George Clinton Albums (20)
'George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love'
Release Date 9/16/2008
Tracks 15
Label Shanachie
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Wow. George Clinton and friends covering a bunch of old soul tunes with some originals. Sounds great on paper, right? Unfortunately, that great idea didn't really pan out in the execution in this particular case. Rather than going for an old-school vibe, all the musical settings are programmed contemporary R&B and way too many of the vocals sound like they were put through a talk box. Compare these with the old covers done on Clinton's last album, How Late Do U Have 2 B B 4 U R Absent?, which turned out really good. Examining the credits, it appears that the bulk of the blame can be placed on the shoulders of producer Bobby Eli who, along with Chris "Big Dog" Davis and Ricardo Rouse, created almost all the music here (note that none of them are part of the P-Funk crew). The tracks that really stand out are "Gypsy Woman" (thanks to the presence of Carlos Santana) and "Let the Good Times Roll," where the Red Hot Chili Peppers (with El DeBarge!) are the band. But this version of "Gypsy Woman" pales next to the one on How Late Do U Have 2 B B 4 U R Absent?, which is so "George Clinton" that you'd swear Clinton wrote it instead of Curtis Mayfield. The version here has none of that personality. There's even a version of "Goodnight Sweetheart, Goodnight" on How Late that receives a similar attempt at a more contemporary setting with programmed beats and it works great, proving again that the problem wasn't the concept, but the execution. After the listed program, things pick up some with the unlisted bonus tracks. "Heaven" is a nice hip-hop love affair. "As In" sounds like a classic George Clinton love song: a great arrangement with horns and strings and hooks aplenty. It's easily the best thing on this album. "Stillness in Motion" is a bit odd with its underwater utopian vision contrasted with ominous music and samples (which actually resemble "Mea Culpa" from My Life in the Bush of Ghosts). The final track (a cover of "Fever") is a musical return to the beginning of the album with programmed music and tweaked vocals. Maybe Clinton will cast current trends to the wind and revisit this idea, but as it stands, George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love is probably one strictly for the Clinton completist. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
'How Late Do U Have 2 B B 4 U R Absent?'
Release Date 9/6/2005
Tracks 24
Label C Kunspyruhzy
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
It may have been nearly ten years since George Clinton's last studio album, but that doesn't mean he wasn't busy. The multi-ring circus that is the P-Funk All Stars never stops evolving, bringing new acts into the fold while welcoming back old friends and touring, touring, touring. How Late Do U Have 2 B B 4 U R Absent? is a bit of all things P-Funk: past, present, and future. Newcomers like Kendra Foster and George's granddaughter Sativa ride alongside tracks credited to George Clinton, the P-Funk All Stars, Funkadelic, and Parliament with old friends like Bernie Worrell and Cordell "Boogie" Mosson returning on some tracks. Prince and Bobby Womack both get guest spots, and there's even an appearance by the original Parliaments! (It's actually billed to Parliament [and minus Grady Thomas], but the doo wop stylings are all Parliaments.) There's a bit of hip-hop, hard rock, doo wop, and straight-up rock & roll, and of course, lots of hard funk. "Bounce 2 This" could be an outtake off Computer Games, with Bernie's synth leading the way. Funkadelic's "Because/Last Time Zone" combines the Beatles tune with a new track that looks back to "Eulogy and Light" (which is actually quoted verbatim in "Paradigm," the Prince collaboration). "Never Ending Love" has some nice electric sitar from Blackbyrd McKnight, while "Viagra" (both credited to Funkadelic) is a hard rock guitar fest built on a wicked Lige Curry bassline. "I'll Be Missing You" has nice acoustic guitar and horns, and although George's voice has weathered a bit, the man can still sing. "Our Secret" has a nice slow groove with tons of guitars in the background: Mike Hampton, Blackbyrd, and even Eddie Hazel (courtesy of some sampling). They do an old-style soul ballad with "More Than Words Can Say" (the Otis Redding tune) and their cover of "Whole Lotta Shakin'" with Bobby Womack is straight-up vintage rock & roll with some more great guitar. Curtis Mayfield's "Gypsy Woman" is remade and stripped down, led by Eric McFadden's mandolin and Byrd's guitar. "I Can Dance" is typical Clinton lunacy, featuring some funny conversation snippets over a super-funky groove. There are a couple odes to smoking: "Inhale Slow" and Sativa's "Something Stank," which rides on an old-school '70s Parliament-style groove. Perhaps the most surprising of all is the cover of "Goodnight Sweetheart." The Parliaments do it up doo-wop style, with skittering electronic beats added on top, and it works way better than it ought to. All in all, How Late Do U Have 2 B B 4 U R Absent? is somewhere between a sampler of the Clinton universe and a phone call from an old friend telling you what he's been up to. It isn't the place to start your Clinton/Parliafunkadelicment Thang collection, but it's a welcome addition after too long away. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide
'Funkadelic Live at Montreux 2004'
Release Date 6/28/2005
Tracks 13
Label Eagle
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Take It to the Stage'
Release Date 8/25/2003
Tracks 18
Label Music Avenue
See Album Tracklist and Review
'T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. (The Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership)'
Release Date 1/1/1996
Tracks 14
Label 550 Music/Epic
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
George Clinton's most focused album of the '90s slams a barrel of P-Funk down your throat without even giving you the opportunity to swallow. The P-Funk All Stars get a co-credit on this one, bouncing and funking alongside their leader nearly every step of the way. In typical Clinton fashion, Dope Dogs is all over the place: funk, R&B, hip-hop and ass-busting beats cover most of the ground. It all sticks together, however, on a loose-grooved concept about dogs (hasn't most of Clinton's post-"Atomic Dog" stuff been leading to this anyway?), the government and drugs, and how they're tied together in one huge nationwide conspiracy (it makes even less sense on record than it does here). But Clinton always has been about the funk of the matter, and Dope Dogs clearly has that, and its tight astro-rhythms, in the right place. ~ Michael Gallucci, All Music Guide
'Sample Some of Disc, Sample Some of D.A.T., Vol. 3'
Release Date 7/20/1994
Tracks 87
Label AEM
See Album Tracklist and Review
