Released - May 1972
Genre - Funk
Producer - George Clinton
Selected Personnel - Bernie Worrell (Keyboards/Melodica/Vocals); Tiki Fulwood (Percussion); Catfish Collins (Guitar/Vocals); Eddie Hazel (Guitar/Vocals); Garry Shider (Guitar/Vocals); Bootsy Collins (Bass/Vocals); Prakash John (Bass/Vocals); Boogie Mosson (Bass); Robert McCullough (Saxophone); Randy Wallace (Saxophone); Ollie Strong (Steel Guitar); George Clinton (Vocals); Calvin Simon (Vocals); Fuzzy Haskins (Vocals)
Standout Track - Philmore
Hello readers! (Both of you). Sorry for being away for a bit, I've been busy trying to lead a normal life and further my artistic endeavours at the same time, which leaves little time for obscure, obsessive passion projects like these. One of these days I'll get all the way up to 2014 and Future Islands, I promise, guys. In the meantime, it's another backwards step to 1972 and another foray into the work of Funkadelic. I've been listening to a lot more Funkadelic over the last couple of months, largely in order to validate my own claims to myself that funk is one of my new favourite genres and that the Parliament-Funkadelic collective is one of my favourite bands. I feel I've now got to the point where I've probably listened to all I need to of their discography, but perhaps one day I'll dig deeper. Part of the problem with starting with the albums in a band's legacy that are remembered as their best (the immortal classics Maggot Brain, Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On and One Nation Under A Groove) is that everything thereafter runs the risk of becoming a case of diminishing returns, but once you've acclimatised to the idea that none of their other records are quite going to measure up to those pinnacles, there's a lot to enjoy in their other work.
One of the albums I ummed and ahhed over including in this list was 1972's ambitious America Eats Its Young, a record that suffers as much as it benefits from its sprawling, eclectic intentions. Like so many double albums, it could easily be about half as long without losing much of its impact, but the sheer interest value of the new approach from George Clinton & Co. it represents, plus the fact that it does contain a few gems that stand proud as some of the band'd best work, sneaks it a win. In the wake of the huge success and acclaim heaped upon Maggot Brain, Clinton was faced with a dilemma. He knew that any attempt to replicate the sound and style of that album might satisfy fans, but would inevitably pale in comparison, and that the only way to maintain forward motion was to try and do something different. Not only that, but some of the key figures behind Maggot Brain were no longer as available to him, from rhythm guitarist Tawl Ross's absence due to drug problems, and the departure of Billy Bass Nelson and Eddie Hazel due to financial worry. The loss of Hazel was undoubtedly the most significant, after his guitar wizardry was the driving force behind the unforgettable title track from the previous record. Rather than try to copy what he had already done, then, Clinton vastly expanded the Funkadelic lineup, meaning that it became not a band as such, but a name applied to a shifting collective of musicians at his disposal while he worked out the next project.
The most notable new additions included Garry Shider, formerly of United Soul, who would go on to be Funkadelic's regular guitarist in the future, and, in the album's best stand-out moment, the Collins brothers. William "Bootsy" Collins and Phelps "Catfish" Collins had bene members of James Brown's backing band in the late 60s before splitting and forming their own band entitled the House Guests, and in the mid-70s Bootsy's continued association with Clinton, and effects-heavy pioneering use of the bass, would make him a key figure in the sound of the revived Parliament. His involvement with Funkadelic was rarely more than peripheral, but he's the writer and driving force behind "Philmore," a punchy, sassy powerhouse of a song driven by its chugging guitar riff and blaring horns, with Collins himself delivering an ecstatically cool lead vocal. It's undoubtedly the simplest, catchiest little pop song Funkadelic ever recorded, and a joyous highlight of the album.
But shorter songs was another conscious shift by Clinton & Co. to distance themselves from the lengthy, fearsome guitar jams that had characterised albums like Free Your Mind...And Your Ass Will Follow or Maggot Brain. While there are still jazzy instrumental numbers like "A Joyful Process," and most of the songs still allow plenty of room for instrumental showmanship, things are much more tightly constructed around concise song structures this time around, while the musical pallette is widened to put as much focus onto horns, strings and Bernie Worrell's keyboards as onto the guitar. With Parliament, Worrell would be afforded plenty of opportunities to show off his visionary, space-age keyboard sounds, while in the Funkadelic stable he tended to be kept less prominent. America Eats Its Young, being perhaps the closest thing to a Parliament album that Funkadelic would ever record, gives him a lot more room to flex his muscles, like the frantic, swirling keyboard solo that kicks off the album on "You Hit The Nail On The Head" or the aforementioned "A Joyful Process."
Aside from the brilliant "Philmore" and the jazzy "A Joyful Process," there are other major highlights. "Loose Booty," with its catchy nursery-rhyme-styled vocals, chiming rhythm guitar and chirping chorus of backing singers, is a fun and memorable song, and "I Call My Baby Pussycat" is perhaps the closest we get here to the menace and fearsomeness of the band's earlier work, defined by a slow groove and distant, sinister vocals, culminating in a searing, frenzied guitar solo. The title track, by contrast, is an oasis of calm and reflection, albeit one tempered by a deeply unsettling undertone that comes through in the distant warbling cries and the shallow, ragged breathing that underpins it. Mostly, though, it's a lovely, mellow guitar and organ instrumental that almost anticipates the contemplative mood of "Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts" on Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On, over which Clinton's fiendish slowed-down vocals narrate an inscrutable narrative ("A luscious bitch she is, true...") that would later be heard again on Standing On The Verge...'s "Red Hot Mama." It's as calming and blissed-out as it is terrifying and unnerving, and a fine example of how Funkadelic are able to play with moods.
From there it's a series of fine examples of why double albums are rarely a good idea, with a series of underhwelming and fairly by-the-numbers songs that rarely manage to provide any catchy melodies or hooks, or showcase any particularly exciting prowess from any of the musicians. "Biological Speculation" has a bouncy sense of fun to it, but songs like "That Was My Girl" or "Miss Lucifer's Love" are just insipidly forgettable. Speaking of low-points, the dreary ballad of "We Hurt Too" (Clinton's attempt to say a few words about men's rights to go with the many horribly sexist things he says elsewhere in his discography) is another thing that's barely worth sitting through.
Ultimately, a good half of America Eats Its Young is faintly tedious, which is a big negative in my book - I'm always frustrated by an album that feels like equal attention hasn't been given to all of it, or simply like an artist couldn't be bothered to sort through what they had to ensure a finished work of the highest quality. But the gradual changing of approach that Clinton was implementing at the time, and the sheer breadth of musicians and styles that he incorporated, make it a genuinely interesting transitional record, and some of its highlights do remain some of Funkadelic's finest (most notably the Bootsy Collins calling-card of "Philmore.") They had already done better, and would do so again, but it's an interesting artifact for fans of their other work. The band's next step would reintroduce a bit of stability to their lineup and style. Collins and the other House Guests were no longer around, later to return to the Clinton fold with Parliament, meaning the music would again come to focus on psychedelic-tinged guitar rock (this time played by Garry Shider) on 1973's Cosmic Slop. More on that soon...
Track Listing:
1. You Hit The Nail On The Head (George Clinton, Clarence Haskins & Bernie Worrell)
2. If You Don't Like The Effects, Don't Produce The Cause (George Clinton & Garry Shider)
3. Everybody Is Going To Make It This Time (George Clinton & Bernie Worrell)
4. A Joyful Process (George Clinton & Bernie Worrell)
5. We Hurt Too (George Clinton)
6. Loose Booty (George Clinton & Harold Beane)
7. Philmore (Bootsy Collins)
8. I Call My Baby Pussycat (George Clinton, Billy Bass Nelson & Eddie Hazel)
9. America Eats Its Young (George Clinton, Harold Beane & Bernie Worrell)
10. Biological Speculation (George Clinton & Ernie Harris)
11. That Was My Girl (George Clinton & Sidney Barnes)
12. Balance (George Clinton & Bernie Worrell)
13. Miss Lucifer's Love (George Clinton & Clarence Haskins)
14. Wake Up (George Clinton, James W. Jackson & Bernie Worrell)
