Best 70s FUNK Album

voted Funkentelechy

some of the selections seem arbitrary (Superfly and Roots, but no Curtis?) (Music of My Mind, which is damn near Stevie's least funk-oriented 70s album, but nothing else by him?)

Does anybody mind if I ban Geir from this thread if he posts to it?

*crickets*

Will include jazz-funk as jazz dudes viewed it as funk and not jazz.

...seems off, to say the least. I would figure most took more of a "still jazz, but also funktoo" attitude.

yeah but theres only 1 jazz-funk album in the list so who the fuck cares hehe.

Voted On the Corner (but my funk education is badly lacking).

xpost lol

Mr Hardy you can always use this thread to check out stuff :)

Definitely!

oh and yes, a strange stevie album to include (proved if geir votes for it) , but fuck knows why Innervisions isnt a funk album on RYM.

Unless it is but geirs theory of well known albums getting some deliberate low marks to exclude it from top lists is right.

Weird omissions and substitutions aside, this is a pretty stellar list of records.

And Curtis is my fave Curtis album too so its a strange exclusion. I suppose since its my poll i could've just put it in but oh well too late. Plenty of great stuff to vote for.

Oh man, why start this thread now? My funk knowledge is even worse than my jazz knowledge and yet I love both and argh, overload of lists of possibly great records I may love.

at least you have Spotify to check it all out unlike the american ilxors.

a strange stevie album

but 'love having you around' is quite a monster, no?

I had copied and pasted the list to save it for a week or 2 before running it but with geir putting loads of polls up to counter the ones he didn't like I just felt compelled to do it now.

- Gil Scott-Heron & Brian Jackson Bridges (1977)

YUM!

I actually don't know that one. Must check out!

weird - but not bad - to see jorge ben and *especially* tim maia so high on that list

Generally no funk fan, but still more good stuff on this one than the jazz list. Voted "Music Of My Mind" (wonder why they consider that album funk and not the other Stevie Wonder ones?), but the two EWF entries are also great. And, well, I have nothing against most of George Clinton's albums either.

Where is Prince?

Rejuvenation got my vote as a personal fave AND I love EVERY track.
for an objective best (if such a thing is...), Riot and Mothership Connection seem on a higher level than the rest of the list. of the missing ones, Innervisions and Backstabbers would have brought the heat.

maggot brain vs on the corner, for me

Riot and Mothership Connection seem on a higher level than the rest of the list.

Maggot Brain is easily on a par with those.

oh and yes, a strange stevie album to include (proved if geir votes for it) ,

Voted "Music Of My Mind"
― Tied Up In Geir (Geir Hongro),

:)

Unless it is but geirs theory of well known albums getting some deliberate low marks to exclude it from top lists is right.

"Innervisions" comes out as number 1 if you try to create a list for all kinds of "rhythm & blues", which should serve to disprove that theory.

Also, well known albums will usually not be victim of that unless they are from the noughties.

(surprisingly?) at least one candidate for best funk album of all-time is pre-70's: Sly & The Family Stone's Stand is a contenda.

also, on the 70's again, most funk fans would claim Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On and Let's Get It On (slowjams can be funk too!).

i suppose it stops the default best known album on the list running away with it because voters havent heard anything else on the list.
xpost

I consider What's Goin' On as funk but again see what I just said above.

But I didn't exclude them, RYM user definitions did.

Another great list, almost impossible for me to decide. Went with Funkentelechy, but there are at lest 10 other albums I could just as happily have gone for.

yeah, Innervisions and What's Goin' On are like the twin whatnoughts of R&B albums ever (critics would add Riot). with those in it's kind of a shut-out although strictly from a FUNK perspective you could go another direction. on that tip, Mandrill's Composite Truth should be here too.

sorry, every other funk disc in creation, but Sly's Riot will always be my choice.

According to http://rateyourmusic.com/rgenre/set?album_id=5892, 6 users have voted for there being an element of funk in "What's Going On" while 25 users have voted against.

What's Going On is a soul album to me, it doesn't really have what I think are the characteristics of funk: extended jamming, focus on the bassline and groove, less focus on vocals and melody, etc. Plus the strings, WGO definitely has soul strings. I thought Curtis was excluded from the list for being a soul album too, but they did include Roots, which isn't really that different from Curtis, except that Curtis is better. Superfly excluded, I don't think Curtis Mayfield ever did proper funk, he was always rooted in soul.

yeah, Innervisions and What's Goin' On are like the twin whatnoughts of R&B albums ever (critics would add Riot). with those in it's kind of a shut-out although strictly from a FUNK perspective you could go another direction. on that tip, Mandrill's Composite Truth should be here too.

Mandrill Is is one of my favourite albums ever and if I had cheated by doing a RYM top 40 and addiny 10 of my own that would be in it.

Mind you maybe I ignored an album or 2 to get nos 48 49 and 50 in :)

though it might have been 80s albums i skipped, i forget. I did leave dirty mind and the time out as they were 80s albums.

But I hope people will now check out the albums they dont know in this poll rather than just voting for 1 they do and forgetting about it until the results come in.

Shakey's head will explode when he sees all these albums to choose from btw

I think this one was more successful than that damned jazz poll thats JINXED.
JINXED I tells Ya!

a hoy hoy what albums in this thread have you heard? so i can give you spotify links to those you need to hear.

1 Curtis Mayfield Superfly (1972)
3 Sly and the Family Stone There's a Riot Goin' On (1971)
18 Sly and the Family Stone Fresh (1973)
26 Stevie Wonder Music of My Mind (1972)
27 Isaac Hayes Shaft (1971)
48 Ohio Players Skin Tight (1974)

^^^^all that i've heard. Of course I have heard plenty of parliament-funkadelic/james brown/kool and the gang/war from various other places though.

James Brown's The Payback is essential listening for anyone even remotely interested in hardcore rap. it's kinda like late-'80s hip-hop--as conceived some dozen years earlier--in sound (and mood).

Glad you know the Ohio Players album, all of their post westbound stuff is on spotify, but check out the westbound era (the stuff they did with Junie) if you can find it elsewhere.
No Funkadelic on Spotify annoyingly so get that "elsewhere" but here is Parliament - Mothership Connection
http://open.spotify.com/album/734MC4wQsfNWsg9HLTrUoN

oh yeah Ioannis is right, most of these albums have been sampled to death in hip-hop. Others who know more about hip-hop will recognise the samples when they hear them.

Cheers! I am now going to have this thread, the two jazz ones (5 runs and RYM), the best remixes of the decade and the two Best of 70s Doom threads bookmarked until forever. I don't think I'm ever going to get around to listening to any other music at this rate.

and you still have the 80s,90s and 00s doom threads to come!

Cymande is one to check out for sure. "Bra" is a classic break, but the song itself is just amazing. Pure joy.
The whole album really delivers.

i don't know if Rhino's The Funk Box is available on Spotify, but that's probably the best introduction to the world of hard '70s funk as can be imagined.

Voted Superfly. Curtis is one of my all time favorite musical geniuses and Superfly is more consistently awesome than Roots. After years of being underrated, On the Corner now seems to be pretty overrated by many people.

P-Funk are their own worst enemy on this; predicting massive vote split. Riot likely winner, not that that's a bad thing.

the title track is the only keeper from the shaft soundtrack IMHO, tho i'm a huge isaac stan otherwise

yeah, its no Hot Buttered Soul.

but bernie is on maggot brain and a lot of the westbound albums. It's not like the later albums are eddie free, plus mike hampton is on them.

It's a question of who's in the driver's seat, but really, what can I say? "One Nation" = rush of endorphins to the pleasure zones.

One nation is Junie's baby though!

the title track is the only keeper from the shaft soundtrack IMHO

horeshit btw, "cafe reggios" is the business

xpost but bernie is the delivery room doctor

That album's all about Junie Morrison not Bernie

Bernie was kind of on his way out by 1978, wasn't he?

also eric h otm, one nation is like non stop smiles times. love maggot brain, but one nation should be the pledge of allegience afaic.

james brown wuz robbed.

who did you vote for sam?

motor booty i think. currently listening to 'Hell'.

Saying you prefer One Nation Under The Groove, (which Junie's the dominant force on), to Maggot Brain (which Bernie is a major driving force) as you prefer Bernie to Eddie is a bit strange.
The middle westbound period is where Eddie is the dominant force (Cosmic Slop,Standing On the verge, Lets take it to the stage)

It's not like Maggot Brain is all like the title track. It's also the most diverse album out of the early and mid period albums.
Bernie is all over most of those albums.
As tom d says, bernie(along with eddie) is pretty much out of the band by 78.

What can I say, everyone should own this album. "Maggot Brain" may be Eddie's finest moment ever. The lyrics are particularly poignant and clever, especially "Can You Get To That" and "You And Your Folks...". Bernie really becomes a dominant force on this album, with his organ adding texture to the acid/R&B guitar stew. Did I mention the beautiful singing? No Funkadelic album would be complete without a freakout song, and "Wars of Armageddon" fits the bill here. It sounds like they pulled out a sound effects album and got funky with it. "Maggot Brain" was written when George asked Eddie to think of the saddest thing he could, to imagine his mother dying. George faded out the rest of the band when Eddie played this, because they weren't playing as well as Eddie, and the result was excellent. The album is Funkadelic at its best in that it's impossible to predict. It starts with a psychedelic solo guitar piece, moves on to a gospel-inflected soul-stirrer, continues with a hard-rock organ-driven tune, swings toward a politically charged soul-gospel piece, soars with one of the first heavy metal tunes in history, moves back into the political realm with a touch of taste and a horn influence, and concludes with a freakout as bizarre as anything ever recorded. This kind of heavy eclecticism would be seen on several of the next Funkadelic albums, but this one is my favorite.

"Maggot Brain" is the greatest instrumental the band ever recorded, owing everything to the genius of Eddie Hazel, who makes listening to the piece an exhausting, terrifying and exhilarating experience. "Can You Get To That", yet another rewrite of a Parliaments song, starts off with acoustic guitars, giving more of an emphasis to Bernie and his organ, with some of the best singing and lyrics on the album. "Hit It & Quit It" is a Worrell showpiece, featuring his vocals and dominated by that heavy organ sound. Hazel's solo at the end is excellent. "You And Your Folks..." is a sequel of sorts to "I Got A Thing...", with impassioned lyrics about the poor and the irresistible 'yeah, yeah, yeah' chant. "Super Stupid" is a high-powered Hazel metal tune, with a still-tasteful if over-the-edge swooping solo. "Back In Our Minds" settles the whole angry stew down, with Environmedian J.W. Jackson playing jew's harp. He would open for Funkadelic on many occasions, doing a stand-up routine. Just when everything has settled down, they finish it with the utterly bizarre "Wars of...", a song that has a great Hazel jam, a ton of sound effects, commentary on urban society, lyrics that include 'more power to the peter, more power to the pussy, more pussy to the peter', and much, much more. Buy this album now if you don't own it!

also from the motherpage

RC: One Nation may be the best album of the last twenty years. The addition of keyboardist and songwriting mad genius Junie Morrison reinvigorated Funkadelic, as he cowrote almost every cut. His presence is indelibly stamped on this album, regarded by many as Funkadelic's greatest. Michael Hampton also shows his full maturity as Funkadelic's chief guitarist, shining on all-out guitar assaults ("Who Says A Funk Band...") to more delicate, almost jazzy work ("Grooveallegiance"). The album is a smorgasborg of different styles, with dance floor workouts, peerless funky rock, bizarre freakouts, grinding instrumentals, and much more. It starts off with #1 hit "One Nation", a somewhat commercial but still superb dance classic. It combines great singing with clever polyrhythms. The jazzy, subtle "Grooveallegiance" follows, with a brilliant, understated Hampton solo intermeshing with new bassist Rodney "Skeet" Curtis' smooth grooves and Junie's funky keyboards. "Who Says A Funk Band..." acts as a kick-in-the- ass rocker, with clever lyrics hidden in the guitar-propelled stew. The utterly inexplicable Funkadelic take on all things scatological, "Promentalshit..." follows, with Clinton punning on and on, removing 'constipated notions.' Don't forget, 'Fried ice cream is a reality.' Ray Davis takes a rare turn at lead vocals, making "Into You" a brilliant declaration of separation from the sickness of society. "Cholly" is one of those amazing self-referential funk anthems that is again brought up to a higher level by great lyrics and solid bass playing. Returning to more traditional Funkadelic roots, the band gets into a sharp guitar-driven chant, "Think! It Ain't Illegal Yet." This is the first tune that appears on the extended play 45" that came with the record but now comes on the CD. The next is a redundant but harmless instrumental version of "Promentalshit...". The album is capped by a frantic version of "Maggot Brain", performed by Michael Hampton. It fits well into the album's context.

This is an unusual brand of theme album, in that the theme is fairly loose, yet helps all of the songs mesh into a coherent whole. Essentially, it's a declaration of Funk interdependence. The call is out to be freed from old notions, old stereotypes (musical and otherwise), and the decay of society. Funk is declaring its own power and seceding from the rest of society, forming One Nation Under A Groove, where everyone can do their own thang. Only by keeping an open mind can this be accomplished. The concept, to one degree or another, is present on all of the tracks, but you're not beat over the head with it the way many "concept" albums might. Instead, each song can be appreciated just as much by itself than with the rest of the album.

One Nation was P.Funk at the height of its empire. Most of the side- groups had released material, and the musicians in question were pumping out hours and hours of music in the studio. This would eventually water down the music, but not here. The clarity and coherence of the album's vision owes a lot to Junie Morrison, ex-member of the Ohio Players, whose eclectically bizarre yet funky solo albums showed that he was a perfect fit for P.Funk. Michael Hampton's talent also brought the album to a new level, with a number of clever pieces that were well-placed in the guitar tradition of Funkadelic.

GZ: Here Funkadelic reaches its glorious peak; guitars, bass, rhythm, and horns come together with serious lyrics to make a killer dancefloor combination. One Nation is solid gold, from the anthemic title track, with it's accompanying latin-feel "Grooveallegiance", "PromentalShitBackWashPsychosisEnemaSquad", and statements of purpose "Who Says A Funk Band Can't Play Rock" and "Cholly". The album used to come with a bonus 7" that had killer live versions of "Maggot Brain" and "Think! It Ain't Illegal Yet".

it's by far the worst pfunk song ever

Me, I'd take "Holly" over "Eulogy and Light", but I guess that's just two differing shades of weirdness.

whoah landslide!

whoah hey

Oh, I see what you were trying to say. My mistake on the Junie/Bernie thing.

My overriding point was my taste tends to run along:

keys >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> guitar

Not to say that that there aren't guitars all over One Nation. Hell, I'm pretty sure I ended up voting for either Motor-Booty Affair or Music of My Mind.

one nation is by far the most rock of the later albums

Sorry, I missed that the first eight times you said it.

And anyway, it could still be the most rock of their later albums, and simultaneously sound like the mid-80s Gap Band compared to Maggot Brain.

Anyway, not hating on Maggot Brain or you, pfb, but trying to explain while I appreciate the album but will never be able to really love it or groove on it to the same extent as mid- and post-disco electrofunk.

no worries. I know what you mean. we can agree to disagree.

Sam, what do you still have to listen to now?

about half of it. gonna spend all weekend going through it but not feeling particularly funky today.

my next question was were you going to bother checking the rest out hehe.
Are you knackered from your tv poll?

not really. it doesn't take much effort to add some things up and post them on the internet. its just cold, wet and i kind of feel like getting drunk(?).

no doubt someone will be along soon telling you to take acid and listen to funkadelic

if only i knew where to get some. acid that is, i already downloaded a bunch of funkadelic.

in the maggot days they still hadnt really found their sound as such imo - you can tell they were kinda trying it out and being indulgent just to see if they could but sometimes they didnt really have the ideas to merit all that indulgence - i swear half those songs could have been shorted quite a bit. junie was maybe the best thing to happen to them really - he gave them a better, sharper songwriting backbone that they didnt really have until that point.

Junie was brilliant in the ohio players westbound era

I like his 1st couple of solo albums too.

check out Bread Alone

If One Nation Is Under A Groove is your favourite Funkadelic album then check out the works of the man behind it. Which is Westbound era Ohio Players and his solo stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEscJWErZ0I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYntmlvvjfI

hmm where did that "is" come from

so recently my ipod was stolen and I lost a bunch of stuff, and over the last few days I've been trying to rip/download the funk stuff I didn't have backed up, and I'm struck by how funk is really not much of an album genre. Like in a lot of cases I don't want entire albums from certain acts, I generally am looking for a subset of their material, the real ass-shaking stuff. There are very few albums that adhere to the fairly constricted vocabulary of funk all the way through, and the results of this poll I think bear that out... I think I can count on one hand the number of funk albums that are straight up funk all the way through (actually the only one I can think of off the top of my head is Mothership Connection)... Which is why, for example, even though JB is undeniably one of, if not THE, prime force in funk as a genre, he doesn't even get into the top 10 here. Dude never cut a consistently great record. Even his best (imho, the Payback) has got a couple ballads on it. I think those folks complaining about Maggot Brain not being "funky enough" to merit winning need to remember that pretty much EVERY album nominated here has its unfunky moments. And this was really common - you'd have these bands that would record some totally barn-burning dancefloor numbers, but albums were often padded out with pointless ballads or other space-filling genre excercises.

Anyway, the upshot of this post is that Herman I would really appreciate it if you could re-send me that Psychasouladelic mix comp you made awhile back, cuz that has a bunch of stuff on it that I wanted without having to hunt down individual albums...

i dunno if its still on my drive after reupping it last month for others. I'll have a look and try upping it at the weekend. It takes hours for each part.

s'okay if its not worth the hassle - I appreciate having gotten it at all in the first place!

its ok, i'll do it at the weekend, it will just take ages

See now me, I liked the diversity of the various EWF or Mandrill or (esp.) P-Funk albums - I never considered the non-funk tracks to be filler, but more like an attempt to cover all bases or sheer what-the-hell experimentation.

(Of course, those JB albums were indeed pretty obviously full of filler, especially those double ones. How many times did he re-record "Please Please Please" or "Cold Sweat" anyways?)

I like diversity too and I like "Maggot Brain", I just don't think of it as a 'funk album'

It's a fucking great album but if someone were to say to me, "Recommend me a funk album", I would not say "Maggot Brain"

I'd call it a funk album in that it was a FUNKADELIC album, and they always called themselves a funk band, even if parts of it sound less like what 'funk' came to mean later in the decade.

(On the other hand, it was the late-50s/early 60s hard-boppers who first used the term in song titles, wasn't it? So that kinda shoots down my argument...)

is it just cuz of the title track? Because there is plenty of straight-up funk on MB otherwise - Can You Get To That, Hit it and Quit It, Back In Our Minds, Wars of Armageddon is kinda a afro-cuban funk rhythm...

"Back In Our Minds" isn't really funk, I don't know it is though!

its slathered with typical Funkadelic weirdness but I don't think the underlying song structure/rhythm is all that different from something you'd find on an Isley Bros or War album from the same period

"(On the other hand, it was the late-50s/early 60s hard-boppers who first used the term in song titles, wasn't it? So that kinda shoots down my argument...)"

Buddy Bolden, actually. "Funky Butt" or "Buddy Bolden's Blues."

funkadelic's best "funk" album is Let's Take it to the Stage, by a wide margin.