Excellent collection of rarities
Robby Raeford | Greensboro, NC United States | 08/23/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"For those that don't know, The George Clinton Family Series is a series of CD's that compiles toghether many songs produced by artists that George was associated with, that were previously unreleased. The artists of these songs range from Parliament, Funkadelic, Bootsy Collins, Trey Lewd, Parlet, The Brides Of Dr. Funkenstein, and many many more.When buying a disc of unreleased material, you shouldn't expect a disc full of musical gems - and you should definatly expect some filler material. Don't get me wrong, there are some absolute classics on here, but there are also some songs that make it obvious why they were never released (and this is true for every volume in The Family Series).One of the most notable tracks is the first track, "Go For Yer Funk" by Parliament. George says that he loved this song, and kept planning to put it on many of their albums, but for some reason, it never made it on an official release. It sounds similar to the music recorded around the time period that Trombipulation, Electric Spanking, and Uncle Jam Wants You were recorded. It is dominate on bass and hooks, and there is some great horn work. George said that this song is full of musical hooks, and this is true. It seems like it was geared towards commercial success, but it obviously didn't acheive that kind of success. Other natable songs include "Funkin' For My Mama's Rent" by Gary Fabulous. The reason why this is a standout track, is because Gary Fabulous was the first white rapper to roll with the P-Funk Mob (and he was probably the FIRST white rapper). He has got some skill, and this song has a great hook to it.For Sly Stone fans, this volume in the Family Series includes a demo of Sly singing in the studio basically by himself (it is rumored that he didn't know the tape was rolling). It is raw Sly, without the pop. It is called "Who In The Funk Do You Think You Are?"Bootsy Collins also has a song on here, called "The Chong Show". Many people will recognize the bassline from this song, because it later became the bassline for The P-Funk Allstars' song "Hydraulic Pump". This is a fun song, but it sounds a little too synth heavy to me. If you like the early-mid 80's period of P-Funk (with songs like Atomic Dog) you will proably like this one. It should be noted that this song has incredibly stupid lyrics, and it makes it a lot of fun.Also, this volume features one of the first songs recorded by George Clinton's son, Tracey Lewis. Trey's band went by the name Flastic Brain Flam back then. The song is called Michelle, and runs for about 12 minutes! Trey Lewd fans will surely appreciate this early cut.After Michelle comes my all time favorite P-Funk track that has ever been cut. It is performed by the guitarist of the P-Funk Allstars, DeWayne 'Blackbyrd' McKnight. He plays one of the most kickin' renditions of the classic song "Sunshine Of Your Love", written by Cream. It is a Blackbyrd instrumental, with Blackbyrd playing all of the instruments on the track. It is just amazing to hear one of my favorite classic rock songs performed by my favorite funk band. Also, for those who like this song, you should look out for the version of this song that has vocals! It was originally cut for a Funkadelic album that never materialized, but you can still find some fans who have a copy of the song.As with all of the Family Series volumes, we close up with an interview with George Clinton. He basically discusses each song, and the circumstances behind each one. This will only interest major fans, because casual listeners won't really care about the history behind the songs - but it is great to hear from the Funkmaster Himself about the origin of some of these amazing songs.The first volume is one of the best in the series, but if you are a collector, you should buy them all, because every single volume has at least 2 songs that any P-Funk fan must not be without. For casual listeners, the songs "Go Fer Yer Funk" and "Sunshine Of Your Love" will probably justify the purchase.Funk on!"
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1