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Parliament's Greatest Hits | ||||
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Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | 1984 | |||
Recorded | 1974–1979 | |||
Genre | P-funk | |||
Length | 51:28 | |||
Label | Casablanca | |||
Producer | George Clinton, Tom Vickers | |||
Parliament chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | A [2] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 10/10 [5] |
Parliament's Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the American funk band Parliament, released in 1984 by Casablanca Records. [4] It contains 10 Parliament singles recorded between 1974 and 1979. It omits songs from Trombipulation .
The album cover for Parliament's Greatest Hits is notable in that it features no artwork from any of the established P-Funk album illustrators. The compilation was produced by Tom Vickers, who formerly served as Minister Of Information for the band from 1976 to 1980. It was the last P-Funk album to be certified gold (500,000 copies sold). The album was the first to be released in the compact disc format.
AllMusic wrote that "concentrating solely on Parliament's singles actually illustrates the depth of their vision and influence, since there are no half-baked ideas surrounding these ten stunning songs." [1]
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.
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.
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.
"Flash Light" is a song by funk band Parliament, written by George Clinton, Bernie Worrell, and Bootsy Collins and released in January 28, 1978, on the album Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome. It was the first No. 1 R&B hit by any of the P-Funk groups and spent four months on the U.S. pop chart, peaking at No. 1 16.
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.
Gloryhallastoopid (Or Pin the Tale on the Funky) is the eighth album by the American funk band Parliament. It was their penultimate album on the Casablanca Records label, and is another concept album that tries to explain that Funk was responsible for the creation of the universe (see P Funk mythology). It reuses samples from previous albums, notably Mothership Connection and Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome.
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.
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.
Funk or Walk is the debut album by the Brides of Funkenstein, released on Atlantic Records in September 1978. The album was produced by George Clinton with the exception of the album's first single "Disco To Go" which was written and produced by Clinton and Bootsy Collins. The Brides of Funkenstein consisted of Lynn Mabry and Dawn Silva, who were members of Sly and the Family Stone prior to joining P-Funk. Funk Or Walk earned Mabry and Silva a Record World Award for Best New Female Artists and Best New R&B Group in 1979. The song was originally performed live by Bootsy's Rubber Band. To this day, the P-Funk All Stars continue to play "Disco To Go" in their live concerts. The Brides of Funkenstein also toured and recorded with Parliament/Funkadelic around this same time.
The Whole Funk & Nothing But the Funk is a 2005 compilation album by Funkadelic featuring songs recorded for Warner Bros. Records during the band's career with that label from 1976 to 1981. No Funkadelic recordings from any other record labels or time periods are included. The compilation includes two rarities: instrumental versions of "One Nation Under a Groove" and "The Electric Spanking of War Babies" that had originally appeared as B-sides.
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.
Gold is a two CD compilation by the Funk band Parliament. The album was released by Universal Music in 2005. It essentially updates the 1993 compilation Tear the Roof Off 1974–1980. There are slight differences between Gold and Tear the Roof Off. First, Gold presents the songs in chronological order. Gold also uses shorter versions of the tracks "Fantasy Is Reality" and "Agony Of Defeet", as well as featuring remastered versions of all tracks and a slightly different track listing.
20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Parliament is a compilation album by the American Funk band Parliament released in 2000 as part Universal Music's "Millennium Collection" series. 20th Century Masters uses eight of the ten songs from Parliament's Greatest Hits (1984), and is essentially an update of that collection. Album versions of the songs "Up for the Down Stroke"; "Mothership Connection " and "Aqua Boogie" are also used in place of the edited versions used on Greatest Hits.
The Best of the Early Years, Volume 1 is a compilation album by the American Funk band Funkadelic. It was released on Westbound in 1977 while the label was distributed by Atlantic Records. The Best of the Early Years, Volume One compiles material from Funkadelic's tenure at Westbound from 1969 to 1974.