Standing on the Verge of Getting It On

Last updated
Standing on the Verge of Getting It On
Standing on the Verge of Getting It On.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 10, 1974
Genre Funk, [1] [2] funk-rock, psychedelic rock
Length37:48
Label Westbound
Producer George Clinton
Funkadelic chronology
Cosmic Slop
(1973)
Standing on the Verge of Getting It On
(1974)
Let's Take It to the Stage
(1975)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Christgau's Record Guide B+ [5]
Rolling Stone favorable (1975) [1]
Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg (2004) [6]
Spin 9/10[ citation needed ]
SputnikmusicStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]

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.

Contents

On this album, the lyrics generally take a backseat to the music and the jamming. It is one of the most popular Funkadelic albums among fans,[ citation needed ] and highlights the virtuosic guitar of the returning Eddie Hazel, who had departed following 1971's Maggot Brain. [7] Hazel co-wrote all of the album's songs, although the songwriting credits were mostly in the name of Grace Cook, Hazel's mother (a gambit by Hazel to avoid contractual difficulties with the publishing rights).

Ned Raggett writes in AllMusic that "Jimmy's Got a Little Bit of Bitch in Him" is a "friendly" song about "a gay friend" and notes that this stands in contrast with later negative attitudes towards homosexuality among hip hop artists who often sampled P-Funk songs. [8]

Track listing

Side One
No.TitleWritten byLength
1."Red Hot Mama" Bernie Worrell, George Clinton, Eddie Hazel 4:54
2."Alice in My Fantasies"Clinton, Hazel2:26
3."I'll Stay"Clinton, Hazel7:18
4."Sexy Ways"Clinton, Hazel3:05
  Side Two
No.TitleWritten byLength
5."Standing on the Verge of Getting It"Clinton, Hazel5:07
6."Jimmy's Got a Little Bit of Bitch in Him"Clinton, Hazel2:23
7."Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts"Clinton, Hazel12:30

Note: on songs 2–7, Eddie Hazel's songwriting credit was in the name of his mother, Grace Cook.

Personnel

(all the below is from the liner notes)

Song information

“Red Hot Momma”

This song is a remake of a song by Parliament while the band was signed to Invictus Records. The title of this song has been spelled in three different ways on various Parliaments, Funkadelic, and Parliament releases that have featured a version of the song, with the final word being spelled as "Mama," "Mamma," or "Momma."

The guitar solo and jam that conclude this song were continued in the studio, and ended up as a B-side titled "Vital Juices," featuring guitar work by Eddie Hazel and Ron Bykowski. That track is found on Westbound compilation CD Music For Your Mother: Funkadelic 45s as well as the recent CD reissue of the original album.

Charts

Album

Billboard (North America) [9]

YearChartPosition
1974 Pop Albums 163
1974 R&B Albums 13

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament-Funkadelic</span> American funk music collective

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Funkadelic</span> American rock band

Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s. Funkadelic initially formed as a backing band for Clinton's vocal group the Parliaments, but eventually pursued a heavier, psychedelic rock-oriented sound in their own recordings. They released acclaimed albums such as Maggot Brain (1971) and One Nation Under a Groove (1978).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Hazel</span> American guitarist (1950–1992)

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.

<i>Maggot Brain</i> 1971 studio album by Funkadelic

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.

William "Billy Bass" Nelson is an American musician, who was the original bassist for Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.

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References

  1. 1 2 Rollingstone
  2. 1 2 "Funkadelic - Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (album review 2) - Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  3. Standing on the Verge of Getting It On at AllMusic
  4. "Standing on the Verge of Getting It on - Blender". Archived from the original on 2009-08-22. Retrieved 2009-07-20.
  5. "Robert Christgau: CG: Funkadelic". www.robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  6. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (20 April 2018). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   9780743201698 . Retrieved 20 April 2018 via Google Books.
  7. "Revisiting Funkadelic's 'Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On' (1974) | Retrospective Tribute". Albumism. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  8. Standing on the Verge of Getting It On at AllMusic
  9. "Album Search for "standing on the verge of getting it on"". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 April 2018.