To all of the U.S. Funk Mobsters out there; which phase of Funkadelic do you prefer? 69-75 or 76-81? I dig it all, like I suspect all Funkadelic fans do as well. But, there is a distinctive change in their overall sound from 76 onward. Largely due to Bootsy's heavy involvement in the songwriting and production. Example; any track that has Bootsy on bass and also as important, on drums, is going to give it a certain feel i.e., "How Do You View You" as oppossed to the Hendrix drenched, Sly vocalisms on anything off of "Free Your Mind" and "Maggot Brain". I suspect the huge success Parliament experienced from Mothership Connection in 75 bled somewhat onto the direction of Funkadelic's production values in 76. "Tales From Kid Funkadelic" and "Hardcore Jollies", both from 76 are a far cry from the hippism of "Mommy, What's A Funkadelic?". I imagine back then, 6 years was like 15 compared to today and things change. That's why I slang the question; which do ya'll prefer? If you had to pick.

Like you i prefer it all, but 69-75 for me is mental & 76-81? is physical, so i'd go with 69-75.
due to Parliament not just Pariliament + other acts. things on funkadelic end to me seem'd to be water'd down.
[Edited 12/6/05 15:07pm]

Dag B! You picked a good but difficult question (lol). Ya see, the early 69 to 75 Mob was so righteous because Funkadelic was starting to stretch out and find themselves. They took the raw sounds of Jimi and Cream and combined it with Sly's funk and a little Sun Ra and made it their own thing (or thang). Eddie Hazel's guitar work was a HUGE part of that sound (of course) and Bernie Worell and Billy Bass took that "Deep Purple" thing and made it their own.

..But the 76 to 81 vibe (although cool) got so close to Parliament's sound, it was becoming difficult to tell whether it was Parliament or Funkadelic. Although Funkadelic started getting R&B hits in 1978, they started to become a little slick and watered down. And after "Knee Deep", all their jams started having that synth line. By the last LP ("Electric Spanking"), they were real polished and Eddie's guitar was no longer featured on a lot of the jams.

...OK, enough rambling..I'm going with the 69-75 Funk Mob.

Good thread Brutha B!!

SPYZFAN1 said:

As always, thank u brother. My point exactly. Hazel was the focal point in early Funkadelic as was Hampton became in the latter. I do ADORE "Tales of Kidd Funkadelic" and "Hardcore Jollies". I've ran threads off of those albums such as "You Scared The Lovin Out Of Me" and "Cosmic Slop (live version). Those two albums are killin'! Two of my faves from Funkadelic.

Whoa!! That kinda hard but good.I like both but I would have to say 76 to 81.Well for me more like 76 to 79. Funkadelic 1981's album Electric Spanking of War Babies sucked to me. One Nation and Not just knee deep was good but after that I was "feelin" their music at all and Im a Funkadelic/Parliment fan.

angela74 said:

Funkadelic was already starting to venture down the road of "One Nation" and Knee Deep" with cuts from 76 like "Undisco Kidd". Similar blueprint and crowd faves.

Funkadelic fuckin rock, get into Maggot Brain asap.

Fab

blackguitaristz said:

I agree.

I'll take the 69-75 funkadelic. More of a raw garage band sound. I do dig the 76-81 stuff as well, but as was mentioned previously in this thread it was sounding more like the parliment stuff, much slicker

Rhastus said:

The early Funkadelic lineup was the bomb,just raw with it! I'll have to go with 69-75. I do like that later day stuff also. Especially Hardcore Jollies and One Nation lp. Lunchmeataphobia is a bomb ass track.

Funkster said:

Oh yeah . I know about Maggot brain. My dad has the album. Creepy ass album cover too.

Not surprising that everybody who posted went with 69-75. Curious to see how many more folks would have posted if say someone like Stax or D. Parker would have wrote this thread. To get an "honest" response, I gotta get a ghost writer and shit.

I think I prefer the 69- to 75 funkadelic, BUT I think One Nation Under A Groove is their best overall album. Maggot Brain WOULD have been their best if they'd found a better track to end it on than wars of armaggedon.

69-76 Funkadelic still kinda transitional but on Westbound... everything after the Westbound catalog is fluff in my opinion.

blackguitaristz said:

I'll give Stax, say 10% of the rights. That's only fair.

HardcoreJollies said:

I can dig it. But, man, Hampton? Hazel was so crucial to Funkadelic like a cone is dependant on ice cream. Hazel CARRIED Funkadelic. We all know Mike can play but I always thought he was much better suited for a cat like Zappa. Which is still a compliment.

similar grooves "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure" "Do That Stuff"
which is water'd down

mrwigglesdaw1rm said:

Yep. As much as I love the cut "Dr. Funkenstien" especially the intro guitar lick (one of the best ever guitar melodies), "Clones" is somewhat..thin on material. I think cuz Bootsy was focused on doing his solo album, he didn't have much material left to share. They hella regrouped though on "Funkentelechy" in 77. One of Parliament's best albums.

Paging funkpill, paging funkpill!!!

blackguitaristz said:

Maybe so, but what would have happened to Funkadelic if Hampton had not come along? Dig his riffing on Cosmic Slop and Maggot Brain live as well as Knee Deep, Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock and the 12-inch version of One Nation. At least Eddie gets some props. Hampton is truly underrated and overlooked by the public and critics alike. Blackbyrd is as well for that matter.

Peace,
Scott

I totally dig this topic.

Okay here it goes: The first phase of Funkadelic is the absolute best. The raw and dirty murky sound of the first 3 albums. The political topics talked about head on with wreckless abandon. The unpolished raw psychedelic slightly metal funk rock that emodies that first stage of Funkadelic is pure genius.

Nothing beats the hybrid of Hazel, Worrel with Fuzzy on those weird raw vocals. Hard with no mercy funk at it's stankest.

The second phase received more polish and more structure with Bootsy's heavy bass influence. Their topics were of a less spiritual or political nature and more about aliens or just loosening up your booty to dance. The rawness escaped a bit and you really can't tell the difference between Parliament and Funkadelic in this second stage.

The first stage is raw unabashed wreckless genius musicans at their most experimental point of insanity. That first stage is almost overwhelming and frightening because of it's blatant genius.

I hope this answer makes sense.

blackguitaristz said:

I pretty much agree with what everyone is saying here..

With the exception that Electric Spanking sucks...


I admit that it is their weakest album

under the Funkadelic name...

It's more of a P.Funk All-Stars album..

But that was talk about already on another thread...

Groovallegiance alone, is the reason

for 'One Nation Under A Groove' had to exist...

I always vibe off that groove..

Hardcore Jollies was indeed, their rawest Warner Bros. album...

So, saying all that, the Westbound years, is my favorite period...
[Edited 12/10/05 6:47am]

HardcoreJollies said:

Man, please don't get me started on Dwayne. I know him fairly well and personally, overall, I think he's a much better guitarist than Mike. Don't get me wrong, Mike was crucial in the mid 70's, well into the 80's. Blackbyrd is hella underrated, like u said.

jazzcherrymoon said:

It makes sense! The main way u could tell the difference between the two acts in the mid 70's was the lead guitar element was STILL there on a few of Funkadelic's tracks. More so on Kidd Funkadelic and Hardcore Jollies, two of my favorite albums to come out of P-Funk.

blackguitaristz said:

yup!!!

If you didn't stop Byrd, he would play all night..

I brought this up for u, Meloh.

You and I have talked about this many times B. Mike was helpful in the 70's but Byrd is a "hella" player. He soars above Mike.