Track Listing:
Alice In My Fantasies
{G Clinton, G Cook} 6:26 lyrics
Maggot Brain
{E Hazel, G Clinton} 14:02
I Call My Baby Pussycat (Fast Version)
{W Nelson, G Clinton, E Hazel} 5:38
I Call My Baby Pussycat
{W Nelson, G Clinton, E Hazel} 8:08 lyrics
Good Old Music
{G Clinton} 4:31 lyrics
I Got A Thing, You Got A Thing, Everybody Got A Thing
{C Haskins} 8:38 lyrics
All Your Goodies Are Gone (The Loser's Seat)
{G Clinton, C Haskins, W Nelson} 15:07
I'll Bet You
{G Clinton, S Barnes, T Lindsey} 5:24 lyrics
You & Your Folks, Me & My Folks
{G Clinton, B Worrell, W Nelson, C Haskins} 5:28 lyrics
Free Your Mind & Your Ass Will Follow
{G Clinton, E Hazel, L Ross} 3:37 lyrics
Personnel:
Guitar: Eddie Hazel, Harold Beane
Bass: Billy "Bass" Nelson
Organ, Keyboard: Bernie Worrell
Drums: Tyrone Lampkin
Vocals: George Clinton, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, Ray Davis, Grady Thomas
Rating: RC: ****1/2
Comments: RC: This is a truly amazing, amazing look at Funkadelic in the early part of their career. The disc includes extensive, exhaustive liner notes from Rob Bowman, who also did the fantastic liner notes to the 2CD Music For Your Mother set. In addition to going over each track in detail, he also includes quotes from Bernie, Billy Bass and the engineer who recorded the session. He also goes into extensive detail into how and why the session was recorded.
The show was taped when Armen Boladian, the Westbound owner, wanted a live recording of the band, possibly for release. So he sent an engineer over one night, unbeknownst to the band until the time of the show. Boladian wasn't that impressed with the results and shelved the project, where it sat with the engineer for 20+ years.
Basically, this was probably the worst night possible to record the band. Drummer Tiki Fulwood had just quit the week before, and rhythm guitarist Tawl Ross had also departed around that time. So Harold Beane and Ty Lampkin were brought in to play, **with no rehearsal**, for this gig! Both ended up staying with the group, with Lampkin playing a major role for years to come. (He dominates the Cosmic Slop album, to name just one) However, on this particular night, he had severe problems fitting in. Tiki's drumming style emphasized groove and pocket. Ty, who had been the house drummer for the Apollo Theater, was flashier and jazzier. As a result, he sounded completely out of synch with the rest of the band, annoying and frustrating everyone. Even George came flat out and said, "Bear with us, we have a new drummer, Tyrone." Towards the end, Billy Bass was so frustrated trying to keep him under control, he walked off!
Keeping all this in mind, it's still one of the most astounding live performances I've ever heard, a testament to the improvisational abilities of everyone. The sound quality is CRYSTAL CLEAR, putting the remarkable Sugar Shack '72 show to shame. Harold Beane does a good job at rhythm, really doing some nice chicken-scratch style guitarwork. Bernie does some incredible things, moving around the edges of some songs, adding flavor, and then moving right into the middle of other, laying down a mind-blowing solo. Not to mention all the crazy cartoon blips he plays in the middle of songs, often in the middle of solos! He had the most musical discipline of any of them, yet at the same time he was the craziest and most adventurous. The singing is also amazing, with George screaming and singing, Fuzzy shoutin' and preachin', and Calvin really laying on the gospel/soul thang. But the real attraction is the amazing chemistry between Billy Bass and Eddie. They're in their prime here, with Billy the captain of the Funkadelic rhythm section, and Eddie searing the air with his raw power.
The show is virtually complete, with only a few minutes shaved off. The only really bad track is the fast version of "Pussy" where Ty is completely out of control. George just stops it in mid-flight, where they go into the slow version. The slow version is a nas-tay highlight. The (at that time untitled) vesion of "Alice In My Fantasies" is a thunderbolt of hardcore, screaming funk-rock. The epic version of "All Your Goodies Are Gone" is the Parliafunkadelicment Thang at its best, with gospel-tinged vocals being swept up into nasty breakdowns, then back to the singing. Calvin truly stands out here, but the interplay between the vocalists is almost as remarkable as the interplay between the musicians. The last few songs blend together, going straight from one to the next with no break.
The photos here are a bit blurry, and look similar to those on the Music For Your Mother set. The album is available only as an import at this point. Check out http://www.midnightrecords.com or http://www.cdeurope.com. Expect to pay between $18 and $30 for it. It's a must for all serious Funkateers, especially those who favor the early Funkadelic records above all others.