Search - Parliament :: Up for the Down Stroke

Got up for the down stroke

Calvin B. Miles | 02/11/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the second comming of parliament as I knew it, and boys and girls it's funky.Get this cd and start with the original version then go directly to the Alternative version then start the whole thang over again. It's worth it!! You know the band was getting to roll. I love this disc. It sets the tone for the mothership and everything that would follow. if this isn't in your archives your just to finicky for the funk. It wasn't meant to be perfect like a showroom car. It's just good to your earhole. Dance around the house or kick back on it. A little side note... My favorite track is "All your Goodies are Gone" people that really know the funk,know it as the "Loser seat". Am I telling my age? yeah and who cares. Enjoy the Original funk/Rap/Dance crazy band. Yeah, I said it, "The first Rap band". Not Run D.M.C. Sorry!!!"

The Mothership Before it Took Off

finulanu | Here, there, and everywhere | 11/17/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"First off, I'd like to say this: The single mix of "Testify" is MUCH better than the album cut. For one, they made a good call by repeating the opening riff an extra couple bars, because I could just listen to that riff all day. For another, the single mix has some great ensemble, Sly Stone-like vocals that the album take is sadly missing. Those vocals really make the song - the album mix is still a good track (it's still "Testify", after all), but the single version is superior in every way.

Getting on with it, Parliament's major-label debut is an okay album, but nothing at all like the heights they would hit on later discs. Like the next album, Chocolate City, there's no overriding concept here. The lyrics do mostly share a common theme, though - quick, just by looking at the titles, find me the common theme of "The Goose" ("that laid the golden egg"), "I Can Move You (If You Let Me)", "All Your Goodies Are Gone", and "Whatever Makes Baby Feel Good"! I think I know what you're thinking, and I'm pretty sure you're right. Out of those, "The Goose" really cooks (no pun intended), a nine-minute jazz-funk jam similar to the record's amazing hit title track, with sweet stop-start drumming during the bridge. For whatever reason, "The Goose" failed as a single. But it is just awesome. Seriously. "All Your Goodies are Gone" is second-best of those songs (and third-best overall). Its stoned, druggy atmosphere makes me think of Parliament's compatriots Funkadelic. I'm not too fond of either "I Can Move You" or "Whatever Makes Baby Feel Good" - the first is rather dull stereotypical R&B; the second seriously makes me think of arena-rock. And hey, whaddaya know, there are only two songs left! They're decent, but not brilliant - "I Just Got Back" is perfectly listenable but nonetheless pointless soft-rock (not kidding, it's really soft-rock from Parliament. Confused? So am I), and "Presence of a Brain" at least has some nice lyrics and nicer Latin piano going for it. Really, I'm not so sure what to say about this, but it can kick some butt when it feels like it."