BCB 100 - Parliament/Funkadelic

geoffcowgill · Postby **geoffcowgill** » 18 Jun 2006, 16:22

I like the poppy funky Parliament stuff a bit more than the long druggy groove funk stuff of Funkadelic, personally. I've kind of got to be in a mood to listen to any of it though. I don't have a great deal, only four albums, so I'm eager to hear what true fans have to say about them.

Favorite Album - The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein

Favorite Song - "Flashlight" (though I'll pick "Atomic Dog" if we're including solo Clinton)

Bungo the Mungo · Postby **Bungo the Mungo** » 18 Jun 2006, 16:36

Love 'em.

I suppose most will go for 'Maggot Brain', but I'm a big fan of 'Loose Booty', 'You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure' and that one that starts with the sped-up vocal about Mother Earth - 'like all hos....'.

Maybe 'Cosmic Slop' or 'America Eats Its Young' are the best albums.

Bungo the Mungo · Postby **Bungo the Mungo** » 18 Jun 2006, 16:37

Dunno about the later stuff. Could never get into it. It lacks grit.

Kenji · Postby **Kenji** » 18 Jun 2006, 16:41

Which Parliament albums do you have?

I think these are the best ones if you don't have them:

Bungo the Mungo · Postby **Bungo the Mungo** » 18 Jun 2006, 16:44

'Mothership Connection' is far too polished for my taste. I can't listen to it for more than a couple of minutes. It's got the wit and it's packed with the usual mad creative ideas, but it's slickly produced and lacks fire entirely. I always thought George was against all that, really. Didn't he attack Earth Wind and Fire for having no fire?

The Modernist · Postby **The Modernist** » 18 Jun 2006, 16:46

From what I know of their stuff One Nation Under The Groove is the best album and of course I'd go for the title track.
It's more soulful and funkier than the guitar heavy likes of Maggot Brain.

geoffcowgill · Postby **geoffcowgill** » 18 Jun 2006, 16:56

Kenji wrote:Which Parliament albums do you have?

I think these are the best ones if you don't have them:

I just got that last week, actually. I've only listened to it once, and it felt a bit hit and miss to me. Of course, I'll give it a few more spins in the remainder of my lifetime, I'm sure.

king feeb · Postby **king feeb** » 18 Jun 2006, 17:03

What a strange career George Clinton and his crew have had! They started out playing doowop-infused soul. Then they mutated into an early exponent of psychedelic black rock, making truly wacked-out albums like Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow and sharing bills with the likes of the MC5 and Sun Ra. On Maggot Brain, Eddie Hazel out-Hendrixes Jimi; it's my favorite album of this period.
Clinton resurrected the Parliament name to present their more traditional vocal-oriented soul music while retaining Funkadelic for the mind-bending acid-funk excursions, though by the late seventies, it was pretty tough to really catagorize them on that basis. Their sound headed away from rock towards pure funk and some of their best albums are from this period of transition: Let's Take It To The Stage by Funkadelic and Chocolate City & Up For The Down Stroke by Parliament.
Their most well-known albums are probably Parliament's Mothership Connection and Funkadelic's One Nation Under A Groove. These deserve a place in your collection.
Clinton did a mess of albums with different groups in the late seventies and early eighties. He spread his creativity too thin and while all of the later stuff has high points, there's a lot of filler. I always liked Thrombipulation, one of the last Parliament albums, it combined modern funk with fifties barbershop doowop vocals. Also- hilarious cover!

Funkadelic's last gasp The Electric Spanking Of War Babies is good too, with lots of electronic-texture funk that presages George's solo career nicely.

Bungo the Mungo · Postby **Bungo the Mungo** » 18 Jun 2006, 17:13

The Unique Modernist! wrote:From what I know of their stuff One Nation Under The Groove is the best album and of course I'd go for the title track.
It's more soulful and funkier than the guitar heavy likes of Maggot Brain.

And much blander.

king feeb · Postby **king feeb** » 18 Jun 2006, 17:18

I'm listening to Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow right now. What a fucked up album! I love it.

This was their "acid" album and it's truly weird yet funky. Clinton said they even gave the tape machine LSD! That might account for the bizarre mix on this.

The Modernist · Postby **The Modernist** » 18 Jun 2006, 18:32

the name is Coan wrote:
The Unique Modernist! wrote:From what I know of their stuff One Nation Under The Groove is the best album and of course I'd go for the title track.
It's more soulful and funkier than the guitar heavy likes of Maggot Brain.

And much blander.

for me long guitar solos are blander, they compromised by trying to produce music for hippies.

toomanyhatz · Postby **toomanyhatz** » 18 Jun 2006, 19:41

One of these bands (well, two of them I guess) that I always like whenever I hear, but am underacquainted with. I'd take recommendations, if anybody's got 'em. I do have, and love, Maggot Brain, however. Whenever Eddie Hazel fires up the electric, it goes somewhere. So let's call that favorite album for now, though I'm sure there's one I'd like more that I haven't heard yet. Same with best song, which is probably "Can You Get to That."

K · Postby K » 18 Jun 2006, 23:10

I've been trying to think of something usful to say in this thread for an hour now. What can I say? They are (both of them) a pair of the most important bands ever. Listen to every sound and groove that slinks from the speakers. They are responsible for some of the greatest funk ever recorded - and becuase of that, they are responsible for the careers of some of Hip-Hop's and Modern Soul's greatest stars ever (rightly or wrongly).

Prince's biggest influence to me is Clinton, and the P-Funk sound influence the Snoop Dog Groove, De La Soul, Tribe and a thousand others.

'Me? I'm known as lollipop man, aka the long haired sucka...'

The Fish · Postby **The Fish** » 18 Jun 2006, 23:47

I'm with Moddy on this one......

Album: One Nation Under A Groove/Electric Spanking of War Babies
Track: Not Just Knee Deep

mentalist (slight return) · Postby **mentalist (slight return)** » 19 Jun 2006, 01:32

I have little to add except to applaud the decision of BCB! I'm a bit of a fan of Parliament's Chocolate City and the sprawling America Eats It's Young by Funkadelic. Clinton's Computer Games deserves praise as well.

Leg of lamb · Postby **Leg of lamb** » 19 Jun 2006, 01:35

I'm ashamed to say that the only thing I've heard containing George Clinton is the track 'Synthesiser' on Outkast's Aquemini, which is awesome. I will remedy this.

geoffcowgill · Postby **geoffcowgill** » 24 Jun 2006, 19:37

geoffcowgill wrote:
Kenji wrote:Which Parliament albums do you have?

I think these are the best ones if you don't have them:

I just got that last week, actually. I've only listened to it once, and it felt a bit hit and miss to me. Of course, I'll give it a few more spins in the remainder of my lifetime, I'm sure.

Just now listening to this again. Good lord, is this some crazy sheeit. "Put Love In Your Life" is almost beyond description. It's like some scrappy funk/psych/R&B "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" the way it almost indiscriminately jumps from one thing to another. The second section sounds like Paul Robeson doing jazz, morphing into Bacharach and David, then we get that underground hip-hop-sounding transition, etc. Nuts.

The Marquess · Postby **The Marquess** » 25 Jun 2006, 12:29

Another vote for Mothership Connection - best album. P Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up) - best track.

T. Berry Shuffle · Postby **T. Berry Shuffle** » 25 Jun 2006, 19:12

There is only one:

and I love how "Can You Get to That" almost sucker punches "Maggot Brain" right outta the box.

Bungo the Mungo · Postby **Bungo the Mungo** » 25 Jun 2006, 19:13

T. Berry Shuffle wrote:There is only one:

and I love how "Can You Get to That" almost sucker punches "Maggot Brain" right outta the box.

Indeed. Indeed indeed.