One Nation Under a Groove | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 22, 1978 | |||
Recorded | 1977–1978 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 42:10 (original album) 17:26 (bonus EP) 59:36 (total) | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | George Clinton | |||
Funkadelic chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Billboard | (favorable) [2] |
Blender | [5] |
Christgau's Record Guide | A [6] |
Entertainment Weekly | A [7] |
Rolling Stone | [8] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
Sputnikmusic | 4/5 [3] |
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. [10] The album was the first album to include keyboardist and frequent songwriter Walter "Junie" Morrison.
One Nation Under a Groove was Funkadelic's most commercially successful album, reaching number 1 on the Billboard Magazine Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, number 16 on the Billboard 200, and being certified platinum in the US. It reached number 58 in Canada. [11] It was praised by critics, and appears in several "best album" lists. It was featured on Vibe magazine's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century and 51 Essential Albums lists. [4] [12] The album was ranked number 177 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in both 2003 and 2012 editions, [13] [14] before moving to number 360 in the 2020 edition. [15] The album is listed as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. [16]
According to the academic Bill Martin, One Nation Under a Groove is indebted "a good deal more to progressive rock than most critics are willing to admit, as well as progressive soul, Hendrix, and Sly Stone". [17]
In the US, the original album came with a bonus 7-inch EP. [18] In Europe, the Bonus-EP was replaced by a bonus 12-inch 45rpm mini-album containing the 3 EP tracks on one side and an extended version of "One Nation Under a Groove" on the other.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "One Nation Under a Groove" | George Clinton, Walter Morrison, Garry Shider | 7:33 |
2. | "Groovallegiance" | Clinton, Morrison, Bernard Worrell | 7:00 |
3. | "Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock?!" | Clinton, Morrison, Michael Hampton | 6:21 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The Doo Doo Chasers)" | Clinton, Shider, Linda Brown | 11:00 |
2. | "Into You" | Clinton, Morrison, William Collins | 5:43 |
3. | "Cholly (Funk Getting Ready To Roll!)" | Clinton, Morrison, Collins | 4:33 |
Total length: | 42:10 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Maggot Brain/Chant (Think It Ain't Illegal Yet!)" (Live at Monroe Civic Center, Monroe, Louisiana 15-4-78) | Clinton, Edward Hazel | 8:30 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Lunchmeataphobia (Think! It Ain't Illegal Yet!)" | Clinton, Worrell | 4:16 |
2. | "P.E. Squad/Doo Doo Chasers" | Clinton, Shider, Brown | 4:40 |
Total length: | 17:26 |
(note that the UK Charly Groove presents side one of the EP (Lunchmeat/PE) as tracks 7 & 8 and side two (Maggot Brain) as track 9.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "One Nation Under a Groove" | George Clinton, Walter Morrison, Garry Shider | 7:29 |
2. | "Groovallegiance" | Clinton, Morrison, Bernard Worrell | 7:00 |
3. | "Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock?!" | Clinton, Morrison, Michael Hampton | 6:18 |
4. | "Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The Doo Doo Chasers)" | Clinton, Shider, Linda Brown | 10:45 |
5. | "Into You" | Clinton, Morrison, William Collins | 5:41 |
6. | "Cholly (Funk Getting Ready To Roll!)" | Clinton, Morrison, Collins | 4:27 |
7. | "Maggot Brain/Chant (Think It Ain't Illegal Yet!)" (Live) | Clinton, Edward Hazel | 8:28 |
8. | "Lunchmeataphobia (Think! It Ain't Illegal Yet!)" | Clinton, Worrell | 4:12 |
9. | "P.E. Squad/Doo Doo Chasers" | Clinton, Shider, Brown | 4:18 |
Total length: | 58:38 |
Funkadelic Main Invasion Force (as given in the liner notes):
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.
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.
Cosmic Slop is the fifth studio album by Funkadelic, released in July 1973 on Westbound Records. While it has been favorably reevaluated by critics long after its original release, the album was a commercial failure, producing no charting singles, and reaching only #112 on the Billboard pop chart and #21 on the R&B chart. The album was re-released on CD in 1991.
Let's Take It to the Stage is the seventh album by American funk rock band Funkadelic. It was released in April 1975 on Westbound Records. The album charted at number 102 on the Billboard 200 and number 14 on the R&B Albums.
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.
Uncle Jam Wants You is a concept album by American funk rock band Funkadelic. It was released by Warner Bros. Records in 1979, and was later reissued on CD by Priority Records. It was produced by George Clinton under the alias Dr. Funkenstein. It is the first Funkadelic album since America Eats Its Young in 1972 not to sport a cover illustrated by Funkadelic artist Pedro Bell, though Bell did provide artwork for the album’s back cover and interior. Uncle Jam Wants You was the second Funkadelic album to be certified gold. The album peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Garry Marshall Shider was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
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 ".
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.
Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome is the sixth studio album by the American funk band Parliament, released in 1977.
Motor Booty Affair is the seventh album by funk band Parliament, released in 1978. It contains two of the group's most popular tracks, "Rumpofsteelskin" and "Aqua Boogie ", which went to number one on the Billboard Soul Singles chart.
Cordell "Boogie" Mosson was an American bassist who was a member of Parliament-Funkadelic. He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy in 2019.
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.
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.
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.
Music For Your Mother is a compilation album by Funkadelic, featuring songs recorded for Westbound Records during the band's career with that label from 1968 to 1976. The compilation includes the A-sides and B-sides of every Funkadelic single released during Funkadelic's tenure at Westbound. Some of the tracks here originated as alternate versions of album tracks or as non-album B-sides, and some were previously unreleased. Two tracks, "I Miss My Baby" and "Baby I Owe You Something Good" were originally released by Westbound under the group name U.S. Music With Funkadelic, which was probably meant to denote "U.S. with music by Funkadelic" or simply "U.S. with Funkadelic." U.S. refers to the band United Soul that had been discovered and produced by George Clinton in 1971, and which contained future Parliament-Funkadelic members Garry Shider and Cordell Mosson.
Plush Funk is the third installment of the George Clinton Family Series collection. The album was released in 1993 by P-Vine Records in Japan, and then was released the next year by AEM Records in the United States and Sequel Records in the United Kingdom. The CD features the track "May Day (S.O.S)", which was an outtake from the Funkadelic album "The Electric Spanking of War Babies".
Live...Capitol Theatre 1978 is a three-CD live album by the American funk band Parliament-Funkadelic. The album was released in the UK in November 2017 by the RoxVox label. The CD features the band performing at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, on November 6, 1978, during their "One Nation/Anti-Tour". The liner notes feature a transcription of a December 7, 1978 article about Parliament-Funkadelic from Jet magazine.