Killīs 50 greatest albums ever - #41

[Kill]

P a r l i a m e n t

MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION
(1975)

"Mothership Connection" is not one of the albums thatīll pop up in sales list top 10īs today and - which is deplorable - itīs an album many music listeners are barely cognizant of. Yet, this record is arguably one of the most important creations in funk music and has remained a perennial favorite of the genreīs fans to this day. Not only did the large group - Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker just having joined their already extensive roster - incise its name into the landscape of the music world eventually, they actually enriched it by desisting from their previous, strongly RīnīB-influenced sounds and finally creating and manifesting the sound "Up For The Down Stroke" had paved the way for. Patterns were switched up, interwoven rhythms intertwined with a new style of using bass, piano and horns. P-Funk was born.

It wasnīt just that Parliament were innovative with music, the band created a microcosm of its own. The characters populating their albums werenīt mere figments of imagination, but personified metaphors and often bordered social satire. The Parliament universe was a territory where music was enjoyably merged with message. Song structures were loose, lyrics joyful fantasies open to interpretation. Yet and still, Parliament took a more serious approach with their music than visible at first sight, reflecting African American issues without losing track of their main goal though - which was to funk you up.

And there is not a shadow of doubt they were professionals at that. The opening track sets the tone for the whole album, elongating what seemed to be just the intro into an extensive demonstration of the music style it was named after, glueing listenersī ears to the groove. The rest of the album is no different. Titles like "Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication" and "Tear The Roof Off The Sucker" stand for songs that are as funky as they sound. Seven tracks, seemingly little, but maybe the biggest dosage of funk ever handed out to listeners on one LP.

Even though Parliament were still waiting for their first platinum plaque after the album, "Mothership Connection" is an LP of undeniable impact. A lot of funk music as we know it, let alone the version of west coast hiphop made by the likes of Dr. Dre or DJ Quik could not have happened, hadnīt it been for an assembly of outstandingly talented artists converting the blues scale into a sound never heard before. They had the bomb.

[Lincoln]

I always liked Parliament, but I've never listened to one of their full albums (very hard to find). Thanks.

[Kill]

I always liked Parliament, but I've never listened to one of their full albums (very hard to find). Thanks.

yeah theyīre not that easy to find, but downloading them or ordering them from the internet shouldnīt be a problem. You just donīt come across them in stores very often...my personal favs are this, "Motor Booty Affair" and "Up For The Down Stroke"

[DJ_PK]

Props man, never actually heard a full album from them, just tracks here and there.

[eS El Duque]

props..thanks for the album 

[ishida]

i saw parliament/funkadelic live about a year or two ago. they put on a hell of a show!

[ToOoOoN!!!]

props!

[Kill]

i saw parliament/funkadelic live about a year or two ago. they put on a hell of a show!

yeah, i heard they were amazinglive. Iīd def go see them if i got the chance to