The bigger the headache, the bigger the POLL: A (not at all exhaustive) Parliament/Funkadelic/P-Funk albums poll

in due time

I've been listening to Clones of Dr. Funkenstein, but it doesn't seem nearly as good as the Parliament records before and after, which I've enjoyed for 25 years.

I'll also post my theory that the synthesizer riff for "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples" was borrowed from "The Revealing Science of God" by Yes, from Tales from Topographic Oceans.

Um, …

George Clinton said Saucerful of Secrets was one of his favourite records, why not Yes?

I meant your previous post

i want to be cool and vote for a cool album like _maggot brain_ but in reality, this is _mothership connection_ or _funkentelechy vs the placebo syndrome_ without much competition. there's those albums (very classic), and then there's everything else (perhaps not quite as classic).

now i just need to figure out which one. i'm leaning towards _mothership connection_ at the moment.

"Clones" is more of a pop/R&B album, it's a lot less bass heavy than "Mothership" and "Funkentelechy", and is, of course, awesome.

Clones is grrrrrreat. Probably the one I listen to most now.

without much competition

have you heard the other albums on this list?

Just heard Maggot Brain (the track) for the first time yesterday. Not sure why a 10 minute guitar solo is held in such high regard. Am I missing something?

^Honestly I'm kinda with you on this. It's a great, emotionally intense guitar solo, but I've always been a bit baffled by the hushed tones in which it's discussed

Because it's a great emotionally intense guitar solo perhaps?

Because he played it like his momma just died?

I’m a huge P-Funk fan so I’m keenly aware of the heresy, but I’ve never loved “Maggot Brain,” the song or the album. I LIKE both a lot, and I can totally get why the song moves some people to tears. But its spell has always sort of eluded me.

Some people like guitar solos, some people don't. That's why there's Parliament and Funkadelic.

not convinced that binary is accurate

I love how Hazel improvises the entire structure with his guitar, changing dynamics and emotion, with nothing more than four chords and a band that keeps fading in and out.

xp Especially in the latter part of the 70s.

I understand loving the song "Maggot Brain" above all other P-funk songs. I don't understand loving Maggot Brain above all other P-funk albums.

Their first four records are wildly different than the late 70s stuff though. On that basis I get it. If you like Zappa or Hendrix or early Sabbath more than you do James Brown or EWF, I can totally see how you’d gravitate more towards early 70s P-Funk.

It's the one most easily available for a while, no? A bit like Mothership Connection and Funkentelechy.

One of my dearest friends used "Can You Get to That" as his wedding march.

maggot brain the album is a good starting point for early 70s funkadelic, good mix of drawn out epics, pithy pop songs, and weird stuff like "back in our minds." plus it has "super stupid" which is pretty unlike the rest of the p-funk catalog.

Their first four records are wildly different than the late 70s stuff though. On that basis I get it. If you like Zappa or Hendrix or early Sabbath more than you do James Brown or EWF, I can totally see how you’d gravitate more towards early 70s P-Funk.

Fuck that Zappa shit.

Anyway the mid to late 70s stuff has far more in common with Zappa than the early Funkadelic albums.

... than the early Funkadelic albums do. That is.

An easier question may be which Parliament and Funkadelic albums aren't good? There are great compilations, but most of their albums are probably worth owning.

Except for Bootsy and Clinton's '80s records, I haven't explored the other solo work like Fred Wesley's, Hazel's, etc.

"Trombipulation" isn't good.

I didn't like Motor-Booty Affair but I imagine that's a minority opinion.
First You Gotta Shake the Gate is 33 songs over three discs, and while some of it is good, there are some atrocities.

I'm not crazy about Free Your Mind, America Eats its Young, Chocolate City. Goes without saying they have excellent tracks too.

With Parliament I'm content to let the mediocre songs bop along in the background; with Funkadelic the caterwauling get irritating.

I haven't heard Trombipulation.

Yeah, I LOVE Motor-Booty Affair, it's one of their masterpieces, maybe even the last great Parliament album.

I was going to post earlier that "most of their albums are probably worth owning, especially Parliament's," but deleted it because it might've been misinterpreted. I don't think either Parliament or Funkadelic is "better," but given the Parliament albums' more funk and dance-oriented approach, they tend to feel like more consistent listens. Like even a less-than-great groove moves by easier and fits well and organically within the framework of other danceable tracks.

"Up For the Down Stroke" isn't great, by no means bad though!

the early funkadelic records are kinda genre agnostic which can be to their strength and/or detriment (very much imo). the aesthetic is i guess more solidified by the time parliament gets revived in 1974 and that's why i'm attracted to the records from that era (including let's take it to the stage / one nation under a groove). this is still complicated by records like clones of dr. funkenstein, which as someone described accurately upthread is more of a pop-soul record, and is awesome

Let's Take It to the Stage or Standing on the Verge... will be my pick.

yeah i pulled the trigger for standing on the verge. the title track has been running through my head.

Here's the albums and songs list from Dave Marsh's New Book of Rock Lists, from 1994. I'm pleased to see "The Goose" getting recognition, it's a much more light-hearted Hazel feature than "Maggot Brain".

5 Greatest Parliament-Funkadelic (P-Funk) Albums of All Time

1. Let’s Take it to the Stage (Funkadelic)
2. Mothership Connection (Parliament)
3. Standing on the Verge of Getting It on (Funkadelic)
4. Funkentelechy Vs the Placebo Syndrome (Parliament)
5. One Nation Under a Groove (Funkadelic)

10 Greatest Parliament-Funkadelic (P-Funk) Songs of All Time

1. One Nation Under a Groove
2. Cosmic Slop
3. Maggot Brain
4. P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)
5. Funkentelechy
6. The Goose
7. Red Hot Mama/Vital Juices
8. Aqua Boogie
9. (Not Just) Knee Deep
10. I Wanna Know if It’s Good to You

"the goose" is like the greatest song of all time

“Funky dollar bill” from free your mind is sick

I'd toss in "Jimmy's Got a Little Bitch in Him." ("Depending on the angle of the dangle/Increased by the heat of the meat").

One of my dearest friends used "Can You Get to That" as his wedding march.

Amazing song but kind of downbeat lyrics for a wedding!

Probably too late in the game for this, but I do wish their was a legit, complete, and well-mastered comp of the Parliaments singles and odds & ends. I've got an ok bootleg, but it leaves something to be desired (like it has the backing track for "All Your Goodies Are Gone", but not the actual single w/vocals).

xp better than "hit it and quit it"!

as cool as "maggot brain" is i think it's a bit unfortunate that it does kinda overshadow the rest of their discog in terms of reputation

I didn't know it did tbh. Maybe among rock fans, I don't know.

“Funky dollar bill” from free your mind is sick

yeah that's one of my favourites

I didn't hear "Maggot Brain" until long after I'd heard Parliament. I knew Funkadelic were supposed to be like the rock side of the equation but I'd never heard any of that stuff... having said that, "One Nation Under a Groove" was a Top 10 hit in the UK! Actually I was just watching a clip from Top of the Pops in 1979 where "One Nation Under a Groove" is preceded, somewhat bizarrely, by the Shadows doing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina".

ok yeah i should've included the quazar record

I hate love to say I told you so! Glenn Goins was the best vocalist they ever had (even though my fave line up is the early one) and it was a real tragedy he died so young.

could Motor Booty Affair be their Presence? Listening to it now and it's so obviously their best. Not one dud, so much life squiggling through all the songs. "Aqua Boogie" might go on just a little long for at-home listening, but I love how the piano gradually takes over at the end.

In his book, George Clinton say he considers it his/their Sgt. Pepper's.

it rules on headphones.

I love Motor Booty Affair, the last great album credited to "Parliament," but Presence is Zep's worst, a thoroughly underwhelming and mediocre album.

Yeah, on second thought I don't think it's anywhere near as forgettable as the Presence thread title suggests. Just looking for a way to say "amazing album where I often forget how amazing it is when I'm not currently listening to it."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjLTiqAzo5c