Funkadelic
Maggot Brain (Westbound 2007)

Albums by George Clinton's Paliament/Funkadelic, or however you choose to abbreviate the 1970s funk conglomerate, are usually pretty tough going. Often strong melodies are sublimated in lieu of conventional funk silliness, and songwriting is likely ignored for the sake of often-directionless jamming, consequently dating many of these albums unfavorably.

Even Funkadelic's One Nation Under a Groove and Parliament's Mothership Connection, both rather overly praised albums, are murky works whose best tracks are usually the singles. Maggot Brain, the third effort by Funkadelic (always the more rock-oriented of the two bands) by and large avoids these pitfalls.'

It's a dark and scary album in places, although in others it's sweet and uplifting. It stands as a link between the turgid grooves of Funkadelic and Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow and the slightly more pop-oriented (and sillier) Cosmic Slop and Let's Take it to the Stage.

It opens with what is essentially a ten-minute guitar solo (the title track); it's surprisingle listenable, as Eddie Hazel plays heartfelt runs over a slow keyboard pattern and some ramblings by Clinton. Tracks 2-6 are all shorter, and the meat of the album is here; the greatness of the instantly catchy "Can You Get to That" and "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" (the latter a song of social criticism concurrent with what Sly Stone was doing at the time) cannot be denied.

"Hit It and Quit It" is classic danceable P-Funk, "Super Stupid" is essentially soul merged with metal (if only Black Sabbath had this rhythmic sensibility), and "Back in Our Minds" hints at the fun 'n' wacky future.

Unfortunately the album ends with the overblown, mainly unlistenable "Wars of Armageddon," which I'm sure contains some sort of message, if I could only get through it. As though funk needed it's own "Revolution 9."

No matter, though. This record's worth it if only for the falsetto to bass vocalizing on "Can You Get to That." When I'm suffering from road rage, nothing improves my mood better, besides maybe further drinking.

Loud Bassoon rating scale

Review by HIP