Track Listing:
Up For The Down Stroke {W Collins, B Worrell, G Clinton} 9:10
A Blow For Me, A Toot To You {G Clinton, W Collins, Fred Wesley} 7:20
When In Doubt: Vamp {G Clinton, Garry Shider, B Worrell} 4:21
Between Two Sheets {G Clinton, W Collins, Maceo Parker} 6:50
Four Play {G Clinton, W Collins, Glen Goins} 8:03
Peace Fugue {F Wesley} 6:00
A Blow For Me, A Toot To You (remix) 7:09
Four Play (remix) 7:03
Interview 2:03
Personnel:
Horny Horns:
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Tenor & Alto Sax: Maceo Parker
Trumpet: Rick Gardner, Richard "Kush" Griffith
Drums: Jerome Brailey, Frankie "Kash" Waddy, Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Phelps "Catfish" Collins, Garry Shider, Mike Hampton,
Bootsy Collins, Glen Goins
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Synth/Keyboard: Bernie Worrell
Additional Horns: Brecker Brothers (Randy & Michael)
Background Vocals: Richard Griffith, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley,
Rick Gardner, Phelps Collins, George Clinton, Bernie Worrell,
Gary Cooper, Robert Johnson, Randy Crawford, Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva,
Taka Kahn, Bootsy Collins
Producer: George Clinton, Bootsy Collins
Interview: George Clinton
Rating: RC: ****
Comments:RC: Despite the fact that this album is mostly a bunch of old tracks that were redone with new horn tracks, it's still excellent. The greatness of the musicians and their amazing output at the time meant that these were no mere outtakes, but rather excellent tracks that didn't quite fit in elsewhere. Fittingly, most of the music and vocals are handled by Bootsy's Rubber Band, for whom the Horny Horns played for on all their records. In fact, the Horny Horns were named right around the time that the Rubber Band was born. In addition, frequent Rubber Band contributors Garry Shider, Michael Hampton and Bernie Worrell can be heard all over the album. The album stays lightly funky the whole way through, with horns dominant throughout. The vocals are mostly chants if they're there at all.
The cover of "Up For The Down Stroke" might be even better than the original. The intro starts out with a number of pauses and Maceo taking a sax hiccup. The vocals differ sharply from the original in that the Brides handle the duties, giving it a lighter feel. Some of the vocals are replaced by solos. "A Blow For Me..." starts out with a grinding rhythm led by Bootsy, and the horns chiming in here and there. The vocals are deeply buried behind the horn strikes and bass, with the keys coming in to add some variety. There are some excellent riffs and descending horn figures here, as well as super heavy & funky solos from Fred & Maceo. "When In Doubt: Vamp" features great drumming from Jerome Brailey and interesting jazzy playing in the intro (focusing on those strange Bernie keyboard sounds) before it settles into a more standard funk pace. That's when the horns really got untracked, with the trumpets going particularly wild, but all the horns solo in and around each other in a great vamp, as the title suggests. Guitars fill in the spaces. "Between Two Sheets" is another jazzy number featuring some more interesting interaction between bass, guitar and horns. The guitar has an interesting distortion to it, and it sounds a bit like Catfish Collins. This sounds like a Rubber Band outtake, talking about Casper the Funky Ghost, except that the sections where Bootsy might have sung are replaced by solos. "Four Play" is an excellent track that really features some great bass playing from Bootsy. The rhythm is hypnotic and moving, with the horns coming in to work against the tension of the guitars & bass. "Peace Fugue" is a slow Fred Wesley piece that is almost pure jazz. The recurring musical theme--a slowly swelling ascending figure--is an engaging one, especially when all the horns pick up on it. Bootsy plays a subtle but funky bassline in the background. The remixes are a nice bonus, but not especially revelatory. They add assorted extra beats and scratches, and isolate certain instruments at times. The remixes were done in 1994, when the album was rereleased.
The album is readily available as a reissue. Fans of Fred, Maceo and Bootsy should definitely check it out.