Mothership Connection

Parliament

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 21, 1990)
• Original Release Date: February 1976
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Polygram Records
• ASIN: B000001FCM
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,988 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

God bless George Clinton, ya'll. Space oddities, extraterrestrial freak shows, spiritual salvation, and sex, drugs, more drugs, and something that sounded a lot like rock & roll. Such was the universe conjured up by visionary nut job George Clinton and a band that included Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worell, and Gary Shider. Shoutouts go to tearing the roof offa the sucker, making my funk the P-funk (indeed), and David Bowie (yeah that's right). --Amy Linden

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An absolute "MUST" have to qualify as a funk connoisseur, January 2, 2003

By	Cedric C. Carter "CedricTheSynthMan" (Asheville, North Carolina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought the album/LP when it first came out in 1975. I bought the CD last year SPECIFICALLY for Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples. This cut has the deepest, nastiest, funkiest BASS synthesizer lines I have ever heard. Bernie Worrell set the pace that has YET to be climaxed with his innovative minimoog bass lines. Of course, FLASHLIGHT became a signature jam for Worrell, but 'Night' set the course for what was to come later
in the history of P-Funk.

When I first heard P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up) on the radio in 1975 my reaction was, "What the heck is this???" Some whacked out guy talking about the "chocolate milky way", "Sir Lollipop Man, alias the long-haired sucker... my motto is..." ,
and the REST is history!!!

Then they start sayin', "If you hear any noise, it's just me and the boys... hit me!" and "swing down sweet chariot stop and, let me ride". I was going out of my mind!!!

Side two got even FUNKIER! This album was TOO good to be true!
Supergroove... has some of the weirdest, wackiest, yet wonderful
experiments with the capabilities of the ARP Pro-Soloist synthesizer ever recorded! Give Up the Funk is Parliament's "definitive" FUNK anthem. I remember THIS song being extremely popular among many one my white friends and it even made the local AM playlists (which was rare for an all black
funk group in the 70's). I especially liked the horn arrangements and Worrell's use of the ARP String Ensemble in this jam.

The album concludes with the Thumpasorus Peoples. In 1975, my
52 year old father REALLY liked this song, especially the chanting (ga ga goo ga, ga ga goo ga... ga ga goo ga ga!!!) He thought it was kinda' neat. And as a teen, I thought it was really cool that even my dad could appreciate the FUNK!

The Original "P" band that travels around doing P-Funk concerts to this day (2002) opens their show with the Thumpasorus Peoples.
If this group comes to your neighborhood GO AND SEE THEM! You will NOT be disappointed.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funkification Reaches Across Time and Space!, October 11, 2000

By	Gregory Bravo (Buffalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

1980. A nine-year old boy in a suburb of an average- sized city rummages through a bunch of old LPs he finds in a box in his parents' basement. Captain and Tennille (looks boring)... Elvis' Greatest Hits (looks boring)... Whoa! What's this? A guy dressed in a weird outfit coming out of a spaceship?!?! Now this looks interesting...

He puts on the LP... and the Funkification of suburbia has begun!

He finds the grooves and the lyrics as wacked out, weird, and just plain cool, as the guy on the cover. This is like nothing he's ever heard before! It becomes one of his favorite albums ever... through the big-hair 80s, and the depressing 90s, he always returned to be re-Funkified. When he's feeling down, he goes to the Funk ("Funk can not only move, it can re-move!") When he's feeling up, he goes to the Funk... every time is a good time for P-Funk!

Thank you George, Bootsy, and the rest!

And now I KNOW it must have been the Lollipop Man who came down from the Mothership to put this album of pure chocolate gold in that box of white-bread!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not allowed aboard the Mothership without this LP!, June 22, 2000

By	Michiel v. Overmeire (Leiderdorp, Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This is one of the best albums ever made! Period. Hiphop has sampled this work of art completely dry, and when you buy Parliament's 'Mothership Connection' you will have no problem to understand why. This album set up my connection with the Mothership: it was my first P-funk album and it got me hooked! And if you got faults, defects or shortcomings: the Funk not only moves it can remove, dig! Lot's of talented musicians appear on this album and every cut is an instant classic. My favorite track on this album has to be "Handcuffs", because I consider it to be the most soulful sung tune in black music history. Incredible! This whole album is incredible from beginning till end. Do you believe in the Mothership? Now is the time to testify........