We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
The funk camp of the 70’s fell into two camps….the polished sheen of Earth, Wind & Fire and that ilk…and the gritty chaos of George Clinton’s P-Funk empire.
In 1972, Parliament-Funkadelic had not reached it’s zenith yet, but did manage to release the sprawling, intense and somewhat confusing double Lp “America Eats It’s Young” under the Funkadelic label.
The album is funk in all it’s various disguises led by Bernie Worrell’s keyboards, Garry Shider’s guitar, Prakash John’s bass and Tyrone Lampkins drums. We also get a first sighting and hearing of Bootsy Collins on the track “Philmore”.
The album careens from the social commentary of the title track and in your face “If You Don’t Like The Effects, Don’t Produce The Cause” to the the sexual “I Call My Baby Pussycat”…to string drenched ballads like “Everybody Is Going To Make It This Time”…to the dance-party tunes like “Loose Booty”.
Critics were mixed…some loved it although most agreed it was to chaotic and sprawling to be much more than a musical outlier. Some hated it…it was too long…it was too vague …it was too this or that. One called it a “schizophrenic” record. One called it ‘Zappa-like”.
I believe George Clinton enjoyed all the messy, diametric reactions to his vision. It would mainfest itself into the Dr. Funkenstein/Mothership Connection in a few years…and give 70’s funk lovers an alternative to the safe, polished sounds elsewhere.
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