FUNKADELIC - Free Your Mind ... And Your Ass Will Follow (1970-2005) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

It's one of the best titles in modern musical history, for song and for album, and as a call to arms mentally and physically the promise of funk was never so perfectly stated. If it were just a title then there'd be little more to say, but happily, Free Your Mind lives up to it throughout as another example of Funkadelic getting busy and taking everyone with it. The title track itself kicks things off with rumbling industrial noises and space alien sound effects, before a call-and-response chant between deep and chirpy voices brings the concept to full life. As the response voices say, "The kingdom of heaven is within!" The low and dirty groove rumbles along for ten minutes of dark fun, with Bernie Worrell turning in a great keyboard solo toward the end -- listening to it, one gets the feeling that if Can were this naturally funky, they'd end up sounding like this. From there the band makes its way through a total of six songs, ranging from the good to astoundingly great. "Funky Dollar Bill" is the other standout track from the proceedings, with a great, throw-it-down chorus and rhythm and a sharp, cutting lyric that's as good to think about as it is to sing out loud. The closing "Eulogy and Light," meanwhile, predates Prince with its backward masking and somewhat altered version of the Lord's Prayer and Psalm 23. At other points, even if the song is a little more straightforward, there's something worthwhile about it, like the random stereo panning and Eddie Hazel's insane guitar soloing on "I Wanna Know If It's Good for You," with more zoned and stoned keyboard work from Worrell to top things off. The amount of drugs going down for these sessions in particular must have been notable, but the end results make it worthy. by Ned Raggett  
Tracklist:
1 Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow 10:04
Written-By – Edward Hazel, George Clinton, Raymond Davis
2 Friday Night, August 14th 5:21
Written-By – George Clinton
3 Funky Dollar Bill 3:15
Written-By – Edward Hazel, George Clinton, Raymond Davis
4 I Wanna Know If It's Good To You 5:59
Written-By – William Nelson, Clarence Haskins, George Clinton, Raymond Davis
5 Some More 2:56
Written-By – George Clinton
6 Eulogy And Light 3:31
Written-By – Eugene Harris
- Bonus Tracks -
7 Fish, Chips And Sweat 3:22
Written-By – William Nelson, Edward Hazel, George Clinton
8 Free Your Mind Radio Advert (Spoken Word) 0:55
9 I Wanna Know If It's Good To You 2:50
Written-By – William Nelson, Edward Hazel, Clarence Haskins, George Clinton
10 I Wanna Know If It's Good To You (Instrumental) 3:12
Written-By – William Nelson, Clarence Haskins, George Clinton, Raymond Davis

FUNKADELIC - The Electric Spanking of War Babies (1981-2003) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

With George Clinton, a humorous phrase could be nothing more than playful tomfoolery, or it could be a double entendre with a deep political meaning. The phrase "electric spanking of war babies" falls into the latter category -- it referred to what the funk innovator saw as the U.S. government using the media to promote imperialistic wars. To Clinton, the American media functioned as a propaganda machine during wartime. But whether or not one cares to examine its hidden political messages, Electric Spanking is an above-average party album. Spanking falls short of the excellence of One Nation Under a Groove and Uncle Jam Wants You and didn't boast a major hit single, but amusing funk smokers like "Electro-Cuties" and "Funk Gets Stronger" aren't anything to sneeze at, nor is the reggae-influenced "Shockwaves." Spanking turned out to be the last album Clinton would produce under the name Funkadelic -- when he hit the charts again in 1983, Mr. P-Funk was billing himself as a "solo artist."  by Alex Henderson
Tracklist:
1 Electric Spanking Of War Babies 8:39
2 Electro-Cuties 6:12
3 Funk Gets Stronger (Part 1) 6:40
4 Brettino's Bounce 3:40
5 Funk Gets Stronger (Killer Millimeter Longer Version) / She Loves You 4:42
6 Shockwaves 5:08
7 Oh, I 4:53
8 Icka Prick 4:09

FUNKADELIC - Uncle Jam Wants You (1976-2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Almost as if Clinton and company wanted to atone for parts of One Nation Under a Groove, Uncle Jam Wants You takes not merely a more daring musical approach but a more forthright political stance. The cover art alone is brilliant, front and back showing Clinton in Huey P. Newton's famous Black Panther pose. The main goal is the cover subtitle's stated claim to "rescue dance music 'from the blahs,'" and "Uncle Jam" itself does a pretty funny job at doing that, starting out like a parody of patriotic recruitment ads before hitting its full, funky stride. It's still very much a disco effort, but one overtly spiking the brew even more than before with P-Funk's own particular recipe, mock drill instructors calling out dance commands and so forth. The absolute winner and most famous track, without question, is the 15-minute deep groove of "(Not Just) Knee Deep." It'd be legend alone for being the musical basis for De La Soul's astonishing breakthrough a decade later with "Me, Myself and I," but on its own it predates the mutation of disco into electro thanks to the stiff beat and Worrell's crazy keyboards. Elsewhere there are pleasant enough jams like "Field Maneuvers," kicking around some good guitar work amidst the hop-and-skip beat, and the weepy ballad "Holly Wants to Go to California," intentionally undercut by all the cheering and noise deep in the mix. It's not to say that Funkadelic hasn't left the entire world of coke spoons and pointing to the sky behind them, as "Freak of the Week" shows, which isn't entirely far off from the early Sugar Hill party/zodiac aesthetic. Then again, lines like "disco-sadistic, that one beat up and down, it just won't do" amidst the whistles and screams have their own impact. by Ned Raggett 
Tracklist:
1 Freak Of The Week 5:31
2 (Not Just) Knee Deep 15:19
3 Uncle Jam 10:24
4 Field Maneuvers 2:23
5 Holly Wants To Go To California 4:23
6 Foot Soldiers (Star Spangled Funky) 3:31
Credits:
Backing Vocals – Greg Boyer, James Wesley Jackson, Jerome Rogers, Jessica Cleaves, Lige Curry, Linda Brown, Mallia Franklin
Bass – Billy Nelson, Bootsy Collins, Cordell Mosson, Jeff Cherokee Bunn, Rodney Curtis
Drums – Bootsy Collins, Dennis Chambers, Larry Fratangelo, Tiki Fulwood, Tyrone Lampkin
Guitar – Bootsy Collins, Dewayne McKnight, Eddie Hazel, Garry Shider, Glen Goins, Michael Hampton
Keyboards – Bernie Worrell, Gary Hudgins, Jerome Rogers, Junie Morrison
Vocals – Clip Payne, Dawn Silva, Garry Shider, George Clinton, Greg Thomas, Jeanette McGruder, Larry Heckstall, Philippe Wynne, Ray Davis, Ron Ford, Sheila Horne

FUNKADELIC - Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (1974-1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Expanding back out to a more all-over-the-place lineup -- about 15 or so people this time out -- Funkadelic got a bit more back on track with Standing on the Verge of Getting It On. Admittedly, George Clinton repeats a trick from America Eats Its Young via another re-recording of an Osmium track, namely leadoff cut "Red Hot Mama." However, starting as it does with a hilarious double soliloquy (with the first voice sounding like the happier brother of Sir Nose d'Voidoffunk) and coming across with a fierce new take, it's a good omen for Standing on the Verge as a whole. Eddie Hazel's guitar work in particular is just plain bad-ass; after his absence from Cosmic Slop, it's good to hear him fully back in action with Bernie Worrell, Cordell Mosson, Gary Shider, and the rest. In general, compared to the sometimes too polite Cosmic Slop, Standing on the Verge is a full-bodied, crazy mess in the best possible way, with heavy funk jams that still smoke today while making a lot of supposedly loud and dangerous rock sound anemic. Check out "Alice in My Fantasies" if a good example is needed -- the whole thing is psychotic from the get-go, with vocals as much on the edge as the music -- or the wacky, wonderful title track. There are quieter moments as well, but this time around with a little more bite to them, like the woozy slow jam of "I'll Stay," which trips out along the edges just enough while the song makes its steady way along. In an unlikely but effective turn, meanwhile, "Jimmy's Got a Little Bit of Bitch in Him" is a friendly, humorous song about a gay friend; given the rote homophobia of so much later hip-hop, it's good to hear some founding fathers had a more open-minded view. by Ned Raggett  
Tracklist:
1 Red Hot Mama 4:54
Written-By – B. Worrell, E. Hazel
2 Alice In My Fantasies 2:26
Written-By – G. Cook
3 I'll Stay 7:16
Written-By – G. Cook
4 Sexy Ways 3:05
Written-By – G. Cook
5 Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On 5:07
Written-By – G. Cook
6 Jimmy's Got A Little Bit Of Bitch In Him 2:30
Written-By – G. Cook
7 Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts 12:17
Written-By – G. Cook
Credits:
Artwork By – George Clinton, Pedro Bell
Bass – C. "Boogie" Mosson, Jimmy Calhoun
Drums – Gary Bronson
Guitar – Eddie "Smedley Smorganoof" Hazel, Gary Shider, Ron Brykowski
Keyboards – Bernard "Bernie" Worrell
Percussion – R. "Tiki" Fulwood*, Tyrone Lampkin
Piano – Leon Patillo
Producer – George Clinton
Vocals – Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Calvin Simon, C. "Boogie" Mosson, Eddie "Smedley Smorganoof" Hazel, Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins, Gary Shider, George Clinton, "Shady" Grady Thomas, Ray "Stingray" Davis, R. "Tiki" Fulwood
Written-By – G. Clinton

FUNKADELIC - Let's Take It to the Stage (1975-2005) RM / FLAC (tracks), lossless

One of Funkadelic's goofiest releases, Let's Take It to the Stage also contains more P-Funk all-time greats as well, making for a grand balance of the serious and silly. Perhaps the silliest is at the end -- there's not much else one can call the extended oompah/icing rink start of "Atmosphere." The title track is as much a call to arms as "Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow" is, but with a more direct musical performance and a more open nod to party atmospheres (not to mention the source of one of Andrew Dice Clay's longest-running bits). The targets of the band's good-natured wrath are, in fact, other groups -- "Hey, Fool and the Gang! Let's take it to the stage!" There's no mistaking the track that immediately follows makes it even more intense -- "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" kicks in with one bad-ass drum roll and then scorches the damn place down, from guitar solo to the insanely funky bass from Cordell "Boogie" Mosson. It may only be two and a half minutes long, but it alone makes the album a classic. Hearing Bootsy Collins' unmistakable vocals is usually enough to get anything on the crazy tip, but "Be My Beach" (Collins' Funkadelic vocal debut) just makes it all the more fun, as does the overall air of silly romance getting nuttier as it goes. "Good to Your Earhole" sets the outrageous mood just right -- it's one of the band's tightest monsters of funk, guitars sprawling all over the place even as the heavy-hitting rhythm doesn't let one second of groove get lost. Of course, there's also one totally notorious number to go with it, but "No Head, No Backstage Pass" has one of the craziest rhythms on the whole album, not to mention lip-smackingly nutty lines delivered with the appropriate leer. by Ned Raggett  
Tracklist:
1 Good To Your Earhole 4:30
Written-By – C. Haskins, G. Cook 
2 Better By The Pound 2:40
Written-By – G. Cook 
3 Be My Beach 2:35
Written-By – B. Worrell, W. Collins 
4 No Head No Backstage Pass 2:36
Written-By – R. Bykowski
5 Let's Take It To The Stage 3:32
Written-By – W. Collins, G. Shider
6 Get Off Your Ass And Jam 2:00
7 Baby I Owe You Something Good 5:43
8 Stuffs And Things 2:11
Written-By – G. Cook
9 The Song Is Familiar 3:05
Written-By – B. Worrell, W. Collins
10 Atmosphere 7:05
Written-By – B. Worrell, G. Shider
- Bonus Track -
11 Baby I Owe You Something Good (Single Version) 3:51
Credits:
Performer – Billy Bass, Bootsie, E. Hazel, Parliament, Ron Bykowski
Producer – George Clinton
Written-By – G. Clinton

FUNKADELIC - Cosmic Slop (1973-2005) RM / FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

With a much more stripped-down version of the band, if the credits are to be believed (five regular members total, not counting any vocalists), Funkadelic continued its way through life with Cosmic Slop. A slightly more scattershot album than the group's other early efforts, with generally short tracks (only two break the five-minute barrier) and some go-nowhere ballads, Cosmic Slop still has plenty to like about it, not least because of the monstrous title track. A bitter, heartbreaking portrait of a family on the edge, made all the more haunting and sad by the sweet vocal work -- imagine an even more mournful "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" -- the chorus is a killer, with the devil invited to the dance while the band collectively fires up the funk. Elsewhere, the band sounds like it's more interested in simply hitting a good groove and enjoying it, and why not? If introductory track "Nappy Dugout" relies more on duck calls and whistles than anything else to give it identity, it's still a clap-your-hands/stomp-your-feet experience, speeding up just a little toward the end. As for the bandmembers themselves, Bernie Worrell still takes the general lead thanks to his peerless keyboard work, but the guitar team of Gary Shider and Ron Bykowski and the rhythm duo of Tyrone Lampkin and Cordell Mosson aren't any slouches, either. George Clinton again seems to rely on the role of ringleader more than anything else, but likely that's him behind touches like distorted vocals. Certainly it's a trip to hear the deep, spaced-out spoken word tale on "March to the Witch's Castle," a harrowing picture of vets returning from Vietnam -- and then realizing that Rush ripped off that approach for a song on its Caress of Steel album a year or two later! by Ned Raggett 
Tracklist:
1 Nappy Dugout 4:36
2 You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure 3:06
3 March To The Witch's Castle 6:01
4 Let's Make It Last 4:10
5 Cosmic Slop 5:21
6 No Compute 3:06
7 This Broken Heart 3:40
8 Trash A Go Go 2:27
9 Can't Stand The Strain 3:29
- Bonus Track -
10 Cosmic Slop (Single Edit) 3:24
Credits:
Artwork – George Clinton, Pedro Bell
Bass – "Boogie" Mosson
Guitar – Gary Shider, Ron Bykowski
Keyboards, Melodica – Bernard Worrell
Percussion – Tyrone Lampkin
Producer – George Clinton