Track Listing:
California Dreamin' {John Phillips, Michelle Phillips} 6:16
Frantic Moment {G Clinton, W Collins, B Worrell} 3:42
So Goes The Story {G Clinton, W Collins} 3:55
I Want You (She's So Heavy) {John Lennon, Paul McCartney} 9:25
Physical Love {W Collins, G Clinton, Gary Cooper, Garry Shider} 5:32
What About It? {Eddie Hazel, G Clinton} 3:46
California Dreamin' (reprise) {J Phillips, M Phillips} 1:30
Personnel:
"California Dreamin'"
Lead vocal and guitar: Eddie Hazel
"Frantic Moment"
Lead guitar: Eddie Hazel
"So Goes The Story"
Lead Guitar: Eddie Hazel
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)"
Lead guitar: Eddie Hazel
"Physical Love"
Lead guitar: Eddie Hazel
Second lead guitar: Garry Shider
"What About It?"
Lead guitars: Eddie Hazel and Michael Hampton
Producer: Eddie Hazel, George Clinton
Guitars: Eddie Hazel, Mike Hampton, Garry Shider, Glenn Goins
Keyboards: Bernie Worrell (except on "I Want You" where Doug Duffey plays
piano)
Drums: Jerome Brailey, Bootsy Collins, Tiki Fulwood
Bass: Bootsy Collins, Billy "Bass" Nelson, Cordell Mosson
Background Vocals: Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva, Gary Cooper
Rating: RC: ****
Comments:RC: Even though the album 'concept' here is exceedingly thin, and many of the tracks were simply recycled from other places, it doesn't matter: I still love this album. I am a huge Eddie Hazel fan, and this album allows him to really show his chops and even sing a bit, which he didn't do much of after the first few Funkadelic albums. With only six songs, the album is designed to provide a basic framework for Eddie to do a lot of soloing. This is especially true of the album's covers. The shorter songs are typical P.Funk songs which focus straight on Eddie.
"California Dreamin'" is a brilliant opus that has an amazing amount of funky balance. Eddie's spacey-sounding guitar is in effect, and it matches perfectly with Boogie's solid bass playing, Bernie's keyboards, Jerome's frantic drumming, and the background vocals from the Brides. "Frantic Moment" is a slow tune that starts off with some weird, almost backward-sounding guitar. The guitar line is simple and clean, with the Brides singing lead throughout. This may have been written for their first album originally. "So Goes The Story" is a hot song with Bootsy's slap bass leading a frantic pace. The great percussion also sets up the spaces for Eddie's amazing solos throughout the song. "I Want You" is a Beatles cover that works very well. The bassline is excellent and upfront, with the Brides again doing most of the lead vocals. Eddie's guitar covers the solos and the melody. "Physical Love" is really the same song that appears on Bootsy's first album, only with Eddie's guitar turned up higher. This is probably the least interesting thing here. "What About It?" can be heard on Volume II of the George Clinton Family Series, as the background to "Clone Communicado". It's a super heavy guitar piece, with more spacey guitar and a funky little riff attached to it. It's a great instrumental. The reprise is very brief and actually focuses on the bass more than anything.
This album is out of print and very rare. A copy could cost you anywhere from $20-80. The cover is amazing, a collage of Eddie with his Gibson in one hand and a sword in the other, riding a horse in a sort of outer-space environment. This is a definite 'holy grail' type item for P.Funk collectors. If you see it, snatch it up; you may never see it again.