gunnels - Trumpet, Vocals
Ernest G Harris, Jr. - Composer
Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins - Composer
Eddie Hazel - Composer, Guitar, Vocals
Prakash John - Bass, Vocals
Steve Kennedy - Vocals
Mia Krinsky - Production Coordination
Tyrone Lampkin - Percussion
Ronald Laurie - Cello
Cordell "Boogie" Mosson - Bass
Billy "Bass" Nelson - Composer
Victoria Polley - Violin
Albert Pratz - Violin
Bill Richards - Violin
Bob Scerbo - Production Supervisor
Peter Schenkman - Cello
George Semkiw - Engineer
Josef Sera - Violin
Garry Shider - Composer, Guitar, Vocals
George Simkiw - Engineer
Stanley Solomon - Viola
Al Stanwyck - Trumpet
Ollie Strong - Guitar (Steel)
David Van De Pitte - Guitar (Steel), String Arrangements
John Vanderpool - Engineer
Frankie "Kash" Waddy - Percussion, Vocals
Randy Wallace - Sax (Alto), Vocals
Paul Weldon - Artwork
Bernie Worrell - Arranger, Composer, Horn Arrangements, Keyboards, Melodica, String Arrangements, Vocals

It was the early 70s. The Vietnam War was happening. And so was heroin. The drug was taking its hold on the inner city black neighborhoods, and it also took its hold on George Clinton’s close friends and bandmates. Eddie Hazel, Billy Nelson, Tiki Fulwood and Tawl Ross. All worn down because of the drug. Clinton started working on Funkadelic’s fourth album American Eats Its Young, replacing his old bandmates with a new group of funky musicians called the House Guests consisting of bassist Bootsy Collins, his older brother guitarist Catfish, Kash Waddy on drums, Chicken Gunnells on trumpet, and Robert McCullough on saxophone, a group that were notable for backing James Brown. Together, with Clinton and synth legend Bernie Worrell, this newly formed Funkadelic made one of the most politically charged and musically diverse albums of all time. The playful looseness of previous records replaced by more structured and focused arrangements, still wacky in their own right, but tighter and cleaner. Challenging the listener both musically and emotionally. 

Clinton became serious. Like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, he was inspired by The Beatles and The Who and wanted to make a concept record about the black struggle. He cleaned up and got to work. “That album was really a test to see if I could do it straight after all that acid. All the ones before that I did on acid, and I wanted to see if I could make any kind of sense! The songs have got horrible names but they’re pretty straight. I did that album straight. I mean, as much as I could do it and prove to myself that I could control myself. The sixties was over, so I tried to regroup and see if I could write an album of songs that was chronological” he said in an article on The Quietus. 

For two years Clinton travelled the world to record the album; Toronto, Detroit, London. The band would play for hours in the studio, then Clinton and Worrell would arrange the jams into songs. What came of this was a double album tied together by its musical experimentation and political message. Right off the rip, ‘You Hit The Nail On The Head’ kicks the door open with a heavy fusion funk jam that, right as you feel comfortable in its rhythm, takes a hair pin turn into a laid back, slinky ‘Sanford & Son’ groove. The first words are sung, and they set a tone for what’s to come; “Just because you win the fight don’t make you right / Just because you give don’t make you good.” 

It's a strong statement sung in a whimsical way, but that’s Clinton’s genius; he’ll grab your attention, making you think that you’re in for a joke, then lay it to you straight. This continues throughout the record, but the subject matter is just as eclectic as the music. The song titles speak for themselves; ‘If You Don’t Like The Effects, Don’t Produce The Cause’, ‘Everybody Is Gonna Make It This Time’, ‘Wake Up’. All politically charged. But then there’s ‘We Hurt Too’, a lush orchestral ballad addressing male vulnerability. “Just because it is said that a man is not supposed to cry / Just because we conceal what we feel, we hurt deep down inside / Why don’t they realize that it’s just a disguise to hide the way we feel?” he sings. An appropriate message, not only to the black community, but to the world at large - it was this song that made AEIY seem so real to me. So fresh and, ultimately, just so sincere. 

But it’s the music that really sold me. The orchestral arrangements in ‘We Hurt Too’, the pedal steel on ‘Biological Speculation’, the signature Funkadelic psychedelic rock on ‘Loose Booty’, and the title track. This smorgasbord of styles and ideas come together to create a chaotic masterpiece. “I took all the different things and threw the shit all together,” he told The Quietus. Some might find this confusing but, for me, it left me wanting more. Thinking: “What’s to come on the next song?” and, ultimately, it gave me the confidence to do the same with my music. I could relate to it and it all made sense. Mixing different musical styles seemed like the most appropriate way for Funkadelic to say what they had to say; the band seemed vulnerable on all fronts and it was charming. 

Funkadelic’s music is cerebral. Each record is a thoughtful timepiece about the black struggle. What sets them apart, though, is their attitude. They’re having fun and won't let the hard times get them down. They are going to address the insecurities head on and throw a party in their honour. It’s okay to cry! Life sucks but that won't stop me from dancing! As a young black man, this is exactly the message I needed to hear. And as a young musician these experiments helped me understand one thing: Don’t be afraid of anything!

 Sinkane / Drowned In Sound

Parliament ‎– Chocolate City (1975)

Style: P-Funk
Format: CD, Vinyl, Cass.
Label: Casablanca

Tracklist:
A1.   Chocolate City
A2.  Ride On
A3.  Together
A4.  Side Effects
A5.  What Comes Funky
B1.  Let Me Be
B2.  If It Don't Fit (Don't Force It)
B3.  I Misjudged You
B4.  Big Footin'

Credits:
Bass – William (Bootsie) Collins, Cordell Mosson, Perkash John
Drums – Tiki Fulwood, Tyrone Lampkin
Guitar – William (Bootsie) Collins, Cordell Mosson, Gary Shider
Keyboards – Bernie Worrell
Synthesizer – Bernie Worrell
Vocals – Calvin Simon, Eddie Hazel, Fuzzy Haskins, Gary Shider, George Clinton, Grady Thomas, Raymond Davis
Arranged By [Horn, Strings] – Bernie Worrell
Arranged By [Rhythm] – Bootsy Collins, George Clinton
Mastered By – Allen Zentz
Producer – George Clinton
Engineer – Jim Callon, Jim Vitti

Parliament, along with its alter ego Funkadelic, defined funk in the '70s. The group delivered a series of classic albums, among them Mothership Connection and Up for the Down Stroke. Its work has also been anthologized on excellent single-disc and double-disc compilations: Funked Up: The Very Best of Parliament and Tear the Roof Off: 1974-1980. So why, you may ask, would you want to buy this new reissue of Chocolate City? 

For one, this CD contains many worthwhile songs not on Parliament compilations. Plus, the album hangs together as a coherent, cohesive statement. Like many R&B; albums of the '70s (but not the '60s or '50s), it is more than just a collection of singles. In fact, the album charted higher than either of the singles it contains. This record, like many Parliament albums after it, has a guiding concept, an overarching theme: the life and times of African-American Washington, D.C. in the '70s. 

Another selling point for this package is surely Tom Terrell's fantastic liner notes, which explain what D.C. meant to Parliament. According to Terrell, "D.C. was the first major city to give George Clinton's Parliafunkadelicment Thang mad love." Terrell points out that many of the songs on Chocolate City echo D.C. sounds –- such as "Let Me Be," which draws on '70s D.C. Gospel, and "I Misjudged You," a homage to smooth D.C. R&B; balladeers The Unifics. 

The two singles released from this album, though neither broke the R&B; Top 20, are both memorable. The title track stands as a moving, honest political statement, something that became increasingly rare in R&B; as the '70s progressed. With "Chocolate City", Clinton turns the tables on white society, which had begun to see inner cities as God-forsaken ghettos and the suburbs as the Promised Land. Though African-Americans didn't get their "40 acres and a mule", they did get the "chocolate city", which Clinton calls his "piece of the rock". Expressing love for "chocolate city", he posits it as central, dismissing the whiter areas surrounding it as mere "vanilla suburbs". With a wink and a nod, Clinton even predicts that African-American artists like Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin will one day fill the top positions in the Federal government. Musically, the spoken-word vocals of "Chocolate City" predict hip-hop, and the song's amalgam of funk and jazz stretches musical boundaries. The second single from the album, "Ride On" is a monster funk dance jam powered by a savage, distorted bass line -– courtesy of the legendary William "Bootsy" Collins -- tied to some heavy cymbal work on the one. 

The remaining songs on Chocolate City also offer much to enjoy. All of them feature the ace team of musicians and vocalists that composed Parliament, including, among others, "Bootsy" on bass, Bernie Worrell on keys, Tiki Fulwood on drums, and Gary Shider on guitar, with Calvin Simon, Fuzzy Haskins, and Grady Thomas joining George Clinton on vocals. "Big Footin'" comes down on the one like "Ride On" and features the catchy refrain, "I know what you can do, let us lay some funk on you." "Together" shares the heavy Funk sound of "Big Footin'" and "Ride On", but its choruses feature smooth soul vocals and beautiful harmonies. Like the title track, "Let Me Be" draws on jazz, but it also calls on gospel vocals and baroque classical piano as well, creating, in the process, a distinctive mix. 

How is this reissue of Chocolate City different than the original album? The remastered sound here, the work of Ellen Fitton, is excellent, and the package contains three bonus tracks. Though alternate versions of "If It Don't Fit (Don't Force It)" and "I Misjudged You" don't really add much to the originals, the third bonus track -- a previously-unreleased recording of "Common Law Wife" -- is a barnburner. It features nasty, syncopated horn lines, a gorgeous falsetto vocal, and topical lyrics. Like "Chocolate City", "Common Law Wife" seems to express pride for where African Americans were in the '70s, though that place may not have been where they wanted or expected to be. 

If you already have a copy of Chocolate City, it may make sense to forego this reissue, despite its superior sound, its great liner notes, and its inclusion of one great bonus track. If you have no Parliament at all in your collection, I suggest starting with a compilation such as the aforementioned Funked Up: The Very Best of Parliament. But if you have some Parliament at home and do not own Chocolate City, I recommend picking up this new reissue. If you do buy it, put it in your CD player, go to the second track, and follow Clinton's call to the dance floor: "Put a hump in your back, shake your sacroiliac, and ride on!"

Jordan Kessler / popMATTERS