Tales of the Funkadelic
(Country Music's Favorite Son)
Funkadelic - Har, they were anything but country. A fusion of psychedelic rock and funk that rocked the late 60's and throughout the 70's, was the latest evolution of funk (beginning with James Brown to Sly and the Family Stone) at that time. Today, they still can bring an audience to their feet and rock the house. The braintrust of this group was none other than George Clinton who also put together Parliament...'nother fine group during that time. Their best lineup was probably in the mid 70's that featured Eddie Hazel on guitar, Bootsy Collins on bass and Bernie Worrell on the keys. Not only did they produce good fun albums, they also wore costumes, developed personas that made them appear to be from another planet. Their shows were very lavish, with many stage props and was basically a grand production one would see at Vegas. Their band in later years also grew to where it was like 40-50 people on the stage all jammin' to a single groovy toon. Funkadelic was more than a band, they were a state of mind...a philosophy. Free yo mind...and yo ass will follow. Not a bad piece of advice eh?
Maggoteers
This is by no means their complete discography, but I have here the "A List" and some of the honorable mentions. The other albums you will find are good, but these are the definitive Funkadelic. Check it out yowll.
Funkadelic (1971): Their first album was that opened with that famous line, "If you suck my soul, I will lick your funky emotions," kicked off their career. This darkly mood album featured "Mommy, What's A Funkadelic?" a groove that sounded like it was taken from "Shaft" or a good B-porno movie. "Music for My Mother" is good as well as "I Got A Thing, You Got A Thing, Everybody's Got A Thing." Some good electric gutiar playing with the wha peddle...nothing's good unless if you play with it. Good starter, but I would buy the next album first to understand their earlier stuff.
Maggot Brain (1971): Their best album from the early dayz. The title track is the best song here, which is evident in their live concerts later. Eddie Hazel is pretty damn good; I'd almost put him on the same level as Jimi (there, I've said dammit). "Can You Get Into That" is a fun tune to sing along with friends after a night's drinking, a catchy song. "Super Stupid" is one of their other good jams as well as "Hit It and Quit It." The final tune is "Wars of Armageddon," that has a great ending. Fine piece of machinery, this album is...good to your earhole.
Standing On The Verge of Getting It On (1974): My favorite album, cuz it almost defines me to an extent eh. This album is a good representative of their middle period where the guitar licks still roll, but the grooves become more dance-like and more listener friendly. All the tracks are good. "Red Hot Mama" opens up with that killer riff (in fact I've seen shows where they still use this as their opener). I'd use this track in the opening credits of a movie if I make one. "Alice In My Fantsies" is all one lick practically that displays their absurdities while "Sexy Ways" is my favorite track because of its innuendos. The title track is hillarious and never gets old (a good groove tune) and "Jimmy's Got A Little Bitch In Him"... the title says it all. A truly fun album. The liner notes are funny too.
Let's Take It To The Stage (1975): The first decent album to feature Bootsy Collins. A great first side album. Features the kick ass track "Good To Your Earhole" that shows Funkadelic's whimsical attitude. "No Head No Backstage Pass," is quite funny...sexual innuendos again. Wonderful. My favorite track is by far, "Get Off Your Ass and Jam," a simple jam basically, is humorous, crazy and fun of action. Eddie Hazel is amazing. The rest of the album is okay but not as powerful as the first side. Bootsy is however, always great.
