tranquilityallstar's Full Review: Uncle Jam Wants You [Remaster] by Funkadelic
Parliament and Funkadelic have always been two entirely different groups, with two entirely different sounds. What keeps them linked is that George Clinton is the head-master of both, and members from each group jump from group to group. It is amazing how they used to keep two totally different sounds while having many of the same members. Parliament fans enjoy the light, fun, bass, horn, and keyboard filled jams that were fun to dance to. Funkadelic fans enjoy the hard, rough, guitar filled, wild and crazy style of music. But ever since One Nation Under A Groove, Funkadelic has been becoming more and more like Parliament. Uncle Jam Wants You came right after One Nation, and it sounds more like Parliament than ever before.
As time went on, it was inevitable that these two bands blend together at one point. Uncle Jam Wants You is what I consider the beginning of that blend into what will from then on be refered to as Parliament/Funkadelic.
What about this album makes it sound like Parliament? Well, for one thing, most of the guitar licks are scrapped for deep, thumping, bass lines. Also, the wild and erratic vocals from previous Funkadelic albums have been scrapped for...well...Parliament style vocals (you know, the kind with a lead vocal and female backups). There isn't nessisaraly anything wrong with this, it's just that some hardcore Funkadelic fans will be dissapointed. Need more proof that this isn't really Funkadelic? Play "Super Stupid" from Maggot Brain next to "Freak of The Week" from Uncle Jam Wants You. There is no doubt that Funkadelic is dead.
Well, we have established that this is a Parliament album, so how does it sound? It sounds...Parliamenty... There is a good deal of basslines, great vocals by George Clinton, Gary Shider, and others. Bootsy Collins is also obviously all over this one.
Another thing new to Funkadelic albums that was incorporated as they became more like Parliament was the use of themes. Uncle Jam has a good, if somewhat loose, theme. It revolves on a military-like theme. Uncle Jam is commanding his army of Foot Soldiers and they march while zapping the unfunky people with the Bop Gun (see review of Funkentelechy Vs. Placebo Syndrome for explanation of Bop Gun). This is fun theme because a lot of the songs have a very military-like sound to them. I would enjoy this album a lot more if the theme was carried a little further.
Track Listing
Freak Of The Week
(Not Just) Knee Deep
Uncle Jam
Field Maneuvers
Holly Wants To Go To California
Foot Soldiers (Star-Spangled Funky)
Freak Of The Week gets things jamming right from the start. It has one of the grooviest basslines from a Parliament (ahem, excuse me, I mean Funkadelic) album to date. It is a 5 minute long song that has some very good vocals from George Clinton, with some great female backing. It is a pretty groovy song that sounds almost sleazy at times. A definate highlight.
(Not Just) Knee Deep gives more proof that Funkadelic is Parliament. This is the epic, long lasting, dance jam that will keep your booty moving, that often appears on Parliament albums. This is the longest song on a studio album from either Funkadelic or Parliament, clocking in at 15 minutes. It is one of my favorite long jams ever, though. The vocals swap often and remain fresh so that you don't get bored. It has lyrics similar to Freak Of The Week, and I often get them confused. This song has a consistent and very dancable beat. Great for exersising, dancing, or whatever that requires energy.
Uncle Jam is a hilarious and wacky jam. Its sound is supposed to sound like you are a foot soldier in basic training. The main vocals are shouts by the 'thrill seargent' that fit in perfectly with the music. The rhythm is constently changing, but it remains very dancable. This song is another long one, clocking in at about 10 minutes. This song sticks truely to its motto - "Rescuing dance music from the blahhs".
After the first 3 songs, the rest of Uncle Jam Wants You is short, forgetable songs. It is obvious that the first 3 are supposed to be the ones listened to the most.
Field Maneuvers is a pretty good song, though. It is the only song on here that comes close to sounding like a Funkadelic song. It is just Michael Hampton jamming on his guitar in perfect synch to the drums. It is a fast paced song, but it only lasts 2 minutes. I would have loved this song to have been longer.
Holly Wants To Go To California sticks out like a smelly bum in a room full of rich high-class women. In the midst of some incredibly funky dancable songs, comes this incredibly slow accapella ballad sung all alone by George Clinton. It is a live cut of George Clinton standing up on stage by himself singing his heart out while Bernie Worrell does a little backup piano. This song isn't that bad, it's just WAY out of place! What is it doing here? The singing is great, and there are some good uses of words in the lyrics, and the tune isn't that bad - it just doesn't belong! The only fun thing about this song is listening to the very random comments that the crowd yells during the pauses. My suggestion to you is that if you have a CD recorder, record this CD, but when you get to Field Maneuvers, repeat it, and leave off this song. You will like this CD a whole lot more now. Go put Holly on a recording of Parliament ballads.
Foot Soldiers continues the military theme in a bland song that sounds very tacked on (maybe that is just because it came after Holly Wants To Go To California, though). It is some good keyboard playing along with drumming that sounds very military-like. This is just a bland and pointless song. You can't dance to it. It's not that great of a way to end the album.
Bottom Line This is not a Funkadelic album, and it shows. For a Parliament album, Uncle Jam Wants You isn't that bad. It has some of the best long jams ever created, but after they are over, the rest of the album just plain stinks. If you are a diehard Funkadelic fan that can't stand the thought of their rough rock-influenced sound being compromised for commercial dance tracks, just pretend that this album never existed. But if you are a funk fan, and enjoy the sound of Parliament, you can't go wrong with this one.
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