almost okay

If you're not familiar with George Clinton, think of him as the Frank Zappa of Funk. Take that concept one step further, and that makes Funkadelic George's Mothers of Invention, both bands coming into their own in the late sixties and early seventies and both blending elements of Psyche Rock, Doo Wop, Jazz, Blues, Soul and R & B to produce music the likes of which had never been heard before.

Today's Five Star features the second LP the Clinton gang recorded for the Westbound Label, and one of the juiciest in terms of flat out genius guitar work, courtesy of Eddie 'Maggot Brain' Hazel. Recorded in 1970, the same year Jimi Hendrix died, 'Free Your Mind...' seems to pick up where Hendrix left off, with Hazel scorching the tunes with fuzzy feedback as though Jimi himself, still tripping on acid, were directing the action from beyond the grave. Other musicians in the lineup include Bernie Worrell on keyboards, Tiki Fulwood on bass and drummer Billy Nelson. Vocals are provided by George, Clarence 'Fuzzy' Haskins, Ray Davis, Grady Thomas and Calvin Simon - all members of The Parliaments, George's original Doo Wop group that dates back to 1955.

There's a real one take, 'jam session' feel to the cuts on this LP, and rumor has it George challenged the band to see if they could come up with enough material for an album in a single day, all while being high. I wasn't there, but it sure sounds like that's what happened.

Over the years, lineup and name changes (due to contractual and legal reasons, besides The Parliaments, George's bands have been known variously as Parliament, Funkadelic and P-Funk) have led to different permutations of the band, but George has maintained a firm hand on the rudder of the Mothership, directing the flow and bringing the Funk throughout. Funkadelic managed to place a handful of singles in the Top 100, most notably 'One Nation Under A Groove' (1978), and '(Not Just) Knee Deep' (1979); while the more dance-oriented sound of Parliament scored a number of charting hits including 'Up For The Down Stroke' (1974), 'Chocolate City' (1975), 'Tear The Roof Off The Sucker' (1976), 'Flash Light' (1978) and 'Aqua Boogie' (1979). As The Parliaments, they took '(I Wanna) Testify' to #20 in 1967, and later albums credited to 'George Clinton' (still featuring much the same group of musicians as the Parliament and Funkadelic sessions) produced a series of successful singles, 'Atomic Dog' topping that list and reaching #1 on the R & B charts in 1982.

Over the years Clinton has influenced and worked with a number of musicians, from Prince to The Red Hot Chili Peppers to Outkast, and next to James Brown may be the most sampled artist of all time. He even wrote the theme song to the Tracey Ullman Show!

Unfortunately, drug problems plagued many of the members of George's bands, including George himself, who was busted for cocaine possession as recently as 2003. Guitar great Hazel did some serious jail time and died in 1992 at the age of 42.

George and the gang were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, and George continues to be active in the music world both as a performer and producer.

My pristine copy of this LP is a reissue from the eighties, and if you don't mind I would like to toss in my two-cents' worth as to how much I believe the gatefold cover adds to an album package, especially when there's a photo like this one to wrap around to the back. Hold one of these babies in your hands and the inferior nature of CDs as collectibles will immediately become apparent. The gatefold cover was also used to great advantage by The Ohio Players, another superior Funk band in their own right who were also signed to the Westbound label, their album covers infamous for kinky, bondage-influenced photos of nude women. Hmmm, I wonder if it's too soon to do an Ohio Players LP for the next Five Star...?