Just when you thought it was safe to read ILM again....OH NO, another "In Praise Of..." thread. Joining the ranks of Destroyer, Nothing's Shocking, Broken, It'll End in Tears and Group Sex, I present ye with.....Mothership Connection!
Absent-mindedly grabbed a tape of this yesterday as I begrudgingly limped off to the gym for a stupefying round of self-torture on the treadmill, and found a new buoyancy in my otherwise lumpen, funkless gait, prompted by the seamless brilliance of this....wait for it....genuinely timeless classic!
I remmber my sister brought this album home (along with Clones of Dr.Funkenstein) sometime in the summer of 1976 or so, whetting my ten year old appetite for it by saying they were "like the black version of Kiss". Well, they sure did look as equally otherworldly as my beloved, grease-painted superheroes....and were on the same visionary record label....but oof were they ever different! For a start, there seemed to be about forty of them, and the sheer production and instrumentation of Mothership Connection was dizzying (Kiss wouldn't manage as varied and vast a sound until Destroyer). But damn....having heard nothing of any semblance of "funk" in any capacity (James Brown didn't get a lot of airplay in our mid-to-late 70's household), this was just a whole different brand of beast.
For a start, Clinton's narrative skills on the first two tracks are completley hilarious and bizarre, hooking me right in. Secondly, the grooves just seem to flow so effortlessly, morphing from full-on punch and then off into jazzy subtlety, buffered by at least three different voices at a time (Lollipop Man, "the Long Haired Sucka" being my favorite). The precise moment during "Mothership Connection (Star Child)," when the band switches back into the "Swing low sweet chariot..." refrain and the giant saucer gently lifts off again (I'm talking bout specificaly 5:13 into the song), it is truly a transcendent bit of music. Damn I love that.
"Unfunky UFO" seems to abduct the riff from Stevie Wonder's "Superstitious" and takes it on a strange sci-fi episode involving an alien invasion prompted by a funk famine. Odd? You betcha, but it's wildy inventive and engaging stuff.
I remember especially enjoying "Handcuffs" as a kid, mistaking the chorus for being "Do I have to put my handcuffs on your mama?", which made precious little sense but prompted big laughs. The song, in retrospect, is actually a tad misogynist, but hey....this was the 70's after all.
"Give Up the Funk..." is of course a massive classic, and there's nothing I can say about it that will further its status as utterly brilliant. Even the arguable filler tracks ("Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples") are still completely awe inspiring.
Even you don't own this record, you're exiling yourself in a world devoid of fun.
Who agrees? Who dares disagree?
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 August 2003 18:06 (twenty-two years ago)
That shoulda been IF you don't....blah blah blah.
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 14 August 2003 18:08 (twenty-two years ago)
― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 14 August 2003 18:10 (twenty-two years ago)
--but it's really not.this is p.funk on steroids,and ecstasy too
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Thursday, 14 August 2003 18:16 (twenty-two years ago)
― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 14 August 2003 18:19 (twenty-two years ago)
I agree, but this one is good too.
― dleone (dleone), Thursday, 14 August 2003 18:23 (twenty-two years ago)
― Dadaismus (Dada), Thursday, 14 August 2003 18:26 (twenty-two years ago)
― Haikunym (Haikunym), Thursday, 14 August 2003 18:33 (twenty-two years ago)
― Kingfish (Kingfish), Thursday, 14 August 2003 19:08 (twenty-two years ago)
― Myron Kosloff, Thursday, 14 August 2003 21:27 (twenty-two years ago)
SO GOOD, IT'S GOOD TO ME!!!!!
― ron (ron), Thursday, 14 August 2003 23:20 (twenty-two years ago)
THAT'S THE LAW AROUND HERE, YA GOTTA WEAR YA SUNGLASSES.....
....SO YOU CAN FEEL COO'!
― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 15 August 2003 23:31 (twenty-two years ago)
― Sonny A. (Keiko), Saturday, 16 August 2003 00:17 (twenty-two years ago)
― poortheatre (poortheatre), Friday, 30 December 2005 20:18 (twenty years ago)
― R. J. Greene, Friday, 30 December 2005 20:48 (twenty years ago)
― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Saturday, 31 December 2005 05:11 (twenty years ago)
― Last Of The Famous International Pfunkboys (Kerr), Saturday, 31 December 2005 05:14 (twenty years ago)
I like Night of the Thumpasaurus Peoples a lot. I much prefer it to the title track, actually. Has anyone else noticed that the Black Crowes stole the vocal melody for use as the guitar riff to Remedy?
― Palomino (Palomino), Saturday, 31 December 2005 18:36 (twenty years ago)
― Myonga Von Bootsy (Myonga Von Bontee), Sunday, 1 January 2006 20:28 (twenty years ago)
― okok, Monday, 2 January 2006 11:42 (twenty years ago)
could you imagine Doobie in your funk?
― sexyDancer, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 17:11 (eighteen years ago)
this is no longer my favorite funk record.
― poortheatre, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 17:16 (eighteen years ago)
that begs the question...
― Shakey Mo Collier, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 17:19 (eighteen years ago)
http://www.dustygroove.com/images/products/p/parliament~_funkentel_101b.jpg
― poortheatre, Wednesday, 8 August 2007 17:21 (eighteen years ago)
poortheatre ftw.
― The Reverend, Thursday, 9 August 2007 00:40 (eighteen years ago)
50 years old today! to think, we used to have proper funk in this country
― frogbs, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 03:57 (two months ago)
Was recently thinking OutKast kept the funk alive…now gaming a scenario in which the funk split into competing sects whereby OutKast would be maybe more the James Brown denomination (and presumably that lineage included Prince?). Can’t really comment on who’s got it these days, or who OutKast’s contemporary rivals in the P Funk camp would have been. Maybe hyphy? Not “true” funk?
― recovering internet addict/shitposter (viborg), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 08:11 (two months ago)
Speaking of bands that have never had a proper box set...
― Cow_Art, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 08:43 (two months ago)
I've been going thru the p-funk discography over the past few months and I've been blown away by how good they are. I had already been familiar with the hits, but I had no idea how deep their discography is. Later albums like Trombipulation and Uncle Jam's Groove have 10/10 classics like "Big Bang" and "(Not Just) Knee Deep", and listening to their sound evolve from album to album is such a blast. The live album is one of the greatest things I've ever heard, that tour must have been awe inspiring. I think there's a case to be made that the extended p-funk collective is as good as any band to have existed.
― Ubiquitor, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 15:55 (two months ago)
i mean, absolutely
― budo jeru, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 17:33 (two months ago)
I love when Clinton says "I want y'all to stay tuned for Starchild" on the first track even though Starchild doesn't start for another two minutes
― frogbs, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 18:48 (two months ago)
the p-funk and related discography is a crown jewel of american music. all those bootsy albums too. i have ilm to thank for really getting me into it, specifically old shakey mo collier posts. still have a lot to explore tbh.
― map, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 19:09 (two months ago)
this is really great, I have a tape version but need the CDshttps://www.discogs.com/release/1412176-Parliament-Funkadelic-George-Clinton-P-Funk-All-Stars-Live-Greatest-Hits-1972-1993
― challopvious (sleeve), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 19:12 (two months ago)
i think my first exposure was hearing thurston moore (or was it lee ranaldo?) enthuse about eddie hazel playing on "maggot brain". still need to form a connection with some of the p-funk albums... like that live album which i don't think i've heard yet!.... but my undying favorites at this point are probably cosmic slop and funkentelechy and ahh.. the name is bootsy baby!.
xp that looks fab
― map, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 19:15 (two months ago)
I actually don't know the difference between Parliament and Funkadelic except that Parliament are actually the funkier group while Funkadelic are way more psychedelic. I haven't actually heard the Funkadelic albums past Maggot Brain though maybe I should rectify that
― frogbs, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 19:17 (two months ago)
More guitar solos on Funkadelic records.
― Kim Kimberly, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 19:21 (two months ago)
xxp I just bought one on Discogs, at some point I will DM you a dropbox link
― challopvious (sleeve), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 19:22 (two months ago)
omg frogbs you're in for a treat they are sooo good.
xp oh word sleeve i'd love that!
― map, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 19:36 (two months ago)
Funkadelic were the band, Parliament were the singers + horns according to George.
― Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 19:39 (two months ago)
Standing On the Verge of Getting It On and Let's Take It to the Stage are my favorites, but you can't go wrong.
― The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 19:44 (two months ago)
funkadelic after cosmic slop i still haven't listened to, gotta get on that
― map, Tuesday, 16 December 2025 20:46 (two months ago)
Uncle Jam is a terrific album and so is Electric Spanking of War Babies.
― Toshirō Nofune (The Seventh ILXorai), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 20:49 (two months ago)
...War Babies is top five Funkadelic imo.
― The Luda of Suburbia (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 16 December 2025 21:13 (two months ago)