i got a lot of friends that say's if it has wah or chucka chucka guitars it cant be classified as funk. but to me the "funk" it's just a vibe i get. there's a lot of blurry lines in funk. what about k.c. & the sunshine band? what about slave? what about chic? what about average white band? funkadelic & parliament? it's all funky to me. peace, stein. . .
if you don't think the first handful of Funkadelic albums are "funk" music then you need to invest in a couple of these and then listen to them again.
Well ... I suppose the world is determined to define the word "funk" around the Funkadelic sound. Hence, all the damned bands like Deep Banana Blackout or whatever calling themselves "funk" bands.
If you're gonna say that stretched out, guitar solo laden "funky" blues rock is funk, then you're gonna have to come up with a new word to describe James Brown's music ... cause it ain't that.
if you don't think the first handful of Funkadelic albums are "funk" music then you need to invest in a couple of these and then listen to them again.
Well ... I suppose the world is determined to define the word "funk" around the Funkadelic sound. Hence, all the damned bands like Deep Banana Blackout or whatever calling themselves "funk" bands.
If you're gonna say that stretched out, guitar solo laden "funky" blues rock is funk, then you're gonna have to come up with a new word to describe James Brown's music ... cause it ain't that.
To be a bit more specific (and less reactionary) I think Funkadelic removed a lot of the latin influence from JB style funk (the polyrhythmic quality that made it danceable) and replaced it with psychedelic bluesy guitar riffs and solos. Not bad music (and obviously important culturally) ... just significantly different from what was previously referred to as funk.
Funkadelic "S/T" --------> "Cosmic Slop" Are these funk albums?
Is Black Merda/Merda funk?
Nah--if those records were not made by Black groups, I don't think anybody would think twice about calling them "rock".
I agree. When I was first getting into funk, I picked up Cosmic Slop with high expectations and was very dissapointed. Funkadelic has some great funk songs, but I think they're primarily a rock group.
When you first heard "Cosmic Slop," were you expecting it to sound like "One Nation Under A Groove '73"?
Not at all. I had never heard any Funkadelic before, but based on their image and reputation I figured I should be able to pick up any one of their albums and get my funk fix, not a Hendrix clone. Nothing against Hendrix or Cosmic Slop, it just wasn't what I was looking for. At that time, I was looking for 70s Kool & The Gang type stuff.
I'm not into the whole "One Nation..." era. That four-on-the-floor beat sounds like disco to me. But the first couple albums definitely have some funk gems.
what about the group WAR? is that funk? peace, stein. . .
More danceable than Funkadelic ... but I guess we are kinda splitting hairs here. I put them in my latin section for whatever reason. "Heartbeat" is a nice jam (among their many).
i got a lot of friends that say's if it has wah or chucka chucka guitars it cant be classified as funk. but to me the "funk" it's just a vibe i get. there's a lot of blurry lines in funk. what about k.c. & the sunshine band?
disco
what about slave?
funk
what about chic?
disco
what about average white band? funkadelic & parliament?
funk
Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound; funny but
"Funk is a many splendored thing. Funk is a nasty vibe, and a sweet sexy feeling; Funk is funkiness, a natural release of the essence within. Funk is a high, but it is also down at the bottom, the low-down earthy essence, the bass elements. Funk is at the extremes of everything. Funk is hot, but funk can be cool. Funk is primitive, yet funk can be sophisticated. Funk is a way out, and a way in. Funk is all over the place. Funk is a means of release that cannot be denied."
George Clinton
"Funk is whatever it needs to be, at the time that it is."
i got a lot of friends that say's if it has wah or chucka chucka guitars it cant be classified as funk. but to me the "funk" it's just a vibe i get. there's a lot of blurry lines in funk. what about k.c. & the sunshine band?
disco
Generally speaking, sure, but their first album is more funk than anything.
None of this has to be mutually exclusive. Funkadelic's Maggot Brain is in my mind an amazing funk record and the greatest black rock record of all time. All these terms work a whole lot better when used as adjectives instead of categories.
Wow, what is up with the Strut and semantics today?
dennis coffy trio - hair and thangs s.o.u.l. - what is it the mohawks - the champ
damn, stein....forgot about those. i am resubmitting my entry...S.o.u.l. is my favorite funk LP pretty easily...more than meters first or superfly stk. "the champ" is a very close second ("beat me till im blue" is some adrenalin shot,without a doubt). so so so so ill. hair and thangs not as close, but so dope.
bill mason - gettin' off
SHOULDNT BE MENTIONED IN THE SAME BREATH AS THOSE ABOVE.
dennis coffy trio - hair and thangs s.o.u.l. - what is it the mohawks - the champ
damn, stein....forgot about those. i am resubmitting my entry...S.o.u.l. is my favorite funk LP pretty easily...more than meters first or superfly stk. "the champ" is a very close second ("beat me till im blue" is some adrenalin shot,without a doubt). so so so so ill. hair and thangs not as close, but so dope.
bill mason - gettin' off
SHOULDNT BE MENTIONED IN THE SAME BREATH AS THOSE ABOVE.
bill mason - gettin' off it's an ok record.... also that Chandler solo album is not bad at all
Excellent--and I see that they are all available on DustyGroove! We've never heard funk grooves like this before! A potent batch of simmering floorfillers! Among the best albums ever by Richard "Groove" Holmes! Tons of baroque touches!
Since nobodys mentioned one yet, I'll start with this:
It's basically rare and/or previously unreleased stuff by George Semper and it's very solid. A bit eclectic perhaps, a couple of tunes are maybe more disco/modern than funk, but there are no fillers imo. Check it out if you haven't.
As far as the Parliament/Funkadelic argument, I was always under the impression that Funkadelic was a 'side' project to Parliament for them to explore their rock stylings. (not saying they weren't funky, mind you) And surprised no one has mentioned this:
the break down on the title track in fraking bananas
Song out tonight Oh, my soul is out tonight There's a song out tonight Y'all, come on
Comments
Wow, amazingly nuanced argument.
And how would you define "funk," in musical terms?
it's hard to be "nuanced" about something this freaking simple and obvious.
Well ... I suppose the world is determined to define the word "funk" around the Funkadelic sound. Hence, all the damned bands like Deep Banana Blackout or whatever calling themselves "funk" bands.
If you're gonna say that stretched out, guitar solo laden "funky" blues rock is funk, then you're gonna have to come up with a new word to describe James Brown's music ... cause it ain't that.
To be a bit more specific (and less reactionary) I think Funkadelic removed a lot of the latin influence from JB style funk (the polyrhythmic quality that made it danceable) and replaced it with psychedelic bluesy guitar riffs and solos. Not bad music (and obviously important culturally) ... just significantly different from what was previously referred to as funk.
Not at all. I had never heard any Funkadelic before, but based on their image and reputation I figured I should be able to pick up any one of their albums and get my funk fix, not a Hendrix clone. Nothing against Hendrix or Cosmic Slop, it just wasn't what I was looking for. At that time, I was looking for 70s Kool & The Gang type stuff.
I'm not into the whole "One Nation..." era. That four-on-the-floor beat sounds like disco to me. But the first couple albums definitely have some funk gems.
More danceable than Funkadelic ... but I guess we are kinda splitting hairs here. I put them in my latin section for whatever reason. "Heartbeat" is a nice jam (among their many).
Cymande?
disco
funk
disco
funk
Everybody's talkin' 'bout the new sound; funny but
"Funk is a many splendored thing. Funk is a nasty vibe, and a sweet sexy feeling; Funk is funkiness, a natural release of the essence within. Funk is a high, but it is also down at the bottom, the low-down earthy essence, the bass elements. Funk is at the extremes of everything. Funk is hot, but funk can be cool. Funk is primitive, yet funk can be sophisticated. Funk is a way out, and a way in. Funk is all over the place. Funk is a means of release that cannot be denied."
George Clinton
"Funk is whatever it needs to be, at the time that it is."
Wow, what is up with the Strut and semantics today?
bill mason - gettin' off it's an ok record.... also that Chandler solo album is not bad at all
Excellent--and I see that they are all available on DustyGroove! We've never heard funk grooves like this before! A potent batch of simmering floorfillers! Among the best albums ever by Richard "Groove" Holmes! Tons of baroque touches!
Since nobodys mentioned one yet, I'll start with this:
It's basically rare and/or previously unreleased stuff by George Semper and it's very solid. A bit eclectic perhaps, a couple of tunes are maybe more disco/modern than funk, but there are no fillers imo. Check it out if you haven't.
As far as the Parliament/Funkadelic argument, I was always under the impression that Funkadelic was a 'side' project to Parliament for them to explore their rock stylings. (not saying they weren't funky, mind you) And surprised no one has mentioned this:
the break down on the title track in fraking bananas
Song out tonight
Oh, my soul is out tonight
There's a song out tonight
Y'all, come on
I like it, too--I was making a crack w/r/t Gittin' Off, which is junk.
I like the fatback band I just don't think people music is that good. That being said I don't know how far I would ride for Bohannon either.
Bohannon = disco