Ain't No Romance Around There Welcome, ?uestlove fans.

Yes, it's been quite a while since I last posted. I promise I'll get to Part II of my post on time travel. Real life has gotten in the way of my writing the last couple of weeks, but I'm back(!) with another edition of Friday Funk. I've already given you Sly & The Family Stone, one of my favorite bands of all-time. This week and next week will focus on two of the greatest individual funk albums of all-time: Parliament's Mothership Connection and Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome.

I don't know exactly how to introduce 1975's Mothership Connection. It's generally regarded as the best -- or at least, most important -- of George Clinton's catalog -- a collection that includes all the works of both Funkadelic, Parliament, and their combined efforts. Personally, I think Funkentelechy is the better album for a variety of reasons, but I feel something is lost without introducing this precursor.

Mothership Connection is heavy on grooves, gospel influences, and heavy vamping. Oh, the vamping. The opening track consists of George Clinton acting as the disc jockey of a radio station, WEFUNK. He enlightens the listener to his philosophy of funk between refrains of:

Make my funk the P-Funk
I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P-Funk
I wants to get funked up

Track two introduces us to the character of Star Child, who bestows the Funk on the Egyptians at the Great Pyramids. Seriously. Singer Glenn Goins takes over in the second half of the song with a familiar tune.


The album continues with more dance classics, until you hear Parliament's most commercially successful song up until that date: "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)". Embedding has been disabled, but the linked video embodies everything I love about P-Funk: impeccable grooves, outrageous costumes (including a trombonist in a 3-piece suit), Bootsy Collins, and an absolutely ridiculous number of performers dedicated to creating the best possible experience for the listener. Oh, and Sly Stone makes an appearance at the end as well.

Give Mothership Connection a listen and just try to keep from dancing. If you're somehow able to accomplish this feat, obey one of George Clinton's mantras: "Free your mind, and your ass will follow."