FUNKADELIC — Maggot Brain (review)

FUNKADELIC — Maggot Brain album cover Album · 1971 · Jazz Related Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
dreadpirateroberts
Funkadelic tighten their songwriting and deliver a knock-out album.

Clinton and the team grab a handful of genres and put them through the Funkadelic grinder, coming up with a bubbling set of songs that work on just about every level, from lyrics to performance and composition. Of their first three, it's the most satisfying listen from start to finish.

The title track is an Eddie Hazel strip-show of the soul, as after George Clinton's spoken introduction, Hazel's guitar seems to bleed into the scale with its fuzz and wah spilling notes everywhere. It's a demanding listen and after hearing it, the oft-repeated story about its composition becomes believable.

Following this stellar opening is 'Can You Get to That' where the band go a little pop-funk-gospel (and it is often the vocals that evoke the gospel feel and the rhythm section that evokes the funk on Funkadelic albums.) It, along with the next two songs, were singles and show the skill and care paid to the songwriting on 'Maggot Brain,' not just at a musical level but thematically, as the three make up something of a trilogy. 'Hit it and Quit it' showcases the organ work of Worrell and the monster-funk of 'You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks' is next, with all it's 'yeah yeahs' and pleas for unity and peace, it's got a hippy vibe but with the bottom heavy, nasty funk, it definitely doesn't sound like typical flower-power fare.

'Super-Stupid' (a little unconvincingly covered by Audioslave many years later) brings Hendrix comparisons to mind, as Hazel supplies a great riff, solo and vocal. 'Back in Our Minds' is next, which is a fairly goofy song really. The album comes to an end with 'Wars of Armageddon' an almost muddled jam that is layered with sound effects ranging from 'effective soundscape' to 'distracting.' It's a not a bad piece, and works as a counterpart to the spacious title track, though I don't often listen to it all the way through.

Fans of rock and funk will love the blend here, and if you're not convinced by Hazel's guitar, the high quality of the songwriting on the bulk of the album should make up for it. Four stars.
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