957 Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (1971)

 957 Funkadelic - Maggot Brain (1971)

Studio Album - Psychedelic Rock



About the Act:

Funkadelic were an American Funk/Psychedelic Rock band fronted by George Clinton, and strongly related to his other band Parliament. They existed from 1968 to 1982, and were involved in the development of the Funk sound which had been pioneered by James Brown a few years earlier.  The histories of Funkadelic and Parliament are somewhat entwined, but Funkadelic, at least initially, had a harder Rock sound, quite psychedelic, and influenced by Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone.  They released 13 studio albums and a further 3 have been released after their dissolution.


About the Album:

This was the third studio album by Funkadelic, and the last before a major shift in personnel, also before a shift towards more actual Funk.


My History with this Album:

I have had a copy for a while, but didn't remember it at all well, I think I possibly only listened to it once previously.


Review:

If you think this is going to be an album of Funk you will be in for a surprise. It's not. It is a weird, hard to define sound which is best described as Psychedelic Rock. Don't get me wrong, there are elements of Funk here, but it is dominated by fuzzed-up guitars, curious, dirty grooves, sound effects and clips, and some very odd production.  The first track (Maggot Brain) for example is ten minutes of Hendrix-like guitar solo. The band has been brought way down in the mix so you can hardly hear them and a plethora of echo and reverb effects are brought into play. It is soulful and mournful.  Track 2 starts with blues acoustic guitar, and is a bit more like a funk track. Track 3 has a guitar-based groove with bits where a beat is dropped (and at one point, half a beat is dropped). Apart from the fact that the singing is obviously soul-inspired, the music is actually more like a Led Zepellin song, or some heavy metal.  Track 4 is more like a Funk groove again, but the bass and drums sound like they have been recorded in the basement of a parking garage. Track 5 is back to heavy metal, even more so than track 3. Track 6 is a fairly straightforward soul/R&B track, dominated by the use of a "flexatone", a percussion instrument which can change pitch mid-note like a cross between a triangle and a swanee whistle. It's an odd sound. Track 6 is the weirdest of all, it is an extended groove, a bit like an afrobeat track, with some amazing drumming, over which has been overdubbed an entire library of sound effects. And some speech.

The whole thing is disjointed, surprising, fascinating, and a head-trip. There may have been substances involved (I don't think this is libellous, two of the band members left after this album as a result of drug issues.) It's like a brain dump which was later made more psychedelic through production, but the raw talent comes through, and there is a kind of overall frisson to it. (Reviewers like to use pretentious words, so I thought I would give it a try).

Quite enjoyable, some of it is not safe for work, children or your granny to listen to.


7.2/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5p9GTYAPSgc5C1ck9ZbnMk

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21sP7orRS3c

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggot_Brain


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001)

Image
 944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001) Studio Album - World Music About the Act: Manu Chao is a French-Spanish musician of Spanish descent who grew up on the outskirts of Paris. In the mid-80s he was in a Spanish/English rockabilly group called Hot Pants. In 1987, with his brother and cousin he founded the band Mano Negra, combining punk and world music influences and playing on the Paris Metro. This band took off and had 4 studio albums. In 1995 Manu "went solo", forming the band Radio Bemba Sound System to be his backing band. The punk elements were less prominent, but he started to make music that "replicates the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures". He has been really popular in parts of Europe.  About the Album: This album was Manu Chao's second studio album as a "solo" artist. In Spanish, the name means "Next Station: Hope", after a real station on the Madrid Metro. The album reached top 10 slots ...
Read more

840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990)

Image
 840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990) Compilation (double) - Girl Group (Soul/Bobby Soxer/Do-Wop) About the Album: This is a highly acclaimed compilation in 2CDs by Rhino Records. It's the sort of thing that in this country you might expect to see at 3.99 in a Garden Centre. My History with this Album: None Review: There are not many multi-artist compilations in this series for reviewing. There is not information about it on Wikipedia, but the reception seems to have been positive. It is choc-full of hits with a smattering of lesser-known songs, and it's hard not to imagine Grease or similar situations - girls with cardigans and white socks, listening to the juke box while sipping milkshakes in the drug store. On one level it's a fun collection of songs that you could use to feel nostalgic, or as the music for a themed party. On another level it's kind of like a cultural artefact. I feel honour-bound to describe it, even though if I drop ...
Read more

843 Chambers Brothers - The Time has Come (1967)

Image
 843 Chambers Brothers - The Time has Come (1967) Studio Album - Psychedelic Soul About the Act: The Chambers Brothers are an American Psychedelic Soul band from LA, who were formed in 1954 and are still going. They were at heart four brothers, but I think they have now all left the band.  About the Album: This was their debut album (12 years on from forming as a band), and it spawned their most successful single Time Has Come Today. My History with this Album: None. I had never heard of the Chambers Brothers before this list. Review: I am not an American, nor a Social Historian, but I think I can accurately claim that in 1960s America there was a certain separation between the Black community and other communities. As a result of this, and for marketing reasons, the idea of music that was created with a Black audience in mind was an actual thing. I'm not sure if today we would be quite so sure about what constitutes "Black Music", but then, I think, they were generally q...
Read more