This Week in the Mercury
Monday, October 10, 2011
Let's Talk About... Bootsy Collins' Life in Funk
Posted by Andrew R Tonry on Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 11:29 PM
Last month Bootsy Collins showed up in the Chicago studios of Sound Opinions for what turned out to be a terrific interview. Really, it's a history lesson as seen through star-shaped rainbow sunglasses. The legendary bass playing alien is the human embodiment of funk.
Bootsy started out with his brother Catfish before being picked up by James Brown in what was actually a sly firing of the previous incarnation of the JB's. There's a lot of great stuff on James' heyday plus the nuts and bolts of funks music origins. From Brown, Bootsy finds another groundbreaking guru in George Clinton. There is a large, eclectic family aspect to the musical world Clinton has cultivated, Bootsy explains.
Asked what would be the ideal entry point to the massive catalog of Funkadelic, Parliment, and Clinton's many other projects, Bootsy takes his time, wanting to get it right. "Wow," he says in deliberation, before offering up Maggot Brain. Indeed, it's one of the great records of all time, including one of the great guitar solos ever put to tape. In case you've never heard it, or been put off by the more flighty compositions of Parliment Funkadelic, just know that Funkadelic is itself a markedly different group. They get dark and heavy along with the bevy of weirdness. It is as much a rock record as it is funky. "Super Stupid" beats punk at it's own game.
So, without further adéu, get over to Sound Opinions and lend Bootsy your ear.
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