Funkadelic - Motor City Madness: The Ultimate Funkadelic Westbound Compilation '2003

Tracks list

 Well you know what they say about stupid questions? So well ignore that and
tell you instead whats a Funkadelic compilation. Oh yes, 29 tracks - in this
case odd is most definitely better than even - of undiluted excessive but
somehow beautiful funkiness, courtesy of the seminal Westbound Recordings of
George Clintons funky rock band. Georges biggest hits might have come towards
the end of the 70s on Warner Brothers, and in the early 80s on Capitol, but he
defined what he was all about at the Detroit label in the early to mid 70s. He
recorded a series of albums that took rock, soul and funk, blended them with a
self mythologizing, drug-fuelled aura, and came out with one of the most
influential catalogues in rocknroll.

So is this a Best Of? Well sort of, but not in a
gather-in-the-singles-and-put-them-in-date-order sort of way. Instead what is
here is an overview that explores the furthest reaches of Funkadelics Westbound
catalogue, pulling out the obscure but mighty album cuts to go alongside the
established hits and acknowledged classics. These recordings are a wonderful
insight into what can be done with a touch of faith, unlimited studio time and a
pinch of crazed musical genius.

Both of the CDs kick off with Funkadelic at its wildest, on long extended
tracks, CD 1 with Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow and CD 2 with Maggot
Brain, recently nominated by Mojo magazine as one of the Top 5 greatest guitar
solos in rock - for Eddie Hazels acid-fried virtuosity. CD 1 then kicks into Red
Hot Mama - more inspired Hazel - and a run of quick fire up-tempo grooves that
show that whatever was going on, and often it was quite a lot. George C and his
team could always nail a good tune. Weve run through Standing On the Verge..,
Cosmic Slop, Better By The Pound, the mighty Loose Booty and others before we
take it out through the plain dirty Sexy Ways and the odder, more left of field
sort of things that define the edge that George was looking for.

Disc two progresses from Maggot Brain into what is the fairly unknown Ill Stay,
a beautiful slice of space soul, recently covered by trumpeter Roy Hargrove who
used the vocals of DAngelo. CD two is a slightly off-kilter affair with the
songs taking the influences of blues, folk and even country before heading back
to the more normal twisted funk of Be My Beach and their ilk, via the greatest
blaxploitation theme that wasnt - A Joyful Process.

Our set also runs to an impressive booklet where as well as photos and records
we have found a whole host of UK and US adverts that havent been seen since they
were first published in contemporary trade magazines. And then there is the
eight track cartridge, which believe me is a thing of beauty. So, without
wanting to sound too much like a used car salesman, you know its time to do the
Cosmic Slop!

by Dean Rudland
:: TRACKLIST ::

1-01 Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow 10:04
1-02 Red Hot Mama 3:24
1-03 You Cant Miss What You Cant Measure 3:03
1-04 Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On 5:08
1-05 Funky Dollar Bill 3:14
1-06 Hit It And Quit It 3:48
1-07 Cosmic Slop 5:17
1-08 Better By The Pound 2:41
1-09 Take Your Dead Ass Home 7:16
1-10 Loose Booty 4:52
1-11 Get Off Your Ass And Jam 2:24
1-12 Sexy Ways 3:04
1-13 Music For My Mother 5:37
1-14 America Eats Its Young 5:52
1-15 March To The Witchs Castle 6:01

2-01 Maggot Brain 10:18
2-02 Ill Stay 7:17
2-03 I Wanna Know If Its Good To You 5:59
2-04 Can You Get To 2:48
2-05 Ill Bet You 3:55
2-06 Nappy Dugout 4:33
2-07 A Joyful Process 6:13
2-08 Be My Beach 2:36
2-09 Undisco Kidd 6:34
2-10 Biological Speculation 3:06
2-11 You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks 3:35
2-12 I Got A Thing, You Got A Thing, Everybodys Got A Thing 3:52
2-13 Baby I Owe You Something Good 5:46
2-14 Mommy, Whats A Funkadelic? 9:06

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