Best Funkadelic Studio Album

I love America Eats Its Young for combining the energy of the early albums with a different kind of slickness than they would eventually pursue.

It was my first Funkadelic purchase, and it seems so much weirder than all the rest. Love it so much.

The first Funkadelic album you buy will always be the favorite.

The first lot of albums are overrated.

One nation is the best.

Until cosmic slop they still had no real idea what they were doing.

I heard Maggot Brain first, and didn't understand it until I heard other records. I wasn't sure, "is it supposed to sound this way or is it accidental somehow?"

Cosmic Slop has a number of "relationship" songs, which they would mostly leave by the wayside afterwards. In his book, Clinton describes writing several love songs while he was on his honeymoon, but deciding to give them to Bootsy to record, since they weren't appropriate for the main groups.

naw, s/t and maggot brain are fierce brilliant - wars of armagideon is still probs my fav Funkadelic jam

And there's great stuff on Free Yr Mind - Friday Night August 14th and I Wanna Know If Its Good To You are All Time - I just rarely wanna hear the title track

The first lot of albums are overrated.

One nation is the best.

― candyman

Are they? Well into the '90s the consensus gathered around One Nation.

Yeah, I sometimes overlook the first album but listening to it this evening, it's awesome - apart from that one blues rock track. That drum sound on "Music For My Mother" could punch holes in concrete.

Basically, the albums where the "delic" parts dominate the "funk" parts are the good ones. When they get into the "Wait, why isn't this a Parliament album?" section of their discography, I lose interest.

Even in later years, though, Parliament and Funkadelic distinguish themselves. I enjoy One Nation and get annoyed by Motor-Booty Affair, and they're both 1978.

The Electric Spanking of War Babies is top five.

If you can bear wading through 3 (occasionally terrible) discs, First Ya Gotta Shake the Gate has some worthwhile stuff that isn't just a repeat from their heyday.

Motor City Madness from the UK label Ace is still my favorite way of listening to "early" Funkadelic. Their albums didn't quite hang together for me, so their music gets across better on that compilation.

‘Let’s Take It To The Stage’ is basically an album of offcuts but it always sounded really coherent to me...probably my favourite

"Tales of Kidd Funkadelic" is the offcuts album.

Oh ok that would explain it

was a time when i was p-funk obsesssed, but ive not really played these guys in an age, so i need to get my old records out. but....

"Are they? Well into the '90s the consensus gathered around One Nation."

that WAS the consensus at one point. but since then its swung in the opposite direction, so now everyone thinks their early albums are the group at their best, when actually, this is when they were still sort of finding out what they could do, and who they were, and often sounded like they were trying on the 'delic' part of the band's overall suit just to see how it fit. so if you prefer them as a rock band, then okay, i can see why youd like this period best - i do love free your mind just for how crazy it can be, but overall this era is when the band was more hendrix influenced, still coming out of the late 60s, and more sombre/earnest. i prefer when they got looser, sillier, weirder, and yes, funkier and really came into their own. hate to say it but those earlier albums are actually just a tad bit boring.

also, parliament's osmium, which is very much like early funkadelic, is better than any of those early funkadelic albums.

id rank them roughly (bearing in mind they set out to be a funk-rock band, not a funk band) like:
One Nation Under a Groove
Let's Take it to the Stage
Standing on the Verge of Getting It On
Cosmic Slop
Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow
Hardcore Jollies
Tales of Kidd Funkadelic
America Eats Its Young
Maggot Brain
Funkadelic
Uncle Jam Wants You
The Electric Spanking of War Babies

maggot brain way too low, that and cosmic slop are just really nice sweet spots where the tunes, grooves, nonsense and seriousness all come together beautifully while there is still a little psych edge (though later stuff is great too and maybe "better")

i never liked the first couple as much as i was supposed to. they seem like the sort of thing you're supposed to get really really stoned for

‘Let’s Take It To The Stage’ is basically an album of offcuts but it always sounded really coherent to me...probably my favourite

― X-Prince Protégé (sonnyboy), Friday, January 29, 2021

Mine too.

My rankings.

Music for your mother is a good overview but its missing way too many good songs (ahem comin round the mountain) and a little of the early period goes a long way.

o now everyone thinks

see i call bullshit on anyone thinking they can divine what "everyone" thinks at any given time. if you don't dig the early albums that's fine but that's on you.

i love osmium/rhemium etc, but its a very different thing to the early funkadelic - the songwriting is great, very focused, and they're trying lots of things, and they're pop in an oddball way. the first three albums have a lot of pop moments - esp maggot brain, with you and your folks, back in our minds, etc - but the essence is the ooze, the primordial from-the-earth funk.

Def true about osmium being more weird pop, its much sharper, yeah. But It's not really primordial funk on those funksdelic albums though, its this sludgey, stoned, slightly self aware groove based soul-funk-rock thing really, heavy at times, but also actually a little bit like the stooges on fun house (as opposed to the stooges self titled album), where they sound like they dont always entirely know what they're doing, or just haven't practised all that much, and are just letting things roll out however they happen to roll out.

(xp) "Can You Get to That"!

(xp) "Can You Get to That"!

yes! rule of three!! holy trinity!!!

tales of kidd funkadelic underrated

if you ain't gonna get it on, take your dead ass home

Yes

Someone edit that track so it lasts the rest of my life

It is, but Uncle Jam is the most underrated of all the albums. I've probably said this half a dozen times in this thread but cant be arsed checking. It needs saying again anyway.

just wanted to check: is there a combined poll of funkadelic and parliament records that i'm just not finding through the search engine, and if not, does anybody want me to start it

signed, someone who listened to the greatest album ever recorded, funkentelechy vs. the placebo syndrome, for the first time today

that bop gun riff is really fun to play on guitar

I don't listen to it as much as I should because it was the only one I could find in the pre-internet days, but it's tight.

You and Your POLL, Me and My POLL: The P-Funk Results Poll

Classic Shakey poll, me and him grumbling about how few voted in it compared to Belle & Sebastian or someone.

amazing there wasn't even an albums side poll

Is it not on that page somewhere?

Pfunkboy says Brad should start the poll regardless. Why not include some of the solo albums and spin offs?

Quazar and Sweat Band are 2 of the best pfunk related albums ever

and that first Mutiny album is the equal of any funkadelic album of that era

https://open.spotify.com/album/3HgaFNPq5lAFOc0hrikBXB?si=ioBnfmQaSYO359Jx-VlLdg&dl_branch=1

xps Brad, YES Tales of Kidd Funkadelic is so underrated, top 3 Funkadelic for me. “How Do Yeaw View You?” is an all-time fave. Jealous that you’re hearing Funkentelechy for the first time. “Wizard of Finance” on repeat x1000.

Have you heard Let’s Take It To the Stage? That’s the peak for me but it’s all one big party

Standing on the Verge of Getting It On is the best of mid period pfunk.

The Electric Spanking of War Babies deserved a vote.

for solos and offshoots, it seems stupidly obvious to say, but eddie hazel's _game, dames and guitar thangs_ along with bootsy's _stretchin` out in bootsy's rubber band_ are essentially p-funk albums in all but name. and both are completely essential.

Billy "Bass" Nelson has died :( I knew it was coming as he was in a hospice but It's a tough one to take all the same. That OG line up was amazing.

RIP, great player.

RIP

RIP.