Rick James was a cool cat, extremely talented and had catchy singles. However, a lot of the nostalgia surrounding his death is just that - nostalgia. James' whole albums are spotty at best (The only album that is consistent from beginning to end is 82's "Throwin' Down"). Has anyone ever tried to listen to "Garden of Love" or "Fire it Up" from start to finish? It is a very painful experience.

soulsis said

Has anyone ever tried to listen to "Garden of Love" or "Fire it Up" from start to finish? It is a very painful experience.

George Clinton hands down. Rick, God bless him, ripped off so much from Parliament-Funkadelic.

rainman1985 said:

Without a shadow of a doubt Rick James was & will always be the King of Punk Funk, George Clinton is the Godfather of Funk! George Clinton & his various groups like Brides Of Funkenstein,Horny Horns,Funkadelic,Parlet,Parliament,P Funk & of course Boosty had a Funk style all of their own. But once Rick James came on the scene,he(Rick) took the funk game to a whole new level. Rick bought real life issues like police brutality,being too high to fuck or make love, & the destruction of the planet Earth by nuclear missles to the funk game! Plus just look at the success of everybody Rick James has wrote,produced & arranged for. Teena Marie is a legend in her own right(Rick wrote,arranged & produced for her,when no other producer at Motown knew what to do with her)Mary Janes Girls mopped the floor with Vanity 6,Apallonia 6, Brides Of Funkenstein & The Jones Girls! Rick James also wrote & produced songs for his backing band(The Stone City band)his horn section(Punky Funk Horns),Chaka Khan,Spinners,Process & The Doo Rags,Martha Reeves,Eddie Murphy,Rick James also helped produced the Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration song"Sing Sing Celebrate" Rick also gave the Temptations their top 10 song"Standing On The Top" Rick James also had a hand in Carl Carlton's mega RnB hit"She's A Bad Mama Jama". Before Rick James got in the game in 1978 as a solo artist, the music industry was about to crown Bootsy, the king of Funk! This is a classic case of the pupil(Rick James) outdoing the teacher(George Clinton). James Brown was the original funk/soul king, then Sly & The Family Stone picked up where JB left off, then came George Clinton, who re-invented funk with his protoge Bootsy. After that Rick came from left field out of nowhere like a blazing comet & just took Funk music to another demension. George clinton is a true innovater & Godfather of Funk, but Rick is King! Nobody has picked up where Rick left off

I know exactly what you mean about "Garden of Love" but I love "Fire It Up" from start to finish. It is one of my favorite albums.

George Clinton is the King of Funk
Rick James is the Queen of Funk



[Edited 9/5/04 8:57am]

I really don't even see how people even started comparing the two. George was the mastermind behind two of the greatest bands of their kind, as well as a million spin off and side bands that were also great. Plus his solo career, his proteges, his countless emulators, of whom both Rick James and Prince are among, his endless sampling by rappers (Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg would not have careers were it not for him). Plus an advisory comment made to Eddie Hazel inspired one of the greatest guitar solos in rock history. CASE CLOSED.

Clinton. Not to speak ill of the dead, but Rick didn't really have any great albums. Don't get me wrong, his greatest hits are the shit. But the albums aren't exactly anything I'd play from track to track.

Rick was very talented, but suffered from laziness. He didn't really WANT it as much as his counterparts. That's why Prince is still going strong, and Rick died being known as the butt of a Chappelle joke.

Enya.

The comments that you made are understandable considering that most of the younger generations are not familiar with Rick or able to truly appreciate his genius.

Hotlegs said:

What a condescending little shit you are. "You don't agree with me, so I'm going to dismiss you on account that you're not OLD enough!" News flash, twit. My mother's over 50 and she said the same thing, so figure that one out. Or wait...don't. Just shove it.
[Edited 9/6/04 16:52pm]

Good to see your maturity from age showing there, Hotlegs.

Give me a fucking break. Like calling someone a condescending little shit any better. Grow Up and let this topic rest fucking already.
[Edited 9/6/04 22:56pm]

I don't think anyone *disagrees* with that sentiment. But if you're going to have a "vs." thread, you know people are going to argue both sides. it's always annoying when people want to come in and whine "This is so stuuupid! Why do we have to choooose?" (It's about as stupid as "Your opinion differs from mine - you must be YOUNG! And STUPID! And NAIVE!") Well, no one told you to choose! You won't lose your status here if you don't.

The silly thing about threads like this one, IMO, is that the old head is usually going to get more props - and rightfully so. Next thing you know, we'll be debating Gregorian chants versus technopop, y'know?

You guys,this is a silly discussion.What's with all the labels anyway? We don't need to have a "King".Why can't we just agree that Rick James and George Clinton are both responsible for some of the funkiest,catchiest,and wildest jams that we've ever heard?

They've both made significant contributions to the musical vocabulary.
IMO, Rick remained earth-bound in his subject matter as opposed to George who created (with the assistance of a substantial army of talented soldiers) a "different world" for his funky forays.

James will always be King in my mind until somebody manages to eclipse his almost 50 year musical marathon.
~116 R&B hits
~96 top 100 hits
(on the strength of being James Brown alone with no industry marketing machine)

Unfortunately Rick James has been forced to drop out of the race.

theAudience said:

On point.