P-Funk Discography Review Part 5: 1977

Parliament-Funkadelic discography

Part 5: 1977

Bootsy’s Rubber Band - “Ahhh.... the Name is Bootsy, Baby!” (1977)
Bootsy’s second album and P-Funk’s first to top the soul/r&b charts with Clinton and Bootsy splitting the songwriting duties along with Mudbone Cooper, Gary Shider, and Maceo Parker contributing as well and basically the same lineup as the last record. Side A is all upbeat funk while side B are ballads. The records starts introducing Bootsy and his band while the band jams before Bootsy joins in on bass. The following two tracks are classic with the concept of “fake the funk and your nose will grow” being expanded on by Parliament later on and the chant of “fly, won’t you come fly” still being used by P-Funk live. The star of the show is Bootsy but every vocalist and musician is top notch with Mudbone and P-Nut really killing it on vocals, particularly on the ballads like “What’s a Telephone Bill” and the psychedelic soul masterpiece, “Munchies For Your Love”. All killer, no filler.
5/5

Eddie Hazel- “Dames, Games, and Guitar Thangs” (1977)
Guitar hero, Eddie Hazel’s solo debut was Hazel’s only solo release, not counting collections of unreleased material that were put out after his passing. The album is a showcase for Hazel’s soloing and even some vocals. The album also introduces the female singers, the Brides of Funkenstein who would later release their own albums and sing back up on various P-Funk recordings and performances. The highlights are covers of “California Dreaming” by the Mamas and the Papas and “She’s So Heavy” by the Beatles. The originals are phenomenal too and Eddie’s playing is top notch. Hazel is one of the greatest guitarists of all time. It is a shame he’ll probably never get the recognition he deserves. His genius shines through on many of the Funkadelic records. However, P-Funk is an enormous musical collective and it is difficult for casual listeners to keep track of who is who. On top of that, many other great guitarists have found their home with Parliament-Funkadelic.  While this is the sole official Eddie Hazel solo LP released in his lifetime, a few records collecting various records exist and are definitely worth checking out.
 4/5

Fred Wesley & the Horny Horns - “A Blow For Me, A Toot For You” (1977)
The Horny Horns were essentially P-Funk’s entire horn section at the time with Fred and Maceo taking center stage backed by the rest of the band. The album features a new version of “Up For the Down Stroke” along with 5 new songs including “Four Play” which has one of the funkiest drumbeats ever recorded and the ballad, “Peace Fugue” which has been heavily sampled.
4/5

Parliament - “Live P-Funk Earth Tour” (1977)
Live double album featuring select tracks from their massive tour featuring mostly live versions of songs from Mothership and Clones with one Funkadelic thrown in plus a couple new studio tracks. It’s great to hear live renditions with extended instrumental parts and medleys. You can feel the energy of the band and audience. The studio tracks are forgettable. The live feel show how tight the band was and how they never play the songs exactly like the studio version. My only complaint is they should’ve included some more Funkadelic such as “Maggot Brain” or “Cosmic Slop”. However, it is billed as Parliament. Original album included an iron on for shirts and a poster.
4/5

Parliament- “Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome” (1977)
This one is a monster of an album. Along with Mothership Connection, this is THE essential Parliament release and most ambitious as far as their whole concept and pushing musical boundaries. The character, Sir Nose D’Void of Funk is introduced as an enemy of the various funky characters created in previous Parliament albums. He is too cool to dance and fakes the funk. P-Funk sings of enlightening Sir Nose through shining a light on him and shooting him with the Bop Gun to make him dance. Obviously, there is some not so subtly hidden sociopolitical commentary here. While the album does find its enemies in the unfunky masses, their solutions is to help the find the funk because everyone has a little funk in them. I won’t go too deep into the philosophy of the lyrics and imagery, that’s for the listener to decipher. The music hard funk, deep grooves, heavy bass lines, and trippy keyboards. Glen Goins takes lead on the classic, “Bop Gun” which includes the chant “we’ve got to get over the hump.” “Funkentelechy” and “Sir Nose” are, like “Bop Gun”, around 10 minutes each. These tracks are slower grooves with abstract sloganeering from Clinton. All 3 are absolutely classic but the biggest hit and best track is “Flashlight” with deep baseline played on synth, predating modern electronic music and hip hop. This is the ultimate Parliament track. The other two songs are decent but far from classic but good enough as to not weigh the album down.
5/5

Next up is 1978!