Mothership Connection | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 15, 1975 | |||
Recorded | March–October 1975 [1] | |||
Studio | United Sound, Detroit, Michigan, and Hollywood Sound, Hollywood, California | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 38:06 | |||
Label | Casablanca NBLP 7022/Def Jam | |||
Producer | George Clinton | |||
Parliament chronology | ||||
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Singles from Mothership Connection | ||||
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Mothership Connection is the fourth album by American funk band Parliament, released on December 15, 1975 on Casablanca Records. This concept album is often rated among the best Parliament-Funkadelic releases, and was the first to feature horn players Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley, previously of James Brown's backing band the J.B.'s.
Mothership Connection became Parliament's first album to be certified gold and later platinum. [7] It was supported by the hit "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)," the band's first million-selling single. The Library of Congress added the album to the National Recording Registry in 2011, declaring that it "has had an enormous influence on jazz, rock and dance music." [8]
The album is held together by an outer-space theme. [2] Describing the concept, George Clinton said "We had put black people in situations nobody ever thought they would be in, like the White House. I figured another place you wouldn't think black people would be was in outer space. I was a big fan of Star Trek , so we did a thing with a pimp sitting in a spaceship shaped like a Cadillac, and we did all these James Brown-type grooves, but with street talk and ghetto slang." [9] The album's concept would form the backbone of P-Funk's concert performances during the 1970s, in which a large spaceship prop known as the Mothership would be lowered onto the stage. [10]
BBC Music described the album as a pioneering work of Afrofuturism "set in a future universe where black astronauts interact with alien worlds." [11] Journalist Frasier McAlpine stated: "As a reaction to an increasingly fraught 1970s urban environment in which African-American communities faced the end of the optimism of the civil rights era, this flamboyant imagination (and let's be frank, exceptional funkiness) was both righteous and joyful." [11]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Billboard | (favorable) [5] |
Blender | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | A− [13] |
Pitchfork | (8.5/10) [3] |
PopMatters | (favorable) [14] |
Rolling Stone | (favorable) [15] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin | (10/10)[ citation needed ] |
Sputnikmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
On release, Rolling Stone called the album a "parody of modern funk" and stated that "unlike the Ohio Players or Commodores, the group refuses to play it straight. Instead, Clinton spews his jive, conceived from some cosmic funk vision." [15] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau stated that Clinton "keeps the beat going with nothing but his rap, some weird keyboard, and cymbals for stretches of side one," and described "Give Up the Funk" as "galactic." [13]
Retrospectively, Mothership Connection has been widely acclaimed, and it is typically considered to be one of the best albums by the Parliament-Funkadelic collective. Rolling Stone's 2003 review gave the record 5 stars: "The masterpiece, the slang creator, the icon builder, the master narrative--or 'the bomb,' as Clinton succinctly put it before anyone else." Jason Birchmeier of AllMusic called it "the definitive Parliament-Funkadelic album," in which "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." [2] Dr. Dre famously sampled "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" on "Let Me Ride" and "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" on "The Roach (The Chronic Outro)", both from his 1992 album The Chronic .[ citation needed ]
The album has received many retrospective accolades, including being named VH1's 55th greatest album of all time. In 2012, it was ranked at number 276 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time; it was featured again on the 2020 edition, at number 363. [18] [19] Vibe listed Mothership Connection in their "Essential Black Rock Recordings" list, and it was included in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die .
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" | George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell | 7:41 |
2. | "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" | Clinton, Collins, Worrell | 6:13 |
3. | "Unfunky UFO" | Clinton, Collins, Garry Shider | 4:23 |
Total length: | 18:17 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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4. | "Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication" | Clinton, Collins, Shider, Worrell | 5:03 |
5. | "Handcuffs" | Clinton, Glenn Goins, Janet McLaughlin | 4:02 |
6. | "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" | Jerome Brailey, Clinton, Collins | 5:46 |
7. | "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples" | Clinton, Collins, Shider | 5:10 |
Total length: | 20:01 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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8. | "Star Child (Mothership Connection)" (Promo Radio Version) | Clinton, Collins, Worrell | 3:08 |
Total length: | 41:26 |
Chart (1976) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 200 [20] | 13 |
US R&B Albums [20] | 4 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA) [21] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Parliament-Funkadelic is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their eclectic style has drawn on psychedelia, outlandish fashion, and surreal humor. They released albums such as Maggot Brain (1971), Mothership Connection (1975), and One Nation Under a Groove (1978) to critical praise, and scored charting hits with singles such as "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker" (1975) and "Flash Light" (1978). Overall, the collective achieved thirteen top ten hits in the American R&B music charts between 1967 and 1983, including six number one hits. Their work would have an influential effect on subsequent funk, post-punk, hip-hop, and techno artists of the 1980s and 1990s, while their collective mythology would help pioneer Afrofuturism.
The P-Funk mythology is a group of recurring characters, themes, and ideas primarily contained in the output of George Clinton's bands Parliament and Funkadelic. This "funkology" was outlined in album liner notes and song lyrics, in addition to album artwork, costumes, advertisements, and stage banter. P-Funk's "Dr. Seussian afrofunk" is often cited as a critical component of the Afrofuturism movement.
America Eats Its Young is the fourth album by Funkadelic, released in May 1972. This was the first album to include the whole of the House Guests, including Bootsy Collins, Catfish Collins, Chicken Gunnels, Rob McCollough and Kash Waddy. It also features the Plainfield-based band U.S., which consisted of guitarist Garry Shider and bassist Cordell Mosson, on most of the tracks. Unlike previous Funkadelic albums, America Eats Its Young was recorded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and in the UK. The original vinyl version contained a poster illustrated by Cathy Abel. The bottom of the poster features the first widespread appearance of the Funkadelic logo, which would appear on the cover of their next album Cosmic Slop.
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.
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.
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 ".
Chocolate City is the third album by the funk band Parliament, released in 1975. It was a "tribute to Washington D.C.", where the group had been particularly popular. The album's cover includes images of the United States Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial in the form of a chocolate medallion, as well as sticker labeled "Washington DC". The album was very popular in the capitol city, selling 150,000 copies alone there.
Computer Games is the debut album by American funk musician George Clinton, released by Capitol Records on November 5, 1982. Though technically Clinton's first "solo" album, the record featured most of the same personnel who had appeared on recent albums by Parliament and Funkadelic, both formally disbanded by Clinton in 1981. Conceived in the aftermath of a period marked by financial and personal struggles for Clinton, Computer Games restored his popularity for a short time before P-Funk fell victim to renewed legal problems and scant label support in the mid-1980s.
The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein is the fifth album by funk band Parliament, released in September 1976. The album is notable for featuring horn arrangements by ex-James Brown band member, Fred Wesley. The album charted at #3 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart, #20 on the Billboard pop chart, and became Parliament's second album to be certified gold. Two singles were released off the album, "Do That Stuff", which charted at #22, and "Dr. Funkenstein" which charted at #43.
Jerome Eugene "Bigfoot" Brailey is an American drummer, best known for his work with P-Funk, which included the bands Parliament, Funkadelic, and numerous related projects. Brailey is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
Up for the Down Stroke is an album by the American funk band Parliament. It was the band's second album, and their first to be released on Casablanca Records. The album was released on July 3, 1974. Its title track was Parliament's first chart hit and remains one of the most well-known P-Funk songs. The album also contains a funk reworking of The Parliaments' song "(I Wanna) Testify" under the title "Testify". The original title of the album was Whatever Makes Baby Feel Good, and the cover featured group leader George Clinton hovering over a woman in distress, sporting a black wig and monster-type gloves.
Trombipulation is the ninth album by the funk band Parliament. It was released by Casablanca Records. It was the last album of original material produced by the group for 38 years, until Medicaid Fraud Dogg in 2018. Unlike previous Parliament albums, George Clinton did not serve as sole producer of the album, as other P-Funk figures assisted in producing individual tracks. Bassist Bootsy Collins emerged as the principal musician on this album, playing virtually all of the instruments on a number of tracks. The track "Let's Play House" was sampled by the hip-hop group Digital Underground for their single "The Humpty Dance".
Live: P-Funk Earth Tour is a live double album by Parliament that documents the band's 1977 P-Funk Earth Tour. The performances include songs from Parliament's albums through The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein as well as songs from the Funkadelic repertoire. The album is made up of portions of two performances from January 1977 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena and the Los Angeles Forum.
The P Funk Mothership, also known as The Mothership or The Holy Mothership, is a space vehicle model belonging to Dr. Funkenstein, an alter ego of funk musician George Clinton. An integral part of the P-Funk mythology, the Mothership existed conceptually as a fictional vehicle of funk deliverance and as a physical prop central to Parliament-Funkadelic concerts during the 1970s and 1990s.
T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. is a 1996 album by funk musician George Clinton. The title, which is an abbreviation for The Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership, refers to the P-Funk Mothership that was first introduced in 1975 on Parliament's Mothership Connection album. The album was presented as a reunion album because it featured collaborations with former Parliament-Funkadelic members including Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins, Junie Morrison, Maceo Parker, and Fred Wesley — some of whom hadn't worked with Clinton in many years. The album also included contributions by current members of the P-Funk All-Stars.
Ahh... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! is a funk album by Bootsy's Rubber Band, released on January 15, 1977. It reached number one on Billboard's Top R&B/Soul albums chart, the first P-Funk release to achieve this goal. The album was produced by George Clinton and William "Bootsy" Collins and arranged by Bootsy and Casper.
The Final Blow is a compilation album by Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns. The album first released on the P-Vine record label in 1994, then on the Sequel label in the United Kingdom, and the AEM label in the United States. The album is made up of unreleased tracks recorded during band's heyday in the late 1970s.
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.
Parliament's Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the American funk band Parliament, released in 1984 by Casablanca Records. It contains 10 Parliament singles recorded between 1974 and 1979. It omits songs from Trombipulation.