O.G. FUNK

OUT OF THE DARK

  1/  Yeah, Yeah, Yeah                           (Whipper,Glover,Nelson)       6.13
  2/  Funk Is In the House                       (Whipper,Nelson)              5.31
  3/  Funkadelic Groupie                         (Bronx Style Bob,Nelson)      6.26
  4/  Music For My Brother                       (Nelson,Singleton)            8.34
  5/  I've Been Alone                            (Whip,Glover,Nelson,Long)     5.28
  6/  I Wanna Know                               (Whipper,Nelson)              4.49
  7/  Don't Take Your Love Away From Me          (Nelson)                      4.51
  8/  Out of the Dark                            (Long,Nelson)                 4.19
  9/  Angie                                      (Whipper,Nelson)              4.29

          Recorded at Greenpoint Studio, Brooklyn, New York
          Engineering: Robert Musso and Oz Fritz
          Mixing engineer: Jason Corsaro
          Assistant: Imad Mansour
          Produced by Bill Laswell and Billy "Bass" Nelson
          Business and production coordination for Material, Inc.: Tracy McKnight
          Funk Maintenance: Peter Wetherbee
          Creative realization: Steven Sapporta/Invasion Group Ltd.
          Mastered at Masterdisk by Howie Weinberg

Billy "Bass" Nelson: 4 and 8 string basses, guitar, vocals; Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey: drums; Bernie Worrell: Hammond organ, electric piano, synthesizers; Spacey T. Singleton, Blake Smith and Billy Spruill: guitars; Grandmaster Melle Mel, Prince Whipper Whip, Gary "Mudbone" Copper and Bernard Fowler: vocals; Billy "Bass" Nelson, Gary "Mudbone" Cooper, Bernie Worrell, C-Dog, Billy Spruill, Marque Gilmore, Peter Weatherbee, J. Maxima Juson, Latasha Natasha Diggs, Chris Ashley, Sekenya Nelson and Archie Ford: group vocals.

          1993 - Black Arc/Rykodisc (USA), RCD  10303 (CD)
          1993 - Black Arc/Polystar (Japan), PSCW-5015 (CD)

Note: Bill Laswell does not play on this album.

REVIEWS :

This is the comeback album for Billy 'Bass' Nelson, as well as the reemergence of superdrummer Jerome Brailey. While billed as a reunion of original Funkadelic members, the album sounds more like the cleaner funk-rock of the classic mid-70's albums of Funkadelic. Which, of course, is not a bad thing at all. Billy Bass shows that he still has his funk chops, as well as his underrated lyrical and songwriting skills. Guitarist "Spacey" Tracy Singleton shows that he's a capable replacement for Eddie Hazel, though his style is cleaner and less stirring than Eddie's, to whom the album is dedicated. Bernie Worrell also appears to add some flavor, although his presence is considerably more subdued than I had hoped. No real new ground is broken on this record, but its exuberant nature can't be denied. Everyone is clearly having a great time here, and it shows. Even if the music is somewhat derivative of classic Funkadelic, no one's made that kind of music for 20 years, so that sort of copying is quite welcome. It's hard, wailing, guitar-based music with taste and style, and it shows how significant Billy Bass was in the early days of the band. Also to be noted is the joyous presence of old school rapper supremeMelle Mel, who brings a ferocious energy to the lyrics. The album combines the twin early influences of early Funkadelic and early old school rap, and that vibe works well. I would recommend this album to any fan of Funkadelic's heavier guitar works, but it might not interest those who prefer P.Funk's more dance oriented songs. Don't expect something new and earth-shattering, but do expect to have a lot of fun listening to it. I also appreciate the up-front vocals, because I really enjoyed the lyrics.

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" takes the music from "You And Your Folks", most notably this song's title chant, and lays on some heavy, excellent raps. Billy Bass has his classic, super-thick bass sound dominating the track; he was theheaviest of all the P.Funk bassists in terms of his rock-hard basslines with a tinge of soul. Best line: 'Thou shalt not fake the funk.' "Funk Is In The House" is a a funky song that plays on a favorite hip-hop convention: callingout names of band members and songs. The rapping is crisp and the guitar playing is very clean. "Funkadelic Groupie" may be the album's best track; it's a hilarious song about a groupie on the trail of one the band members. The song features restrained wah-wah guitar and more pronounced playing from Bernie Worrell, whose organ flavoring recalls some of his best with Funkadelic. The end, suggesting that one should ignore the groupies on the road and find a woman who really loves you, shows that someone's learned their lesson! "Music For My Brother" is a tribute to Eddie Hazel, and more specifically, the genius of "Maggot Brain". Spacey T. does a credible job here on the instrumental. "I've Been Alone" is a weird ballad that has a tender arrangement and lyrics with one jarring line 'I love you when my balls slap up against your asshole'. A visceral love song, indeed. "I Wanna Know" is another update of a Funkadelic song, this time of "I Wanna Know If It's Good To You". The music is a bit faster and cleaner, with Bernie creating a funky stew on organ. "Don't Take Your Love From Me" is another mellow ballad with an excellent solo from Spacey T. and nice singing. "Out Of The Dark" is anotherexcellent song with a great driving guitar riff and more good singing. "Angie" is a truly demented ballad, about a man's girlfriend who goes off to the Persian Gulf War as an engineer.

3 1/2 stars out of 5

Rob Clough (courtesy of the Motherpage website)