In Uptown #12 there was an article about George Clinton. It mentioned two early configurations of Hey Man... Smell My Finger.

The first one was from 5 February 1991. The article said this configuration contained:
Rhythm And Rhyme
The Flag Was Still There
Way Up
Get Satisfied
This Beat Disrupts
High In My Hello
Booty
My Girl
My Pony

But supposedly that wasn't the actual playing order. Does anyone know if the track list has since been made known, maybe even with track times?

Langebleu? Borisfishpaw? Anyone?!

I am also confused about the second configuration which was put together at some unspecified point in 1992. Supposedly, the track list was...

George Clinton: Hey Man... Smell My Finger (1992)
1. Get Satisfied (4:44)
2. We Can Funk (7:35)
3. This Beat Disrupts (4:27)
4. Oilspill (4:45)
5. I Need Love (3:43)
6. High In My Hello (5:16) - released version
7. Way Up (6:05)
8. Dope Dog (5:10)
9. Steal The P (3:16)
10. The Flag Was Still There (9:17)
11. Kickback (5:58)
12. Some O’ Disc & Some O’ DAT (KYP) (5:01)
13. Rhythm And Rhyme (7:11)
14. The Big Pump (4:23)
15. If True Love (3:57) - released version
16. Booty (3:29) - released version

But that is too long for a single album and somehow not really long enough for a double album.

Here's praying someone can solve the riddle for me.

I've never seen a track list.

All I've ever read about this has been how, at times GC had to smuggle tapes away to prevent Prince getting too involved in his work. Could just be PR talk.



.

scififilmnerd said:

I just played the tracks in the listed order and it doesn't really sound quite right. It is not a good playing order. Surely the previously released We Can Funk wouldn't have been placed so early on the album, High In My Hello sounds like a better choice for an opening track than Get Satisfied and Some O' Disc & Some O' DAT (KYP) like a closing track.

I suppose that this must be just a listing of the tracks, but in no particular order?

But 16 tracks is still a lot of tracks for a single album. The released configuration did have 14 tracks, though, as well as a whopping 71 minute running time!

Anyways, the track times for this... "configuration" are based on what's in circulation. I suppose that if this is really a track list, some of the tracks may have been in shorter versions/more of them may have been released versions - but which ones?!

AUGH! It's a nightmare trying to figure this out.

Surely someone must know the true track lists including running times, as all the tracks have been bootlegged. This shit (confusion) is what happens when those a**hole bootleggers don't just bootleg entire albums but spreads the tracks out over several releases instead, totally ruining the whole!
[Edited 9/16/05 16:02pm]

Okay, deep breath.

I am now backtracking the information in hope of clearing things up...

In Uptown #12, the article written by Magnus Nilsson says:
"A tape of an early configuration of the album surfaced in 1990/91. It included several songs that ended up on the [released] album, albeit in remixed and sometimes very different versions [meaning that the released tracks were remixes or very different versions of the earlier, unreleased versions], "Rhythm And Rhyme", "The Flag Was Still There", "Way Up", "Get Satisfied", "Dis Beat Disrupts" and "High In My Hello". Most of these feature instrumental contributions by Prince, playing bass, guitar and keyboards, while Eric Leeds plays sax on four of the tunes. Eric also played sax on two songs that didn't make it onto the [released] album, the [released as a] b-side [instead track] "Booty", and the Prince-penned "My Girl". Mavis Staples was called on to sing backing vocals on "My Pony", another Prince-tune that was left off the [released] album"

And of course Magnus Nilsson couldn't just mention the song titles in the track sequence of this early configuration!

Prince and George Clinton's studio work together prior to the first configuration of Hey Man... Smell My Finger:

For Graffiti Bridge, January 1990:
We Can Funk #6 (10:08) - recorded 12 January
We Can Funk #7 (6:44)
We Can Funk #8 - the released album version

Possibly for Graffiti Bridge, February 1990:
Soul Psychodelicide #2 (10:41)
Soul Psychodelicide #3 (8:54)
Soul Psychodelicide #4 (8:23)
Soul Psychodelicide #5 (5:52) - which is actually mostly a Prince song

Who-knows-what-for?, March 1990:
My Pony #1 (3:53)
The Big Pump #1 (4:23)
My Girl ?!?

For Hey Man... Smell My Finger, 26 January 1991:
My Pony #2

All of the above tracks have been bootlegged, except for "My Girl" which - although mentioned in Uptown #12 - has mysteriously not been mentioned in either Days of Wild or Turn It Up.

I assume that the bootlegged version of My Pony, which has Prince singing backing vocals, is the first one from March 1990, as I don't hear Mavis Staples' voice on it.
[Edited 9/17/05 5:13am]

When the first configuration of Hey Man... Smell My Finger was assembled on 5 February 1991 (and I absolutely do not recall where I got the date from - I read it somewhere and made a note of it ), George had recorded the following tracks on his own:

Rhythm And Rhyme #1 (4:12)
The Flag Was Still There #1 (9:17)
Way Up #1 (6:05)
Get Satisfied #1 (4:58)
This Beat Disrupts #1 (4:27)
Booty (3:29)

- all of which have been bootlegged.

Add My Girl and My Pony#2 and according to Uptown #12 you have the tracks for the first configuration of Hey Man... Smell My Finger, if not the sequnce.

But unless My Girl and/or My Pony were, like, a mile long this sure would've been one short album.

And if all Clinton's own tracks from this configuration have been bootlegged, then why not also My Girl and My Pony#2?

And why haven't Uptown ever mentioned My Girl again following Uptown #12 in any of their publications?

I suspect that the information provided in Uptown #12 may have been not quite right.

In 1992, two George Clinton tracks appeared on The Ryde Dyvine Sampler:

Get Satisfied (5:03)
This Beat Disrupts (4:46)

- both of them have been bootlegged and are remixes which is why I haven't given them any #'s.

There's a picture of the sampler on the CD-ROM included with Uptown's Days Of Wild and This Beat Disrupts was indeed spelled "This" and not "Dis" at this point.

In Days of Wild it says:
"An early configuration of the album was completed in the summer of 1990, but Warner Bros. wasn't completely satisfied with the material. Clinton recorded additional songs, including a -penned track that was left off the [released] record, "My Pony""



- which makes a lotta sense considering My Pony #1 was recorded in March 1990 which is before "summer of 1990".

Somehow I think that bit of information isn't quite to be trusted either. But on the off-chance that it is correct, then that would make the above-mentioned first configuration an actual second configuration.

Day of Wild further states:
" 's only contribution to [the released configuration of] Hey Man... Smell My Finger was a track called "The Big Pump", which he recorded at Paisley Park some time in 1991."

- but in Turn It Up vol.2 it says The Big Pump #1 is from March 1990, which makes me wonder if further research hasn't also unearthed a track list for the first (and/or second?) configuration which someone will now post.
[Edited 9/16/05 15:03pm]

About the second (third?) configuration of Hey Man... Smell My Finger, it says in the article by Magnus Nilsson in Uptown #12:

"Clinton began adding new tunes during 1991-92, one of them being "The Big Pump", from 1991, co-written by Prince and Clinton. Motown boss Berry Gordy's son Kerry Gordy came in to work on the album in 1992 and he became a crucial factor in finally getting the album out. [...] Kerry Gordy provided one of the best tracks, "Martial Law" [...] and came up with the idea for "Paint The White House Black" [...]. Humpty Dump from Digital Underground and Money B. add some flavour to "Rhythm And Rhyme". Much like on The Cinderella Theory, Clinton also let Prince work on the songs he had on tape in late 1992. [...] Besides nine tunes that ended up on the album, the tape contained a new version of "We Can Funk."

- and of course Magnus Nilsson couldn't possibly be bothered telling which nine tracks that was, much less the track sequence!

This is where things become mightily confused, because like the date for the first (second?) configuration of Hey Man... Smell My Finger, I honestly do not recall where on Earth I picked up that 16 track list of tracks for the second (third?) configuration.

But it sure is a far cry from 10 tracks. (The released configuration has 14.)

But by the time a new configuration was made in 1992, George Clinton had recorded the following tracks:

Get Satisfied #2 (4:44) - segued with...
We Can Funk #9 (7:35)
Oilspill (4:45)
I Need Love (3:43)
Dope Dog (5:10)
Steal The P (3:16)
Kickback #1 (5:58)
Some O' Disc & Some O' DAT (KYP) (5:01) - segued with
Rhythm & Rhyme #2 (7:11)

- all of which have been bootlegged!

Plus High In My Hello (5:16) and If True Love (3:57) which both ended up on the released configuration.

But those bootlegged tracks (obviously) didn't come from the 10-track tape mentioned in Uptown #12, which makes me believe that the 10-track tape may have actually been from 1993 and is a third (fourth?) configuration that include tracks like Martial Law and Paint The White House Black which were late additions and not on the (16 track?) 1992 configuration:

George Clinton: Hey Man... Smell My Finger (1992)
1. Get Satisfied (4:44)
2. We Can Funk #9 (7:35)
3. This Beat Disrupts
4. Oilspill (4:45)
5. I Need Love (3:43)
6. High In My Hello (5:16) - released version
7. Way Up
8. Dope Dog (5:10)
9. Steal The P (3:16)
10. The Flag Was Still There
11. Kickback
12. Some O’ Disc & Some O’ DAT (KYP) (5:01)
13. Rhythm And Rhyme (7:11)
14. The Big Pump
15. If True Love (3:57) - released version
16. Booty (3:29) - released version

I have included track times for the songs that are obvious. I suppose This Beat Disrupts, Way Up, The Flag Was Still There and Kickback might also have been the released versions. Your guess is as good as mine.

As for Rhythm And Rhyme, Humpty Dump and Money B appear on the (7:11) version. But it never said that their participation was thanks to Kerry Gordy, so... And it is segued with Some O' Disc And Some O' DAT (KYP) which wouldn't have been on the 10-track tape, and Humpty Dump appear on The Big Pump, too, so...

BUT... As stated earlier in this thread, I suspect this list - like the list for the first (second?) configuration is only a list of tracks included, not the actual sequence. But seeing how all of the tracks have been bootlegged, surely someone must know the actual track list and will now post it.

BUT... Of course, not remembering where I picked up the list for this configuration, I suspect that there is also the possibility that it is a... gasp!... fake.

But why would anyone create something evil like that?

What do the rest of you think?
[Edited 9/18/05 10:39am]

But certainly, by the time the final and released configuration of Hey Man... Smell My Finger was put together in 1993, George Clinton had further recorded:

Martial Law (7:13)
Paint The White House Black (7:49)
Way Up #2 (5:07)
Dis Beat Disrupts #2 (3:29)
Get Satisfied #3 (3:55)
Hollywood (5:21)
Rhythm And Rhyme #3 (5:39)
The Big Pump #2 (3:34)
Maximumisness (5:02)
Kickback #2 (3:41)
The Flag Was Still There #2 (5:58)



But which of these tracks that were also on the 10-track tape remains a mystery.

Okay, I am officially exhausted after trying to make sense out of all this.

A lot of questions have been raised. I hope some of my fellow orgers can answer some of them. Certainly any ideas, corrections and suggestions are more than welcome. Even comments.
[Edited 9/16/05 16:09pm]

langebleu said:

In Uptown #12, Clinton is quoted as having said to Prince: "I said, "now don't be shy. Put somethin' on these motherfuckers." He came to me like this was so sacred. I said, "fuck that. I need a hit record. You've got the shit, let's put it together.""

And then I can very well imagine Clinton eating those words and hiding his tapes from Prince.

A special thank you is in order to Gooey Huey for providing me with some of the correct track times of the outtakes.

By golly, I've got it!

Let's assume that The Flag Was Still There #1 (9:17), Way Up #1 (6:05) and This Beat Disrupts #1 (4:27) are from the 5 February 1991 configuration. That means that by the 1992 configuration they could just have been edited down in length to make room for new/aditional tracks.

And that The Big Pump #1 (4:23) from March 1990 which supposedly wasn't on the 1991 configuration is an outtake and that when it was decided to include it after all, they went straight with an edit.

That means that the 1992 configuration could indeed have included the released versions of those tracks and so the track list would be:

George Clinton: Hey Man... Smell My Finger (1992)
1. Get Satisfied (4:44)
2. We Can Funk #9 (7:35)
3. Dis Beat Disrupts (3:29) - released version
4. Oilspill (4:45)
5. I Need Love (3:43)
6. High In My Hello (5:16) - released version
7. Way Up (5:07) - released version
8. Dope Dog (5:10)
9. Steal The P (3:16)
10. The Flag Was Still There (5:58) - released version
11. Kickback (5:58)
12. Some O’ Disc & Some O’ DAT (KYP) (5:01)
13. Rhythm And Rhyme (7:11)
14. The Big Pump (3:34) - released version
15. If True Love (3:57) - released version
16. Booty (3:29) - released version

That would leave room enough to still go with Kickback #1 (5:58) (as opposed to the released (3:41) version) and still have it all fill just one CD!

It would clock in at whopping 78:20 minutes, but that's not too far from the 71 minute release. It's do-able. So... Am I brilliant or what?!
[Edited 9/18/05 10:40am]

i think you're brillant! you're amazing. sorry, i can't help you at all but i've had a great read

I have nothing to add to this topic other than to say, these are my favorite kind of topics, keep em coming!

Thank you, monte and smokeverbs.
[Edited 9/24/05 15:21pm]

George Clinton: Hey Man... Smell My Finger (1992)
1. Get Satisfied (4:44)
2. We Can Funk (7:35)
3. This Beat Disrupts (4:27)
4. Oilspill (4:45)
5. I Need Love (3:43)
6. High In My Hello (5:16) - released version
7. Way Up (6:05)
8. Dope Dog (5:10)
9. Steal The P (3:16)
10. The Flag Was Still There (9:17)
11. Kickback (5:58)
12. Some O’ Disc & Some O’ DAT (KYP) (5:01)
13. Rhythm And Rhyme (7:11)
14. The Big Pump (4:23)
15. If True Love (3:57) - released version
16. Booty (3:29) - released version



Dope Dog was never intended for this tape. A friend put that track on the end of side 1 for me.

groovement said:

Well... What else was on side 1, not to mention side 2? Don't keep us in suspense here.

^ sorry

It was the same tracklist as above..-Dope Dog.

Thats it