Motor City Madness - The Ultimate Funkadelic Westbound Compilation [CD]

Well, all right!!!
At last, a comprehensive CD collection of Funkadelic's classic Westbound recordings. About time & just in time!!!
For all those who have ever read or heard the legend of Detroit's notorious P-Funkers, get this now.
For all those who thought the Family Stone wern't weird enough, get this now.
And for all those bored with the current retrospective exploration of Detroit's late 60s/early 70s musical explosion via The Stooges and the MC5 - get this NOW!!!!.
What we have here is a unique, sprawling, head trip of psychedelic, cloud scraping funk that is simply peerless. If any further proof was needed of the frankly beyond-god-like genious of George Clinton it is within these two shiny UFOs from planet Funkadelic.
Where previous Funkadelic 'best ofs' have been badly packaged misnomers featuring the more disco orientated Warner Brothers stuff from 77 onwards, this simply is the real deal. If you've only ever heard 'One Nation Under A Groove' from this later period then prepare to be surprised .....in fact prepared to be blown skyward, hold onto your funky hats brothers and sisters.
Here is a compilation that has the guts, foresight and well, downright audacity to lift off with the 10 minute, freeform, funk-rocket blast of Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow. Notoriously recorded whilst the band were tripping on acid, this fried sonic monster from 71' blows away any other related Detroit band - or indeed any other band AT ALL. It's a stone (and stoned) classic & drives like a bulldozer with gossamer wings. Just listen - then listen & then listen again at MAXIMUM volume.
Look at it this way - George Clinton had at his disposal, not only a greater guitarist than Hendrix in Eddie Hazel - according to Clinton, he could play anything Hendrix could but with SOUL - but a bunch of maverick players who could lock in almost psychic unity. Check out the freeform grooves of Free Your Mind, Mommy What's A Funkadelic, I Wanna Know If It's Good To You & the sensational Maggot Brain for proof of this. In fact Maggot Brain is quite literally that - it buries into deep into your head and hatches into something quite extraordinary. Hazel's guitar here is stellar nay mystical. Whatever.... it has yet to be equalled.
With the addition around 1972 of keyboardist Bernie Worral & ex James Brown bassist Bootsy Collins as well as Clinton's parallel Parliament projects, Funkadelic & P-Funk became a formidable force amongst the world of funk AND rock. With Clinton's Parliament & Funkadelic merging into one crazy, almost communal funk cooperative, they breached musical barriers & did things that white progressive rock bands couldnt even hope to achieve without singing about elves & faeries. And when they wernt taking their cosmic approximation of white rock into the funk stratosphere they grooved harder than most so called 'soul' bands.
Not only massively innovative at the time, the legacy remains complete & intact today. From Outkast! to Prince to Primal Scream to Julian Cope, the vast and spiralling influence of P-Funk & Funkadelic reaches all corners of the contemporary music world. George Clinton has become one of the most respected & iconic figures of funk music - in some ways vastly surpassing the somewhat limited appeal of James Brown. The true Godfather of Funk...........well, the Prince of Funkness at the very least.
Can You Get To That?

If you buy this and The Whole Funk and Nothing But the Funk: Definitive Funkadelic 1976-1981 you will ahve the best of BOTH parts of the brilliant Funkadelic's career for nes to nothing...

This CD features to less commercial early period up to 76.

'James Brown is the father ....... Prince, the skinny minstrel' said roger Troutman on the funkier than funky namechecking 'It Doesn't really matter'.

George Clinton may well be the Wicked Uncle Ernie of Funk, but not feeling asses, freeing them. Bootsy came along and locked down the funk but like someone else said, the early stuff is totally trippy free jamming craziness. go with the flow, whether you like your grooves grounded or your 'geetar' growling. Out of Maggot Brains mighty Fly music evolves!

get on it!