Mothership Connection - Parliament (1975)
An unapologetic celebration of black culture, freedom, and rhythm.
This is a slice of a different sort of life, constructed from dreams and hopes as well as a world-wary but savvy take on funk music’s insurgent presence on the music scene. It was part self-parody and part self-awareness, a theater of the absurd that pushed for cultural change and also wanted you to move your ass.
George Clinton’s wild presence as frontman is punctuated by Bootsy Collins’ other worldly basslines and a horn section including James Brown alum Maceo Parker.
It’s hard for me personally to separate Parliament from Dr Dre’s The Chronic. That was the first place I encountered a lot of bits and pieces of the material, re-contextualized into something menacing and aggressive, but still keeping a lot of the sheen and shimmer of the originals. Thematically it’s miles apart, which just makes it more fascinating to me.
