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Osmium | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 1970 | |||
Recorded | 1969–1970 | |||
Genre | Psychedelic soul [1] | |||
Length | 45:53 | |||
Label | Invictus | |||
Producer | George Clinton, Ruth Copeland | |||
Parliament chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Christgau's Record Guide | B [3] |
The New Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Uppity Music | (favorable) [5] |
Osmium is the debut album of American funk band Parliament, led by George Clinton. The album has a psychedelic soul sound with a spirit of experimentation that is more similar to early Funkadelic than the later R&B-inspired Parliament albums. It was originally released in July 1970 on Invictus Records. [6] The original vinyl release contained a glossy lyric sheet.
Since its re-release in 1990, Osmium has been distributed numerous times by various labels in the U.S., Europe and Japan, sometimes under alternate titles that have included Rhenium and First Thangs. A number of these reissues have featured material that was not included on the original album, such as unreleased tracks and singles that were recorded around the same time as Osmium.
The personnel for this album included the five Parliaments singers and the five backing musicians known as Funkadelic. The same personnel also recorded as Funkadelic, releasing that act's self-titled debut album also in 1970. After the release of Osmium, contractual difficulties prevented further recording under the name Parliament until 1974, when Clinton signed that act to Casablanca Records and positioned it as an R&B-inspired counterpoint to the more rock-oriented Funkadelic.
The yodeling that arguably uniquely identifies one of De La Soul's early hits, "Potholes in My Lawn" (which eventually appeared on De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising ), comes from Osmium's "Little Ole Country Boy". [7]
This is the only Parliament album to be produced by Ruth Copeland, and the only album to feature rhythm guitarist Tawl Ross, before his 1971 departure from the group.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "I Call My Baby Pussycat" | George Clinton, Eddie Hazel, Billy Nelson | 3:50 |
2. | "Put Love in Your Life" | George Clinton, Vivian Lewis | 5:05 |
3. | "Little Ole Country Boy" | Ruth Copeland | 3:57 |
4. | "Moonshine Heather" | George Clinton | 4:04 |
5. | "Oh Lord, Why Lord/Prayer" | Phil Trim, Ruth Copeland | 4:59 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "My Automobile" | George Clinton, Clarence Haskins | 4:43 |
2. | "Nothing Before Me but Thang" | George Clinton, Bobby Harris, Eddie Hazel, Bernie Worrell | 3:55 |
3. | "Funky Woman" | George Clinton, Bernie Worrell | 2:54 |
4. | "Livin' the Life" | George Clinton, Billy Nelson, Bernie Worrell | 6:15 |
5. | "The Silent Boatman" | Ruth Copeland | 5:50 |
Total length: | 45:32 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Breakdown" (Mono Single Version) | George Clinton, Ruth Copeland, Clyde Wilson | 2:30 |
12. | "Red Hot Mama" | George Clinton | 4:26 |
13. | "Come in out of the Rain" | Ruth Copeland, Clyde Wilson | 2:56 |
14. | "Loose Booty" | 10:18 | |
15. | "Fantasy Is Reality" | George Clinton, Bernie Worrell, Leon Ware | 3:56 |
16. | "Unfinished Instrumental" | 5:10 | |
17. | "Breakdown" (Stereo Unedited Version) | George Clinton, Ruth Copeland, Clyde Wilson | 3:50 |
Total length: | 1:18:58 |
Note: Personnel as listed in the album credits. Note that some songs also featured session personnel. Garry Shider (guitar), Bernie Worrell (keyboards), and Tyrone Lampkin (drums) also appeared on some non-album tracks that were included in later CD reissues of the album. Red Hot Mama, Loose Booty, I Call My Baby Pussycat, and Fantasy Is Reality would all be remade on later Pariament-Funkadelic albums.
George Edward Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and bandleader. His Parliament-Funkadelic collective developed an influential and eclectic form of funk music during the 1970s that drew on Afrofuturism, outlandish fashion, psychedelia, and surreal humor. He launched his solo career with the 1982 album Computer Games and would go on to influence 1990s hip-hop and G-funk.
Parliament was an American funk band formed in the late 1960s by George Clinton as a flagship act of his P-Funk collective. Evolving out of an earlier vocal group, Parliament became associated with a more commercial and less rock-oriented sound than its sister act Funkadelic. Their work incorporated Afrofuturism concepts, horn arrangements, synthesizer, and outlandish theatrics. The band scored a number of Top 10 hits, including the million-selling 1976 single "Give Up the Funk ," and Top 40 albums such as Mothership Connection (1975).
Edward Earl Hazel was an American guitarist and singer in early funk music who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. Hazel was a posthumous inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. His ten-minute guitar solo in the Funkadelic song "Maggot Brain" is hailed as "one of the greatest solos of all time on any instrument". In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Hazel at no. 29 in its list of 250 of the greatest guitarists of all time.
America Eats Its Young is the fourth studio album and the first double 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.
Clarence Eugene "Fuzzy" Haskins was an American singer. He performed with 1950s and 1960s doo-wop group, The Parliaments, and was a founding member of the groundbreaking and influential 1970s funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, also known as Parliament-Funkadelic. He left Parliament-Funkadelic in 1977 to pursue a solo career. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Standing on the Verge of Getting It On is the sixth studio album by Funkadelic, released on Westbound Records, released in July 1974. It is notable for featuring the return of guitarist Eddie Hazel.
Funkadelic is the debut album by the American funk rock band Funkadelic, released in 1970 on Westbound Records.
Black Mafia Life is the second studio album by American hip hop group Above the Law. This album is what would be considered the blueprint of the G-Funk sound similar to Dr Dre's The Chronic. The album was recorded in 1991 into 1992 but was held back due to legal issues with Epic And Dr. Dre's Departure from Ruthless Records. It was released on February 2, 1993, via Ruthless Records. The album peaked at number 6 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number 37 on the US Billboard 200. Rolling Stone gave the album 4.5 stars of 5.
Invictus Records was an American record label based in Detroit, Michigan. It was created by former top Motown producers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland, Jr.. It was the sister label to the Buddah-distributed Hot Wax Records, which was also owned by Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Livin' Like Hustlers is the debut album by American hip hop group Above the Law. It was released on February 20, 1990, via Ruthless Records; an advanced promo cassette version was released two months earlier. The ten track record was produced entirely by Dr. Dre and Above the Law and featured a guest performance from N.W.A on the track titled "The Last Song". In addition, Eazy-E served as executive producer of the album. It peaked at number 14 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and number 75 on the U.S. Billboard 200.
Walter "Junie" Morrison was an American songwriter, record producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. He was a member of the Ohio Players in the early 1970s, and later became a member and musical director of Parliament-Funkadelic. Morrison is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. George Clinton once described Morrison as "the most phenomenal musician on the planet."
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.
Self Portrait is the 1970 debut album by English singer Ruth Copeland. The album was released by Invictus Records in 1970 and produced by Ruth Copeland, though it is widely believed that the actual producer of the album was her then husband Jeffrey Bowen working under an alias. The album presumably was recorded during the same sessions that produced Parliament's debut album, Osmium.
Quazar is the debut album from the band Quazar. The band was led by former P-Funk vocalist Glenn Goins, who also served as the producer and arranger of the album. Goins died before the album's release, effectively sealing the group's fate. The album was released by Arista Records in the fall of 1978, after Funkadelic's One Nation Under A Groove but before Parliament (band)'s Motor Booty Affair, that same year. The album also features contributions from former P-Funk drummer Jerome Brailey. Both Glenn Goins and Jerome Brailey were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Parliament-Funkadelic.
Funkadelic Live: Meadowbrook, Rochester, Michigan 12th September 1971 is a 1996 live release featuring the only official in-concert recording from early in the career of Funkadelic. Westbound Records owner Armen Boladian had decided to record the show without the band's prior notice, for a possible official live album release. Boladian then decided not to go forward with the project. The soundboard recording resided with engineer Ed Wolfram until being unearthed in 1996. The album contains the entire live performance of September 12, 1971, minus approximately three minutes of between-song chatter.
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.
U.S. Music with Funkadelic is a self-titled album consisting of tracks recorded in the early 1970s by the band United Soul with input from members of Funkadelic. The album was released by Westbound Records in 2009, and was licensed by Ace Records for its European release.
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