After P Funk

Part of the thing that made Parliament Funkadelic such magical collective of diverse and consistently standout music was George Clinton gathering,
often at the urgings of Mallia Franklin [[RIP) very talented musicians and
singers who'd previously been in other groups. Some behind the scenes,
many who were outfront stars. Junie Morrison, ex Ohio Player, Phillipe Wynne, former Spinner, Bootsy, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley all from James Brown's organization , and even Sly Stone himself in 1980. The thing
that has fascinated me for the longest is what about the artists who either
quit or fired and went on to do their own thing? Anybody ever check out
what I like to call Post P Funk?...
First up, Glenn Goins' Quazar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBh8hdQIui8

And a favorite of mine as soon as it dropped, Jerome Big Foot Brailey's Mutiny...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DARVGHLRvbY

Jerome BTW had been in two groups pre P, The Five Stair Steps and The Chamber's Bros...

And a real shock to me later was Gary Mudbone Cooper from Boosty Rubber Band scoring
a club hit in a duo with this track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpHR3lDoyog

I have too many good memories of my teen years that involve Parliament/Funkadelic in the soundtrack of my life. If I had the opportunity to meet one of my favorite artists just to say "thank you", George Clinton is probably the first name that comes to mind.

I remember when the forgettable [[in my opinion) "Connections and Disconnections" came out, I boycotted it because of the controversy over the use of "Funkadelic" as the band's name. I know there was a lot of mess involved with former bandmates leaving or being fired, but I never appreciated them calling themselves that, especially when the album sounded nothing like Funkadelic. They probably could have sold more albums using a fresh name, at least in my neck of the woods [[central Ohio), where I don't think I was the only one with those sentiments.

Jerry, for the most part I agree with you about Connections and Disconnections and I remember well all that drama in the press between GC and his former bandmates. I understood their point but the fact is GC was the leader and he had long been enriching
the groups [[ P & F) with fresh blood since Glenn Goins began doing lead vocals in Parliament. Thankfully they reconciled a lot though not quite completely by the time the
group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Even there it was clear to me Billy
Bass Nelson still had some issues. Anyway, though these cats retained their link to George,
Kiddo was another act that did well for a minute after the crash landing of the Mothership:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYiYzdjCP6A

Also, I'd like to add after a Sunday morning spent listening to early funk instead of the jazz piano I usually go for I think a comment member Tim Kinley posted on another thread has
become my new motto:

No, it's not a generational thing. Your music really does suck.

I love the cat, but my nephew is one of many who comes to mind...

Reggie Andrews and Ndugu Chancler produced a Kiddo album that blew me away back then. I listened to it a few times last year and it was still just as hot as it was before. I haven't looked for "Give It Up", "Cheated, Mistreated", or "Little Suzy" on YouTube yet, but those songs had me and my dudes rocking even though they weren't on the radio. I'm at work right now, but I'll see if I can find them later.

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Originally Posted by splanky

Also, I'd like to add after a Sunday morning spent listening to early funk instead of the jazz piano I usually go for I think a comment member Tim Kinley posted on another thread has
become my new motto:

No, it's not a generational thing. Your music really does suck.

I love the cat, but my nephew is one of many who comes to mind...

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I'm going to try to site one example of why I stand by that particular statement.

I remember Harry Smith of CBS's The Early Show recollecting the time he attended a concert by the Rolling Stones in the early 2000's. He said that as far as he could see, the audience basically looked liked him. Meaning that he was surrounded by his generation, his age group.

I usually do the same kind of audience examination whenever I go to see P-Funk. The first thing that pops out is that the people at the front of the stage are young white folks less than half my age. And they're in attendance without their parents, having the discovered the band either through rap music, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, or youtube.

That to me, represents the enduring power of P-Funk. We're not talking about a band that had the commercial success of Earth, Wind and Fire or the Commodores. But they were the No.1 band in the hood. I seriously doubt that any contemporary recording act of similiar stature would command that type of audience almost 40 years later.

To be continued....

The very first two albums I bought were "Candy" by Con Funk Shun and "Gloryhallastoopid" by Parliament. I was into P-Funk before then, but having my own copy was truly special. From the Overton Lloyd comic to the fact the Clinton put together a theme that played throughout the tracks, I was blown away. And that's an album most Parliament fans dismiss. George Clinton, if he wasn't a genius, was one of the most unique and certainly [[to me) the most special artist of my generation.

Most of the solo stuff, or side production is good stuff. There is so much, where to start, a few
Eddie, Bernie, Bootsy, Fuzzy Haskins, R. Copeland, G. Goins, Parlet, The Brides, Sweat Band, Mutiny, P. Wynne, Horny Horns, Maceo, Fred, Johnny Taylor, All Stars, ZAPP first album, Jimmy G. And The Tackheads, Eramus Hall, Steve Washington, Thomas Dolby, Gary Shider, Lige Curry, Kash Waddy, Well Red, B52, Dawn Silva/Gap Band, M. Franklin, Belitta Woods, Praxis, Axiom Funk, PF Guitar Army/ Eddie-Michael-Dwayne, Last Poets, Woo Warriors, O.G. Funk [[Billy), Third Eye Open/Buddy Miles-Bootsy-Steve Salas, Fishbone, Red Hot Chilli, Amp Fiddler, all rappers/mc's, and any dancefloor/r&b/funk/soul artist that arised during or after P Funk.
What counts is the music, the attitude, the talking, the message, the way of playing and way of feeling/thinking P. Not the commercial success of ex members, or studio players own output. None of them on his/her own could ever achieve, the success they shared when all played together. Probably they didn't had that goal, they just wanted to make funky music. A lot of talent was in the stable, all the time.

I think it is pretty phenomenal that albums that were total flops upon release are all being reissued damn near 40 years later. I was one of those diehards that were joining the campaign to get Warner/Rhino to reissue Game, Dames, And Guitar Thangs. They were totally resistant to the idea at first. They later relented and released the CD in 2003 with a limited run of 5,000 copies. All 5,000 copies sold and now that album is back in print. I would've thought that after the nineties, most record companies would have lost interest in reissuing any P-Funk spin off acts. Now we have Quazar, Sweat Band, the first two Parlet albums, and both Brides albums being released on CD in the past five years. If that doesn't outline the Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership, I don't know what does.

I need to dig T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. out and play it again. I liked that as much as any of his solo albums. I also need to download P-Funk All-Stars' album. I listen to the LP sometimes and I'm surprised that I liked as many songs as I did but only listened to a few like "Generator Pop", "Accupuncture", and "One of Those Summers" until others got tired or riding with me [[my car, my cassette).

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Originally Posted by Jerry Oz

I need to dig T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. out and play it again. I liked that as much as any of his solo albums. I also need to download P-Funk All-Stars' album. I listen to the LP sometimes and I'm surprised that I liked as many songs as I did but only listened to a few like "Generator Pop", "Accupuncture", and "One of Those Summers" until others got tired or riding with me [[my car, my cassette).

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Urban Dancefloor Guerillas is easily one of the most mature works of art that the Funk genre has ever produced. Too bad that they didn't release "Copy Cat" as a single. It would have been an excellent follow up to "Atomic Dog".

"Generator Pump". Sorry, I had "pop" on my mind after the Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake threads...

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Originally Posted by Jerry Oz

"Generator Pump". Sorry, I had "pop" on my mind after the Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake threads...

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Were you able to see them when this record dropped? This album was released on the same day that You Shouldn't -Nuf-Bit Fish dropped, so the tour focused on prime tracks from both albums. I was lucky enough to see them 3 times in 1984.

Eat my heart out. Easily the biggest live musical regret of my life is my failure to attend a P-Funk show in spite of dozens of opportunities here in central Ohio. I was not hesitant to attend shows by myself back in the '80s, but I always found something else to do. And after my high school friends dispersed, I was the only fan that I was aware of. By the time I found my darling wife, my entertainment choices became more complicated...

Let's be real. The original and true Funkonauts are at most 60 years old and are joined at the ear ,like a secret society. I was turned on to G.C. by a close friend in 1970 , [[13 year olds) the first album. I bought every album after that "just because" I saw the message ,one of the few that understood" ,Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow. Funkadelic and Parliament was not meant for the "masses". Only "Mothership and Knee-Deep" touched the others that were not there from day one ,or the ones turned on along the way by us ,the faithful. G.C. is FUNK's equal to Miles and Q.J. He recruited the best and provided the forum for them to excell and no one of you can deny that we are joined damn near telepathic in understanding whatever it is that makes us feel and respect the music and the artists that are part of this special society we are proudly [[as this thread shows) members of. "AS IT IS ,SO BE IT". lol

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Originally Posted by Jerry Oz

"Generator Pump". Sorry, I had "pop" on my mind after the Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake threads...

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But you were right the first time, Jerry. The song title IS Generator Pop...
I wore that release out on 2 cassete tapes and haven't replaced it on cd for
some silly reason. One Of Those Summers just melted away any stress I had to deal with anytime I listened to it. As for the word "pop" among
us funkateers at the time we always took it to mean Pop as in papa, daddy,father, etc. The main man. If you go through the lyrics of virtually
all of the P-funk material [[even spin offs) GC and the crew make clear
their perspective on different genres, even eras of music. In Clockwork
by Jimmy G and The Tackheads [[George's brother) you'll find the lyrics:
If they ask you why you don't go pop
tell 'em you ain't a weasel...
Killer track BTW. Funkadelic came out of the box asking What Is Soul?
GC reminded everyone who tried to slip by that they had R&B Skeletons
in their closets and in a nod to reggae, Funkadelic said the third world is
on the one but added "I'm from the first world and I like to groove."
I think daddyacey's remark about P-funk being on the level of Miles Davis
is on the mark and I wasn't surprised at all to hear Miles himself was a fan..

Great points, all, splanky. Speaking of genre bending, one of the reasons that "One of Those Summers" is literally one of my favorite songs ever by anybody is the turn that it takes into a gospel feel at the end. Anybody who ever wanted to hear George Clinton absolutely break it down soufully needs to listen to that cut. It absolutely gives me chills. I am convinced that he was capable of making any kind music he wanted to, so he chose to make songs that he liked.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jerry Oz

Great points, all, splanky. Speaking of genre bending, one of the reasons that "One of Those Summers" is literally one of my favorite songs ever by anybody is the turn that it takes into a gospel feel at the end. Anybody who ever wanted to hear George Clinton absolutely break it down soufully needs to listen to that cut. It absolutely gives me chills. I am convinced that he was capable of making any kind music he wanted to, so he chose to make songs that he liked.

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I didn't find that 45 until a couple of years after it was released. I definitely the other side of that single as well. Their rendition of "It's Too Funky In Here" is so no frills yet so sonically effective. The UDG album has been reissued numerous times, but no one has had the good sense to tack that song onto any of the reissues.

I also used to play "Accupuncture" a lot. That song is sooooo cool for me. In my mind, I'm actually listening to that sax solo because it was different from anything I can recall, especially on a P-Funk LP. There were a lot of different feels on that album; some of it great through headphones, some of it even better if it's being played loud enough to wake the neighbors.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jerry Oz

I also used to play "Accupuncture" a lot. That song is sooooo cool for me. In my mind, I'm actually listening to that sax solo because it was different from anything I can recall, especially on a P-Funk LP. There were a lot of different feels on that album; some of it great through headphones, some of it even better if it's being played loud enough to wake the neighbors.

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Courtesy of one DeWayne Blackbyrd McKnight, one of P-Funk's most talented multi-instrumentalists. He.may be the unsung hero of that album.

Damn! Late to the party AGAIN.

For me, unfortunately, post hay day [['74-'83) P Funk has been a somewhat hit and miss experience. I've always thought that, Pump You Up, Do Fries Go With That Shake? and If Anybody's Gonna Get Funked Up, It's Gonna Be You should have been huge hits. Axiom Funk-Funkcronmicon was also great work. After that......not so much.

I just ran into the news, today, that the Mothership II is going to go on display at The Smithsonian Museum next year. That's a far, far better fate than the original Mothership and a great honor for the entire Funk Mob.

My favorite songs after the heyday of the group are "Cool Joe" and [[of course) "Atomic Dog". Listening to the solo albums reveals songs that I now love even though I did not play a lot when the albums dropped. If forced to pick one song to listen to from the collective band, I am telling the DJ to play "The Big Bang Theory". That is such a funky instrumental...

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Originally Posted by timmyfunk

Courtesy of one DeWayne Blackbyrd McKnight, one of P-Funk's most talented multi-instrumentalists. He.may be the unsung hero of that album.

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Tim, you're confusing me here. As much of talent he was, Blackbyrd,
as far as I know didn't play sax, not even when he was in Miles Davis's
band. The saxophone on One Of Those Summers I was told was by a
woman, Norma Jean Bell...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by splanky

Tim, you're confusing me here. As much of talent he was, Blackbyrd,
as far as I know didn't play sax, not even when he was in Miles Davis's
band. The saxophone on One Of Those Summers I was told was by a
woman, Norma Jean Bell...

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I was referring to Accupuncture, which does feature sax from Norma Jean Bell.