Parliament-Funkadelic discography
Part 3: 1979
Funkadelic - “Uncle Jam Wants You” (1979)
Funkadelic’s 11th studio album is their second and last hit record. The album revolves around the hit, “Not Just Knee Deep” which is an epic dance number co-written by Clinton and Morrison but credited to one of Clinton’s sons as a gift. “Knee Deep” is an infectious groove, clocking in at around 15 minutes, featuring over the top layering of vocals, one of P-Funk’s catchiest keyboards, an awesome Hampton guitar solo, and even a scat breakdown by former Spinners vocalist, Phillipe Wynn. The song was famously sampled in several hip hop songs including “Me, Myself, & I” by De La Soul while the bass line is used in several Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and other G-Funk tracks. The opener, “Freak of the Week” is likewise a catchy dance number, sampled by Digital Underground (who are, like Snoop and Dre heavy on the P-Funk sampling). However, the second half of the album feels like studio outtakes but are still fun and feature some nice guitar playing from Michael Hampton. Never mind the underwhelming second half. View it as two killer singles with some alright extras thrown in on the b-side. “Knee Deep” alone makes this essential.
4.5/5
Parlet - “Invasion of the Booty Snatchers” (1979)
This is the first record to feature the P-Funk Horns aka the Baltimore Connection (Boyer, Cowen, and Thomas) who would feature prominently on most future P-Funk records (they also did background vocals on “Knee Deep”) and live shows, with two of the three still playing with P-Funk to this day. The opening track, “Riding High” is a classic P-Funk dance number while the closer, “Huff N Puff” is pure funk. The in between tracks are pop funk, bordering on disco. They’re not bad but also not great.
3/5
Parliament - “Gloryhallastoopid (Or Pin the Tail on the Funky)” 1979)
1979 was a transitional year for P-Funk. Many of the new members who came in are still performing with them to this day. The P-Funk horns came in to play along Maceo, Blackbyrd McKnight from Herbie Hancock’s backing band, the Headhunters, would join Hampton on lead guitar, Clip Pain would come in as MC and background vocals, Clinton and Pat Lewis’s son, Trey Lewd on vocals, and while not appearing on this album, Hampton’s cousin, Lige Curry would join as a touring vocalist and later make it as bassist. Having such a deep roster allowed P-Funk have a next man up approach as their revolving door of musicians come and go. Gloryhallastoopid is an underrated and often overlooked record. The bar was set high with Mothership, Clones, and Motor Booty. While Glory isn’t on par with those albums, it is still a solid record. While lacking a hit on par with “Flashlight” or “We Want the Funk”, “Theme From the Black Hole” and the title track (both penned by Clinton and Bootsy) are worthy candidates with the former famously sampled in “Same Song” by Digital Underground and the later by Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. “Big Bang Theory” is a banger of an instrumental dance song. “Color Me Funky” is has a chill deep groove with some Funkadelic guitar and great vocals while “The Freeze” is extremely catchy but a bit redundant, clicking in at over 9 minutes. “May We Bang You” and “Party People” are catchy party jams but border on filler. The lyrics and comic with the record sleeve depict the unfunky Sir Nose turning Clinton into a donkey (“I have made a jackass out of you”). In Clinton’s autobiography he described that as a take on being aware that his 15 minutes of fame might be up. Indeed, this was a drop off from the last 3 records both commercially and creatively. Be that as it may, not a far drop drop and still recommend.
4/5
Brides of Funkenstein- “Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy” (1979)
The Brides seconds and final album is a solid funk album that introduces drummer, Dennis Chambers into the Funk Mob, prominently features Blackbyrd on guitar and Jeff Bunn on bass. The title track features a funky keyboard reminiscent of “Knee Deep” along with an excellent solo by Hampton. At 15 minutes, it’s a bit long but has a nice enough groove. “I’m Holding You Responsible” has great horns and guitar. The album is mostly harder funk with a couple ballads that don’t do much. Overall, a decent album but not as good as the last.
3.5/5
Fred Wesley & the Horny Horns - “Say Blow By Blow Backwards” (1979)
The Horny Horns second album is, like with the Brides, fairly solid but not as consistent as their first. The album is mostly Parliament style songs with a focus on Fred and Maceo’s Horns. Their playing is top notch and the bass grooves are solid too. “Half A Man” is co-written by Billy Bass and has that old school Funkadelic feel but with horns. There aren’t any bad songs and the musicianship is great but there really isn’t any great songs either.
3.5/5
Bootsy’s Rubber Band -“This Boot Is Made For Fonk-N” (1979)
Nowhere near as good as Bootsy’s previous albums, this one feels like it may have been rushed. The album is mostly upbeat, high energy funk. Bootsy’s playing is great and the musicianship of the band is top notch. Unfortunately, while there isn’t a single bad song there aren’t really any great songs either. “Under the Influence of a Groove” and “Chug A Lug” are stand outs but would be deep cuts had they been on previous albums. A decent album but not up to par.
3/5
Mutiny - “Mutiny on the Mamaship” (1979)
Mutiny lead by P-Funk drummer, Jerome Brailey, who had left the previous year is a big middle finger to George Clinton. “Lump” is a Clinton diss track and the album art depicts Clinton (characterized as Lump) being forced at sword point to walk the plank. “Funk N Bop” has some subtle disses on Clinton as well, referring Lump the way Clinton refers to Sir Nose. Musically, really solid hard funk from beginning to end. Brailey even throws in drum beats from Parliament songs he played on to remind you it was his drums that had you dancing. The rest of the band, particularly the guitarists, are top notch as well. The overall sound is funk with a heavy emphasis on the one but with some rock influences throughout as well. The stand out tracks being “Go Away From Here” and “Voyage to the Bottom of the P”. If there’s one downside, it’s that all the songs have a similar sound and feel and lack variety but it’s a really funky sound so not really much of a complaint. One can’t discuss this album without touching on the Clinton disses. Several members of O-Funk have been vocal about being underpaid or underutilized. Clinton claims he was being ripped off by management and record companies. The financial issue is likely some combination of higher ups screwing Clinton and mismanagement on Clinton’s part. There’s no way to really know. Many older members, particularly original Parliament’s, have expressed frustration about newer members being utilized more and given more of the spotlight. Clinton has expressed that constantly bringing new in new people helps him keep the band sounding fresh. My personal opinion is that each member of P-Funk brings something unique to the band so I can see how bringing in new people, bringing back old members, and bringing in guests helps the band from sounding stale. However, from a creative sound point I can see how frustrating it would be to have your ideas ignored when you have a lot to contribute and have already contributed a lot. At the end of the day, I’m going to say “it is what it is” and try not to speculate too much about band drama. There’s no way you can have a crew 59 people deep and keep everyone happy at all times.
4/5
Up next we review the 10th year of P-Funk records in 1980.
Part 3: 1979
Funkadelic’s 11th studio album is their second and last hit record. The album revolves around the hit, “Not Just Knee Deep” which is an epic dance number co-written by Clinton and Morrison but credited to one of Clinton’s sons as a gift. “Knee Deep” is an infectious groove, clocking in at around 15 minutes, featuring over the top layering of vocals, one of P-Funk’s catchiest keyboards, an awesome Hampton guitar solo, and even a scat breakdown by former Spinners vocalist, Phillipe Wynn. The song was famously sampled in several hip hop songs including “Me, Myself, & I” by De La Soul while the bass line is used in several Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and other G-Funk tracks. The opener, “Freak of the Week” is likewise a catchy dance number, sampled by Digital Underground (who are, like Snoop and Dre heavy on the P-Funk sampling). However, the second half of the album feels like studio outtakes but are still fun and feature some nice guitar playing from Michael Hampton. Never mind the underwhelming second half. View it as two killer singles with some alright extras thrown in on the b-side. “Knee Deep” alone makes this essential.
4.5/5
Parlet - “Invasion of the Booty Snatchers” (1979)
This is the first record to feature the P-Funk Horns aka the Baltimore Connection (Boyer, Cowen, and Thomas) who would feature prominently on most future P-Funk records (they also did background vocals on “Knee Deep”) and live shows, with two of the three still playing with P-Funk to this day. The opening track, “Riding High” is a classic P-Funk dance number while the closer, “Huff N Puff” is pure funk. The in between tracks are pop funk, bordering on disco. They’re not bad but also not great.
3/5
Parliament - “Gloryhallastoopid (Or Pin the Tail on the Funky)” 1979)
1979 was a transitional year for P-Funk. Many of the new members who came in are still performing with them to this day. The P-Funk horns came in to play along Maceo, Blackbyrd McKnight from Herbie Hancock’s backing band, the Headhunters, would join Hampton on lead guitar, Clip Pain would come in as MC and background vocals, Clinton and Pat Lewis’s son, Trey Lewd on vocals, and while not appearing on this album, Hampton’s cousin, Lige Curry would join as a touring vocalist and later make it as bassist. Having such a deep roster allowed P-Funk have a next man up approach as their revolving door of musicians come and go. Gloryhallastoopid is an underrated and often overlooked record. The bar was set high with Mothership, Clones, and Motor Booty. While Glory isn’t on par with those albums, it is still a solid record. While lacking a hit on par with “Flashlight” or “We Want the Funk”, “Theme From the Black Hole” and the title track (both penned by Clinton and Bootsy) are worthy candidates with the former famously sampled in “Same Song” by Digital Underground and the later by Del Tha Funkee Homosapien. “Big Bang Theory” is a banger of an instrumental dance song. “Color Me Funky” is has a chill deep groove with some Funkadelic guitar and great vocals while “The Freeze” is extremely catchy but a bit redundant, clicking in at over 9 minutes. “May We Bang You” and “Party People” are catchy party jams but border on filler. The lyrics and comic with the record sleeve depict the unfunky Sir Nose turning Clinton into a donkey (“I have made a jackass out of you”). In Clinton’s autobiography he described that as a take on being aware that his 15 minutes of fame might be up. Indeed, this was a drop off from the last 3 records both commercially and creatively. Be that as it may, not a far drop drop and still recommend.
4/5
The Brides seconds and final album is a solid funk album that introduces drummer, Dennis Chambers into the Funk Mob, prominently features Blackbyrd on guitar and Jeff Bunn on bass. The title track features a funky keyboard reminiscent of “Knee Deep” along with an excellent solo by Hampton. At 15 minutes, it’s a bit long but has a nice enough groove. “I’m Holding You Responsible” has great horns and guitar. The album is mostly harder funk with a couple ballads that don’t do much. Overall, a decent album but not as good as the last.
3.5/5
Fred Wesley & the Horny Horns - “Say Blow By Blow Backwards” (1979)
The Horny Horns second album is, like with the Brides, fairly solid but not as consistent as their first. The album is mostly Parliament style songs with a focus on Fred and Maceo’s Horns. Their playing is top notch and the bass grooves are solid too. “Half A Man” is co-written by Billy Bass and has that old school Funkadelic feel but with horns. There aren’t any bad songs and the musicianship is great but there really isn’t any great songs either.
3.5/5
Bootsy’s Rubber Band -“This Boot Is Made For Fonk-N” (1979)
Nowhere near as good as Bootsy’s previous albums, this one feels like it may have been rushed. The album is mostly upbeat, high energy funk. Bootsy’s playing is great and the musicianship of the band is top notch. Unfortunately, while there isn’t a single bad song there aren’t really any great songs either. “Under the Influence of a Groove” and “Chug A Lug” are stand outs but would be deep cuts had they been on previous albums. A decent album but not up to par.
3/5
Mutiny - “Mutiny on the Mamaship” (1979)
Mutiny lead by P-Funk drummer, Jerome Brailey, who had left the previous year is a big middle finger to George Clinton. “Lump” is a Clinton diss track and the album art depicts Clinton (characterized as Lump) being forced at sword point to walk the plank. “Funk N Bop” has some subtle disses on Clinton as well, referring Lump the way Clinton refers to Sir Nose. Musically, really solid hard funk from beginning to end. Brailey even throws in drum beats from Parliament songs he played on to remind you it was his drums that had you dancing. The rest of the band, particularly the guitarists, are top notch as well. The overall sound is funk with a heavy emphasis on the one but with some rock influences throughout as well. The stand out tracks being “Go Away From Here” and “Voyage to the Bottom of the P”. If there’s one downside, it’s that all the songs have a similar sound and feel and lack variety but it’s a really funky sound so not really much of a complaint. One can’t discuss this album without touching on the Clinton disses. Several members of O-Funk have been vocal about being underpaid or underutilized. Clinton claims he was being ripped off by management and record companies. The financial issue is likely some combination of higher ups screwing Clinton and mismanagement on Clinton’s part. There’s no way to really know. Many older members, particularly original Parliament’s, have expressed frustration about newer members being utilized more and given more of the spotlight. Clinton has expressed that constantly bringing new in new people helps him keep the band sounding fresh. My personal opinion is that each member of P-Funk brings something unique to the band so I can see how bringing in new people, bringing back old members, and bringing in guests helps the band from sounding stale. However, from a creative sound point I can see how frustrating it would be to have your ideas ignored when you have a lot to contribute and have already contributed a lot. At the end of the day, I’m going to say “it is what it is” and try not to speculate too much about band drama. There’s no way you can have a crew 59 people deep and keep everyone happy at all times.
4/5
Up next we review the 10th year of P-Funk records in 1980.
Comments
Post a Comment