Mothership Connection [LP]

by Parliament

Overview

The definitive Parliament-Funkadelic album, Mothership Connection is where George Clinton's revolving band lineups, differing musical approaches, and increasingly thematic album statements reached an ideal state, one that resulted in enormous commercial success as well as a timeless legacy that would be compounded by hip-hop postmodernists, most memorably Dr. Dre on his landmark album The Chronic (1992). The musical lineup assembled for Mothership Connection is peerless: in addition to keyboard wizard Bernie Worrell; Bootsy Collins, who plays not only bass but also drums and guitar; the guitar trio of Gary Shider, Michael Hampton, and Glen Goins; and the Brecker Brothers (Michael and Randy) on horns; there are former J.B.'s Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker (also on horns), who were the latest additions to the P-Funk stable. Besides the dazzling array of musicians, Mothership Connection boasts a trio of hands-down classics -- "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)," "Mothership Connection (Star Child)," "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" -- that are among the best to ever arise from the funk era, each sampled and interpolated time and time again by rap producers; in particular, Dr. Dre pays homage to the former two on The Chronic (on "The Roach" and "Let Me Ride," respectively). The remaining four songs on Mothership Connection are all great also, if less canonical. Lastly, there's the overlapping outer-space theme, which ties the album together into a loose escapist narrative. There's no better starting point in the enormous P-Funk catalog than Mothership Connection, which, like its trio of classic songs, is undoubtedly among the best of the funk era. ~ Jason Birchmeier

Product Details

Release Date:	07/17/2015
Label:	Mercury / Universal Music
UPC:	0602547279286
Rank:	3191

Tracks

1. P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)
2. Mothership Connection (Star Child)
3. Unfunky UFO
4. Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication (The Bumps Bump)
5. Handcuffs
6. Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)
7. Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Parliament   Primary Artist
Sidney Barnes   Voices,Handclapping,Vocals (Background)
Bernie Worrell   Keyboards,Synthesizer
Raymond Davis   Vocals
Bootsy Collins   Bass,Drums,Guitar,Vocals,Percussion
Cordell "Boogie" Mosson   Bass
Joe Farrell   Horn
Fred Wesley   Horn
Gary "Mudbone" Cooper   Drums
Maceo Parker   Horn
Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins   Vocals
Randy Brecker   Horn
Jim Vitti   Sound Effects
Michael Brecker   Horn
George Clinton   Vocals
Calvin Simon   Vocals
Ramon Tiki Fulwood   Drums
Glen Goins   Guitar,Vocals
Garry Shider   Guitar,Vocals
Grady Thomas   Vocals
Jerome Brailey   Drums
Michael Hampton   Guitar
Bryna Chimenti   Voices,Handclapping,Vocals (Background)
Deborah Wright   Voices,Handclapping
Pamela Vincent   Voices,Handclapping
Debbie Edwards   Voices,Handclapping,Vocals (Background)
Debbie Wright   Vocals (Background)
Gary Cooper   Drums,Voices,Percussion,Handclapping
Reginald Rasputin Boutte   Voices,Handclapping,Vocals (Background)
Taka Khan   Voices,Handclapping,Vocals (Background)
Archie Ivy   Voices,Handclapping
Pam Vincent   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Bernie Worrell   Composer,Horn Arrangements
Bootsy Collins   Composer,Rhythm Arrangements
Fred Wesley   Horn Arrangements
George Clinton   Concept,Composer,Producer,Rhythm Arrangements
Glen Goins   Composer
Harry Weinger   Reissue Supervisor
Suha Gur   Digital Remastering
Garry Shider   Composer
Jerome Brailey   Composer
Tom Vickers   Liner Notes
B. Collins   Composer
Gribbitt!   Design,Art Direction
David Alexander   Photography
Mathieu Bitton   Reissue Design
Monique McGuffin   Production Coordination
Ryan Null   Photo Research
Gary Snider   Composer
Janet McLaughlin   Composer
William Collins   Composer