A classic, and one of my exact vintage at that. Although the ten minute guitar solo that comprises the introductory title track is a bit on the tedious side, things immediately improve with "Can You Get to That." From there, Funkadelic make their way through all manner and marriages of soul, funk, gospel and psychedelia. P-funk this ain't, by the way... Originally conceived as the backing band for George Clintion's doo wop project The Parliaments, Funkadelic frequently pursued musical tangents of their own through the early seventies before coming together with a re-invented Parliament to form P-funk. We're all glad they did, of course, but their earlier material is still quite worthy on its own.
Some other thoughts:
#487, Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness: This was better than I remember, but it still doesn't measure up to Gish, in my estimation the Pumpkins' best work. There's an awful lot of self-indulgence on this record, not the least of which being the cringe-worthy title, but also the length: two discs at fourteen songs each (two of them clocking in at over nine minutes)... To say nothing of the over the top production. Call me a purist, but a rock band loses me when they start playing around with string arrangements. Still, this record does have a few things going for it: "Muzzle," "Bodies" and "Tales of a Scorched Earth" recall some of the primal energy of their first record, "1979" crunches along with a languid pace that brings to mind mid-careeer Sonic Youth and "Cupid de Locke" works, on some level at least, as balladeering. I don't know what happened to Billy Corgan when he shaved his head and became a rock star, but I can't help but wish his band had retained a bit more of the urgency and honesty they displayed on their debut.
#485, Loretta Lynn's All Time Greatest Hits: I had no idea of the degree to which Loretta Lynn's work was built around marital insecurity and jealous rage. I just thought she was that twangy chick that showed up on Hee Haw once in a while. These songs are pleasant enough, catchy, tight, concise... It's a little strange, though, how happy she sounds, singing these tales of marital insecurity and jealous rage...
#484, Merle Haggard's Branded Man: Damn, this guy's hella good. He knows how to channel misery, loss, regret and prison time into some very infectious and haunting country songs. Unlike Loretta Lynn, he doesn't sound happy while doing so. And unlike Smashing Pumpkins, not even a faint whiff of self-indulgence. This was a nice surprise. Great record.
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