Track Listing:
One Nation Under a Groove
{G Clinton, G Shider, Walter Morrison} 7:28 lyrics
Grooveallegiance
{G Clinton, W Morrison, B Worrell} 6:59 lyrics
Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock?
{G Clinton, W Morrison, Michael Hampton} 6:17 lyrics
Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The Doo-Doo Chasers)
{G Clinton, Garry Shider, Linda Brown} 10:44 lyrics
Into You
{G Clinton, W Collins, W Morrison} 5:41 lyrics
Cholly (Funk Getting Ready to Roll)
{W Collins, W Morrison, G Clinton} 4:25 lyrics
Lunchmeatophobia (Think!...It Ain't Illegal Yet!)
{G Clinton, B Worrell} 4:11
P.E. Squad/DooDoo Chasers ("Going All-The-Way Off" Instrumental)
{G Clinton, G Shider, L Brown} 4:17
Maggot Brain (Live)
{G Clinton, Eddie Hazel} 8:28
Personnel ("Funkadelic Main Invasion Force"):
Throbasonic Funkgeetarists: Gary Shider, Mike 'Kidd Funkadelic' Hampton
Banjo'd Muthaplucker: Bobby Lewis
Avatarian: Mike Hampton
Keybo'Dans & Synthezoidees: Bernie 'DaVinci' Worrell & Walter 'Junie' Morrison
Rotofunkic Drum & Percussion-atin' Thumdans: Tyrone Lampkin,
W. Bootsy Collins, Jerome Brailey & Larry Fratangelo
Bass Thumpasaurians: Cordell 'Boogie' Mosson, Rodney 'Skeet' Curtis,
William 'Bootsy' Collins
Funkadelic Blamgusta Vocaloids (Voices For Da Nation!):
Raymond (Stingray) Davis, Lynn Mabry, Ron Ford, Dawn Silva, Debbie Wright,
Gary 'Dowop' Shider, Jeanette Washington, Mallia Franklin,
W. 'Junie' Morrison, Cordell Mosson, George Clinton & Greg Thomas
Song-Specific Personnel:
"One Nation"
Lead Vocals: Garry Shider, Junie Morrison, George Clinton
Bass Synth: Bernie Worrell
"Grooveallegiance"
Lead Vocals: Junie Morrison
Bass: Rodney 'Skeet' Curtis
"Who Says A Funk Band"
Lead Vocals: Junie Morrison
Bass: Rodney 'Skeet' Curtis
"PE Squad"
Lead Vocals: George Clinton
Bass: Cordell 'Boogie' Mosson
"Into You"
Lead Vocals: Ray Davis, Junie Morrison, Ron Ford
Bass: Bootsy Collins
"Cholly"
Lead Vocals: Garry Shider
Bass: Bootsy Collins
"Lunchmeatophobia"
Bass: Cordell 'Boogie' Mosson
Rating: GZ ***** RC ***** MM *****
Comments: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".