P-Funk Earth Tour [Live]

Parliament | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 29, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B000001FOJ
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,805 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The only officially released in-concert Parliament-Funkadelic album, Live: P-Funk Earth Tour captures George Clinton and company at their peak in 1977, compiling recordings of a couple shows (January 19 at the Los Angeles Forum and January 21 at the Oakland Coliseum). The double-LP/single-CD album can't do justice to the group's extravagant theatrics, most memorably the landing of the mothership, but it's a wonderful showcase for their musical ability and their catalog of great songs, most of which come from the 1976 albums Mothership Connection and The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein. No performance was ever the same for these guys, and that's a major aspect of this album's entertainment value, for it's interesting to compare these live performances to their studio counterparts. Of particular note are the 15-minute extended performance of "Dr. Funkenstein" and the three-minute montage "Landing (Of the Holy Mothership)." Though unessential, Live: P-Funk Earth Tour is worth investigating for anyone curious about the Parliament-Funkadelic live experience and is a welcome alternative to the many bootlegs and latter-day P-Funk All Stars live recordings that have circulated over the years. -All Music Guide

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Five Star Funk, Five Star Concert...Minus One!, January 10, 2006

By 

HE WHO FUNKS BEHIND THE ROWS!! (Seattle & San Diego) - See all my reviews

This review is from: P-Funk Earth Tour (Audio CD)

This was (in my opinion) one of the hottest live albums

of the 70's along with E,W&F's "Gratitude",

Kiss's "Alive", The Allman Brothers' "Filmore East", Sylvester's "Living Proof"

and of course, Peter Frampton's opus..

"Frampton Comes Alive"!!

The P-Funk Earth Tour of '76 -'78 had it all!

Theatrics, humor, an anti-establishment vibe,

high concept production and that 70's freeness,

the likes of which the world will never see again!

This album came out when I was 13 and had just

witnessed this life-altering concert in person

about two weeks before!

I was never the same after that!...

The funk had lifted me and I was transformed!

The cover art & pictures are, for the most part,

intact but sadly, there was no way that they could

recreate the full-sized poster that was in the

original album of Dr. Funkenstein (George Clinton)

all decked-out in white foxtails and leather

with 10" platform boots!

My only point of contention is that when they

re-issued it to CD, they left out a classic P-Funk mid-tempo

jam which was unlike any of their other output from

this time, but just as crucial to their catalogue....

"Fantasy Is Reality".

This song was the bomb and the late Glenn Goins

was putting down some serious gospel-like

vocalizations on it as only he could!

The lyrics were great too!

It is for this reason that I had to take away one star

in this review, but by no means think that this means

that this CD is not worth having if just for the

experience of Parliament/Funkadelic live in their prime!

(Also see in DVD, George Clinton: Parliament/Funkadelic

(The Mothership Connection Live)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars L.A. and Oakland taste the BOMB!, September 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: P-Funk Earth Tour (Audio CD)

The P-Funk live experience is put to wax for the very first time in 1977, during the band prime period of commercial exposure. The performances speak for themselves. This record is proof positive as to why P-Funk reigned supreme as black america's favorite band and America's top theatrical black experience. The only thing that spoils this package is the sub-standard recording which is only slightly improved on CD. One track, ironically their big hit of the day "Tear The Roof Off The Sucker" was one of a number of tunes recorded in an airplane hangar in Newburgh, New York in the fall of 1976, along with "Cosmic Slop" from the Funkadelic LP "Hardcore Jollies" . Crowd noise was added later. Why they chose to do this is beyond this reviewer's comprehension. Originally this album came with a iron-on transfer that read "TAKE FUNK TO HEAVEN IN '77" and a large full color poster of G.C. in his Dr. Funkenstein garb. The CD also omits one track "Fantasy Is Reality", which you can find on the double CD "Tear The Roof Off: 1974-1980". If your into the live P-Funk experience, then this CD will do you no harm other than pee in your afro. As the good doctor instructs, "Come fly tonight...ain't nothin' but a party!"

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When Live Music was Huge!, August 16, 2005

By 

M. Gray "Rage Against the Victrola" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: P-Funk Earth Tour (Audio CD)

The horn arrangements and the Bootsy truck drivin base creates a combination that tears the roof off the mother. Recording is through boom microphones so you here a lot of the audience. However, the sound of the instruments comes through. This is an incredibly exciting disc. History was made. Ellington at Newport / Revolution of the Mind Apollo III / Clinton in LA. They just don't make em like this anymore.