Track Listing:
Go Fer Yer Funk {G Clinton, W Collins} 9:52
Funk It Up {Donnie Sterling} 8:46
These Feets Are Made For Dancin' (Foot Stranger) {Ron Dunbar} 4:12
Send A Gram {G Clinton} 5:32
Who In The Funk Do You Think You Are (demo) {Sylvester Stewart} 1:33
Better Days {Marvin Williams} 4:10
The Chong Show {W Collins, David Spradley} 5:07
Michelle {G Clinton, Tracey Lewis} 12:24
Sunshine Of Your Love {Jack Bruce} 5:33
The Archeological Dig-Storytime with George (interview) 12:14
Personnel:
"Go Fer Yer Funk"
Artist: Parliament (1980) Producer: George Clinton
Featuring: Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins, Horny Horns, James Brown
"Funk It Up"
Artist: Sterling Silver Starship (1981) Producer: George Clinton, Ron Dunbar
Lead Vocals, Bass, Drums: Donny Sterling
Keyboard: Jerome Rogers, Donny Sterling
Guitar: Rodney Crutcher, Tony Thomas
Background Vocals: Parlet, Mahlia Franklin, Ron Dunbar
"These Feets Are Made For Dancing"
Artist: Ron Dunbar (1982) Producer: George Clinton, Ron Dunbar
Drums: Tyrone Lampkin
Bass: Cordell Mosson
Guitar: Garry Shider
Keyboards: Bernie Worrell, David Spradley
Horns: Horny Horns
Vocals: Ron Dunbar, Parliament, Brides, Parlet
"Send A Gram"
Artist: Jessica Cleaves (1980-81) Producer: George Clinton
Vocals: Jessica Cleaves
Drums: Ty Lampkin
Bass: Danan Potts
Keyboard: David Spradley
Guitar: Cordell Mosson, Ron Bremby
Background Vocals: Andre Williams, Tracey Lewis, George Clinton,
Sidney Barnes, Robert Johnson
Horn & String Arrangements: Bernie Worrell
"Who in the Funk..."
Artist: Sly Stone (1981)
Piano, Bass, Guitar, Vocals: Sly Stone
Guitar: Ron Ford
"Better Days"
Artist: Andre Foxxe (1984) Producer: George Clinton, Garry Shider
Vocals: Andre Foxxe
Guitar: Marvin Williams
Keyboard: David Spradley
Background Vocals: Marvin Williams, Garry Shider
"The Chong Show"
Artist: Bootsy Collins (1979-80) Producer: George Clinton, Bootsy Collins
Keyboards, Bass, Guitar, Lead Vocals: Bootsy Collins
Keyboards, Background Vocals: David Spradley
Percussion: Carl "Butch" Small
"Michelle"
Artist: Treylewd's Flastic Brain Flam (1978-79) Producer: George Clinton
Guitar: Tracey Lewis, DeWayne McKnight, Garry Shider
Drums: Dennis Chambers
Bass: Jeff "Cherokee" Bunn
Keyboard: Gary Hudgins
Vocals: Tracey Lewis
Background Vocals: Kevin Shider, Andre Foxxe, Tracey Lewis, Patricia Curry,
Garry Shider, Linda Shider, Brides, Parlet, Ray Davis, Parliament,
Funkadelic, Bootsy's Rubber Band, Steve Pannel, Robert Johnson,
Tony Lafoot, Jessica Cleaves
"Sunshine of Your Love"
Artist: Funkadelic (1984) Producer: George Clinton
All instruments by: DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight
"Archeological Dig"
Interview with George Clinton
Rating: RC: ***
Comments: TK: "Go Fer Yer Funk" was actually cut in 1979 around the time of Bootsy's "Under The Influence..." "Sunshine Of Your Love" also features Eddie Hazel.
RC: This first volume in the Family Series of unreleased P.Funk tracks that Clinton got the rights to has a number of significant and interesting tracks. There's also quite a bit of filler. The problem is that GC put on very little material that was pre-1979 or so, so we end up with a ton of Brides, Jessica Cleaves, and Parlet outtakes that sound too much like disco or sappy ballads for my taste. The pre-79 tunes that we do get are all usually spectacular, or at least interesting.
"Go Fer Yer Funk", is a wonderful Parliament tune from 1980. It's a Bootsy-Clinton collaboration that's a cut above many of the tunes actually released at that time. It was supposed to be released at that time, but never did come out. James Brown pops up here. "Funk It Up" is a dull song from Donnie Sterling, doing his Rick James impersonation. "These Feets Were Made for Dancing", is a great Ron Dunbar tune that's a sequel to "Agony Of Defeet". "Send A Gram" is a sickly-sweet ballad from Jessica Cleaves. Then there's Sly Stone doing "Who In the Funk Do You Think You Are", all by himself. This one is a demo. "Better Days" is an unremarkable song from a young Andre 'Foxxe' Williams that has some nice background vocals from Garry Shider. "The Chong Show" is an annoying song that has the rare and unnecessary occurence of David Spradley singing. "Michelle" is an epic funk-rocker from George's son Tracey Lewis and his first band, Flastic Brain Flam. This one is made especially funky with the presence of Blackbyrd and Dennis Chambers, who set up a hypnotic jam towards the end. Blackbyrd McKnight does it all in a cover of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love". This was supposed to appear on the never-released By Way Of The Drum album.
On this, as on all volumes, George comes on at the end in an interview, talking about all of the acts, telling how they got their start or how they happened to be in Detroit in the late 70's. He talks about meeting Bootsy and setting up the Rubber Band, working with Donnie Sterling & Sly Stone, and his son Tracey's first records, as well as Andre Williams, who was a close friend of Tracey's and is like a son to George. After all, George says, "I'm the father of our country!"