Passed me by: Parliament - Funkadelic

If you've been following my posts for a while, you have probably realized that my musical tastes run more towards 1980's rock and pop than anything else. So, it's not going to be a surprise to anyone when I say that I don't know squat about funk music. Oh sure, I have an appreciation of the music of Prince, but really, the closest that I've come to funk is the time I ate dinner at a Greek restaurant in downtown Detroit.

So, where better to start than with the grandfathers of funk, Parliament (or Funkadelic or something like that. It's all very confusing actually. See Wiki)?

In any case, the ringleader of this beautiful mess is George Clinton. If you asked me who he was a year ago, my first question would have been, is he related to the ex-President? Oh silly me. George Clinton is considered to be THE creator of the sound we now call funk, which fuses soul, jazz, and R&B into a single rhythmic orgasm of danceable sound.

I just call it awesome.

Oh, funk, where have you been all my life?

I really really like the lead guitarist of the group, Michael Hampton. He plays with incredible emotion and can really shred. Check out Red Hot Mama and Maggot Brain in the concert below. Yow! Can he ever play!!!!

One nation under a groove, indeed!

Parliament Funkadelic
January 11, 1978
Howard Theater
Washington DC
(Soundboard - Awesome sound)

Link here

01 - Cosmic Slop
02 - Give Up The Funk - May We Funk You
03 - Red Hot Mama
04 - Into You
05 - Standing On The Verge - Headstrong
06 - Smoke Gets In Your Eyes - Maggot Brain
07 - One Nation Under A Groove
08 - Mothership Connection