Get Off Your Ass and JAM with The Rolling ILX Funk Listening Club: New Selections Weekly! Updated Mondays and Fridays! All ILXors and Lurkers Welcome!

Sorry pfunk to come late to this listening party, Thanks for making me listening to The Ohio Players again. I love the slow jam on that album. They still had moments of a soul vocal group on that album. By far my favorite of theirs. The Parliament and Funkadelic on this thread was fun listening to, but for me they start treading close to jamming land. I know that's my fault as a listening and not their fault. I love the Dr John Album! There needs to be more louisiana on this funk thread. Some Of the songs on that record remind me of Willie Tee.

Echoing a thanks for the Dr. John mention on this thread. I got 'Destively Bonaroo' because of this thread and wound up getting a bunch of other Dr. John albums as a result. So good! I was put off because it seems he has worked to become, like Wynton Marsalis, a conservative guardian of NO music and has been pilloried for it (whenever I hear him it reminds me of Patton Oswalt's crack about Dr. John wearing a hat made of meat!) But listening to his early stuff and knowing he had worked with Spiritualized made me think that getting these early albums would be worth it and they have.

I have a lot of funk stuff, but when I see you guys dropping obscure stuff like Mandrill, Chairmen of the Board, or letting me know that, yes, before they picked up one of his songs for that stupid Helen Hunt/Paul Reiser sitcom, Dr. John was funky -- all I have to say is thank you for this thread!

heh, that stuff isnt obscure, we went for established classics first! you wait until we go obscure on your funky butt!

everything Dr. John did between like 1968 and 1975 is pretty awesome btw

ESG is definitely my fave this week, I'm going to listen to it again now and try to come up with something interesting to say about it. The Parliament and JB are fine, but they just kind of sound like yet another Parliament or JB album (though admittedly WITH GONGS).

It's not the best Parliament album by any means I'd rank about 5 ahead of it, but it's still great, Parliament just set very high standards!

I'd rank about 5 ahead of it

?? really? that seems like a lot

I mean Mothership Connection is obviously THE Parliament album, but I'd put Chocolate City, Funkentelechy and Motorbooty Affair right behind it

Osmium, Mothership Collection,Funkentelechy vs the placebo syndrome,The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein, Chocolate City.

In fact up for the down stroke I prefer too

Like I said, Parliament had high standards (til the final 2 albums)

And many people have a different favourite. Always going to happen when a band has such an amazing catalog

yeah I dunno I don't rate Clones and Up for the Down Stroke as highly (the production on Clones is oddly thin to my ears, and UFTDS is just inconsistent). I always feel weird considering Osmium as part of Parliament's main catalog - I know it was released under that name, but everything else released as Parliament is almost an entirely different band. I know there's overlapping personnel and a lot of times who released what under which name was kinda arbitrary, I just associate Osmium more as a Funkadelic thing. It has the original Funkadelic line-up on it, and it bears way more resemblance to, like, America Eats Its Young than anything else released with the Parliament moniker.

As I said, we all have different favourites. But Osmium IS Parliament.

Friday Funk Bonus Album will be chosen by funkybum schmidt this week after the swap.

and here it is!

Friday Funk Bonus

Eugene McDaniels: Headless Heros Of The Apocalypse (1971)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41mdkT1niqL._SS500_.jpg

Spotfiy

When this album was first released in 1971, so the legend goes, Nixon's vice-president Spiro Agnew himself called Atlantic Records to complain about the album's incendiary lyrics. Once again available on CD, McDaniels' funky social critique is wrapped up in an appealing stew that draws from rock, R&B, folk, soul, and even free jazz.

Dustygroove: A monster album that's gone onto influence a generation - but which was barely recognized at the time! Singer Eugene McDaniels had scored big with some pop hits in the 60s under the name Gene McDaniels - but here, he steps out in a righteous batch of offbeat funk tunes - filled with politics, offbeat rhythms, and some very weird instrumentation. The whole thing's awash in moody, jazzy changes - of the style that showed up often in samples by Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, and other artists who drew keen inspiration from this record.

Here's a detailed blog entry that could also help non-Spotify , from which:

Depending on which story you read, either the (then) supremely despicable (Nixon administration) Vice President Spiro Agnew or the equally contemptible Chief of Staff Harry Haldeman contacted Atlantic Records and demanded that the label stop recording the singer after the album was released in 1971.

AMG review: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:3vfpxqekld6e

Seriously, you NEED to hear this record

ah shit, mispelt Heroes

Excellent choice!

That's a super album indeed. And about time too - all this happy funk was making me happy.

lol

Sam has to give you an Arsenal player verdict too

great album - was on my prospective list of things for this thread btw

A good bit of listening down today:

1. I tracked down a thing I'd read about and planned on nominating myself - pretty good, but obviously I can't reveal what it is now.

2. ESG - really excellent, I want to know more about it, where it came from, what's the lineage, etc. I wouldn't actually have put this down as funk had it not come up in the club. Not sure what i'd've called it, maybe big beat or some kind of punk house. It kept reminding me of 'Pump Up The Volume' more than anything else.

3. I had Betty Davis on briefly too. Really like it. I took a bit of abuse upthread for suggesting that Funkadelic should scrub the vocal tracks and get someone like Tina Turner in - this is the kind of thing I had in mind.

ESG - really excellent, I want to know more about it, where it came from, what's the lineage, etc. I wouldn't actually have put this down as funk had it not come up in the club. Not sure what i'd've called it, maybe big beat or some kind of punk house.

"Punk house" isn't far off; they're usually considered part of the Mutant Disco/post-punk/dance-punk scene like Konk and Liquid Liquid. The AMG bio is good on a lot of your questions; if you don't know their origin story, it's quite charming: http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:39fwxqr5ld6e~T1.

it's ilm's idea of funk

That sounded disparaging , I meant the kind ILM in general would like. You know what I mean anyway.

I like the way ESG (apparently) came up with their sound on their own and had no idea what was going on in the whole post-punk/No Wave scene.

They remind me of a minimalist Tom Tom Club quite a bit.

I like the way ESG (apparently) came up with their sound on their own and had no idea what was going on in the whole post-punk/No Wave scene.

i can believe it since most people had no idea that was going on.

no one got any thoughts on tannenbaums friday funk bonus?

xp - Yeah, but compare to clued-in art school kids like the Bush Tetras who ended up in kind of the same musical place...

17/5 - Tannenbaum Schmidt
24/5 - Ismael Klata (Not a rangers fan honestly)
31/5 - funksclovetu
7/6 - Seandalai Funkify
14/6 - moka Funka
21/6 - Abbott The Bricklayer
28/6 - The Rev Funkenstein
5/7 - pfunkboy
12/7 - Turangalila Funkapus
19/7 - mbison the texan funkateer
26/7 - Shakey Mo Funkier
2/8 - Tom "Funkybutt" D
9/8 - Von Bootee!

ready to go funkybaum schmidt?

This week, we look back at the Titans of Talkbox Electro Funk: ZAPP AND ROGER!! (pay attention, Chromeo fans!)

Zapp was formed in 1978 by brothers Roger Troutman, Larry Troutman, Lester Troutman, Tony Troutman and Terry "Zapp" Troutman. Known for hits such as "More Bounce to the Ounce", "Dance Floor" and "Computer Love", the group was a partial source of inspiration to West Coast hip-hop and G-funk, which came out of the hand clapped-drum beat styled funk of Zapp's records, with Roger's use of the talk box becoming another reason for the group's impact and its success.

All Music Guide artist bio

Zapp - Zapp I(1980)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51J5NPZM0RL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Spotify

Released in 1980 just as George Clinton's P-funk empire had reached the brink of its existence, Bootsy protégé Roger Troutman proved himself a worthy successor with Zapp's self-titled debut album and its subsequent two follow-ups. In actuality, Zapp originally was a branch of the Parliament/Funkadelic collective, as group leader Roger Troutman was originally signed to Clinton's short-lived CBS subsidiary, Uncle Jam Records. After Troutman completed the album with CBS' money, Clinton's help, and Bootsy's production, Warner Bros. stepped in, offered Roger a considerable sum of money, and slyly bought the album -- leaving a distressed Clinton with no Zapp album for his shaky boutique label. Propelled by the dancefloor smash "More Bounce to the Ounce," the album quickly became a considerable hit. It was here that Troutman first defined the vocoder-laden funk aesthetic that would become his trademark for the remainder of his career. In addition to the near ten-minute "More Bounce," the album also featured "Be Alright," another epic jam that slowed down the funk to a smoked-out, almost ballad-like tempo (both songs would later fuel numerous early-'90s West Coast rap hits via sampling). Of the remaining four songs, "Funky Bounce" and "Brand New Player" also stand as perennial standouts, further affirming Troutman's dense funk aesthetic. Later Zapp albums would have their moments, but this debut is absolutely solid from beginning to end, in addition to being the foundation from which Troutman would base all later work, and with "More Bounce to the Ounce" and "Be Alright," it houses two of the best moments in '80s funk.

Imo, worth checking for "More Ounce To The Bounce" and "Brand New Player" , with the rest... well, you make your own mind up.

Roger Troutman - The Many Facets Of Roger (1981)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41952TES00L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Spotify

This is Roger Troutman's first solo release, and it blazes the same trail as the Zapp LPs. Singing through a synthesized vocal box, there's no mistaking Roger's sound. His version of Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" is classic, and was a monster on the R&B charts. "So Ruff, So Tuff" continued the maddening dance grooves. But Roger does it all -- hence the title of the album -- his blues and jazz explorations are top-shelf. A very well-rounded set from a versatile, underappreciated artist. [The 2002 Rhino reissue sports three additional bonus tracks.] ~ Andrew Hamilton, All Music Guide

For me, a much more consistently enjoyable album than Zapp I

In 1999, Larry Troutman shot Roger Troutman in an alley, and then was himself found dead slumped over in a car a few blocks over, later that day. Homicide/suicide.

Can't vouch for quality, but some French fans have reworked a 2cd album's worth of Roger's work: http://rogerrevisited.free.fr

Rick James - Street Songs (1981)
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BMND9WZQL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
Spotify

Rick James had already reached the top of the R&B charts numerous times before STREET SONGS, but this 1981 release was the crossover breakthrough that earned him pop stardom. This is where his mix of P-Funk grooves and Blowfly lyrics hitched its wagon to some surefire pop hooks without losing any of the funk. Oh, and just in case anyone wants to stop dancing long enough to think about it, STREET SONGS is supposedly a concept album about the street life of ladies of the night and their, um, business managers. A triumphant return to defiant, in-your-face funk, the triple-platinum Street Songs was not only his best-selling album ever, it was also his best period, and certainly the most exciting album released in 1981. The gloves came all the way off this time, and James is as loud and proud as ever on such arresting hits as "Super Freak," "Give It to Me, Baby," and "Ghetto Life."Even the world's most casual funksters shouldn't be without this pearl of an album.

ILM voted that "Give It To Me Baby" should be my favourite song of ALL TIME. Trust them.

3 absolute classics, Though I always thought Zapp II was even better, so you guys are in for a TREAT if you investigate further. Great choices! I have the solo roger on OG lp, its wonderful.

And the rick james album is a masterpiece.

great choices.

forks can you update title please?

let's go generic for the future

ok can you say updated every Monday with a Friday bonus pick?

yup

thanks.

Anyone listened yet?

I've heard the Zapp and Rick James albums countless times - Brand New Player and Funky Bounce are the other keepers from the Zapp album besides More Bounce. Honestly don't remember much about the non-hits/singles stuff from the RJ album tbh. Dunno the Many Facets of Roger, will have to find that one.

I liked the get off your ass and jam bit of the thread title forks added before, forks please put it back!

shakey you wont be disappointed with the roger album

cheers, forks!

Betty Davis is my thing, many thanks to whoever put it up. It really benefits from the strong vocal and fairly limited arrangements, makes it hang together as an album much better than some of the other ones we've had. It also shows again that Funk is a broad church - I'm pretty sure this'll be where Zeppelin were trying to get to with the likes of 'Trampled Underfoot'.

Aahhhh So Ruff, So Tuff - haven't heard this in a loooong time. sweet.

told you that you would dig it.

bonus album coming tomorrow but i hope there will be more discussion today on tannenbaums choices

Updated Spotify Playlist

I've always thought Thriller was a ripoff of Give It To Me Baby