Ain't but the One Way | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 14, 1982 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1974–81 | |||
Genre | Funk | |||
Length | 34:15 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Stewart Levine, Sly Stone | |||
Sly and the Family Stone chronology | ||||
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Ain't but the One Way is the tenth and final studio album by Sly and the Family Stone, released by Warner Bros. Records in September 1982. The album began its existence as a collaborative project between Sly Stone and George Clinton, a sequel to Stone's appearance on the 1981 Funkadelic album The Electric Spanking of War Babies . While working on Ain't but the One Way, Clinton and Funkadelic quarreled with and eventually left Warner Bros. Records, and Sly Stone went into self-seclusion and could not be found. Producer Stewart Levine was assigned to take control of the project, and do what he could to complete an album. Upon its 1982 release, Ain't but the One Way underperformed and marked the end of Sly Stone's tenure with Warner Bros. Records.
Both of Sly Stone's Warner Bros. albums, Ain't but the One Way and Back on the Right Track , along with five unissued recordings, were combined by Rhino Records into a compilation called Who in the Funk Do You Think You Are: The Warner Bros. Recordings in 2001.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [2] |
Rolling Stone | [3] |
The Village Voice | B [4] |
Reviewing the album in Rolling Stone , Steve Futterman judged it "Neither triumphant resurgence nor embarrassing failure". He elaborated that the album successfully recreates the funky grooves of "the classic Family Stone sound" but lacks the sociopolitical immediacy that the band had in their heyday. He concluded, "When a once politically astute pop statesman writes an ode to New Jersey called 'Hobo Ken,' you know something is wrong. But if you crave the beat, you'll find it here ..." [3] The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said "this may even be a little better" than Back on the Right Track , reasoning that "the aphoristic snap of the songwriting recalls better days, and the mix generates some heat." However, he questioned the significance of this progression: "[W]here in 1979 it seemed theoretically possible that Sly was on some track or other, there's no way this'll pull him through—often sounds as if he's not even there." [4]
All songs written by Sylvester Stewart except where noted.
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Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow is the second studio album by American funk rock band Funkadelic, released in July 1970 by Westbound Records. It charted at No. 92 in the US, the band's highest charting album release until 1978's One Nation Under a Groove, and included the No. 82 single "I Wanna Know If It's Good to You?"
Maggot Brain is the third studio album by the American funk rock band Funkadelic, released by Westbound Records in July 1971. It was produced by bandleader George Clinton and recorded at United Sound Systems in Detroit during late 1970 and early 1971. The album was the final LP recorded by the original Funkadelic lineup; after its release, founding members Tawl Ross (guitar), Billy Nelson (bass), and Tiki Fulwood (drums) left the band for various reasons.
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Hardcore Jollies is the ninth studio album by the funk rock band Funkadelic, released on October 29, 1976 by Warner Bros. Records, their first album to be issued on a major label. It is dedicated to "the guitar players of the world." Originally, the first side of the album was called "Osmosis Phase 1" and the second side was "Terribitus Phase 2." Hardcore Jollies was released one month after Funkadelic's final album for Westbound Records, Tales of Kidd Funkadelic, which was recorded during the same sessions.
Tales of Kidd Funkadelic is the eighth studio album by the band Funkadelic, released in September 1976. It was their final album on the Westbound record label. The tracks were recorded during the same sessions as their first release for Warner Bros. Records, Hardcore Jollies; which was released a month later. Two tracks from Tales of Kidd Funkadelic, the single “Undisco Kidd” and the party anthem “Take Your Dead Ass Home!” have been staples in the band’s live performances since the album’s 1976 release, and can be heard on the 1977 Parliament concert album Live: P-Funk Earth Tour. The album opener “Butt-To-Buttresuscitation” and the song “I’m Never Gonna Tell It” were included in the band’s live shows during the early 2000s. The song "Let's Take It to the People" has been sampled by hip-hop band A Tribe Called Quest for their song "Everything Is Fair", on their album The Low End Theory.
One Nation Under a Groove is the tenth studio album by American funk rock band Funkadelic, released on September 22, 1978, on Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions took place at United Sound Studio in Detroit, with one song recorded live on April 15, 1978, at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana. The album was the first album to include keyboardist and frequent songwriter Walter "Junie" Morrison.
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The Electric Spanking of War Babies is the twelfth studio album by the American funk rock band Funkadelic, released in April 1981 on Warner Bros. Records. The title is an allusion to the Vietnam War and baby boomers. Sly Stone contributed to the recording sessions, singing lead vocals on "Funk Gets Stronger ".
Funkadelic is the debut album by the American funk rock band Funkadelic, released in 1970 on Westbound Records.
Stretchin' Out in Bootsy's Rubber Band is the first album by American funk and soul band Bootsy's Rubber Band, an offshoot act of Parliament-Funkadelic led by bassist and vocalist William "Bootsy" Collins. It was released on January 30, 1976, on Warner Bros. Records.
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Back on the Right Track is a studio album by Sly and the Family Stone, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1979. The album was, as its title alludes to, an overt comeback attempt for Sly Stone. However, the album and its singles, "Remember Who You Are" and "The Same Thing ", failed to live up to expectations.
Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs is the debut album by Parliament-Funkadelic lead guitarist Eddie Hazel. The album was released on July 29, 1977. It was Hazel's only album until his death in 1992, when it was followed by several posthumous releases.
Urban Dancefloor Guerillas is the debut album of funk band the P-Funk All-Stars, released in 1983 on Uncle Jam Records. The album features an amalgamation of various alumni from the bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both of which were disbanded by 1981. It is the only studio album credited solely to the P-Funk All-Stars, as opposed to other albums that are credited to George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars. The songs on Urban Dancefloor Guerillas were produced by a variety of members of the P-Funk musical collective including Clinton, Garry Shider, Walter Morrison, Sylvester Stewart, and Bootsy Collins.
George Clinton: The Mothership Connection is a DVD released in 1998 and then reissued in 2001, featuring George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic. The DVD features a concert performed by Parliament-Funkadelic at The Summit in Houston, Texas on October 31, 1976. The DVD documents the beginning of famed P-Funk Earth Tour, which would run for almost two years.
Go Fer Yer Funk is the first installment of the George Clinton Family Series collection. The album was released in 1992 by P-Vine Records in Japan, and then was released the next year by AEM Records in the U.S. and Sequel Records in the U.K.. The Family Series was designed to present previously unreleased recordings done by various bands in the Parliament-Funkadelic musical stable. The first CD is notable in that it features the title cut "Go Fer Yer Funk" which originally featured a collaboration between P-Funk and Funk legend James Brown.
Connections & Disconnections is an album recorded by Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas under the name Funkadelic.
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