Funk recommendations (1 Viewer)

[Chad Ellinger]

I recently watched PCU, and the end scene with George Clinton got me interested in checking out some funk CDs. Does anyone have recommendations for definitive funk albums? I really have no idea where to start.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

For the cliffs notes version, Rhino's history of funk series is very good. Other recommendations I would make are:
Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
Sly and the Family Stone - Fresh
Parliament - Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome
Ohio Players - Honey
James Brown - Funk Power 1970: A Brand New Thang
The Meters - Anthology - Funkify Your Life
Kool and the Gang - The Best of Kool and the Gang 1969-1976
Curtis Mayfield - Curtis Live!
That should be enough to put some ham hocks on your Corn Flakes.
Regards

 

[Greg_Y]

The Funk Box is a 4-CD boxed set (covered in fake velvet!) that includes great songs. I recommend it either as a purchase or as a guide to picking up some of the albums.
You can find it at all the major music e-tailers and I think I picked mine up at Circuit City.

 

[Philip Hamm]

I have a Parliament Funkadelic "Best of" collection CD that is awesome, and a comilation called "Funk Classics of the 70s" from Razor & Tie that is really good. It may be good to check out some comilations.

 

[Mike Broadman]

You can't get funky without James Brown.

 

[muskie]

Blaxploitation Film Soundtrack compilations

The best one I have is from England, there are a whole series of them but the one I bought in New York on import (they're all from England) is still the best, don't recall the exact title.

As for a specific album Curtis Mayfield "Superfly".

The Meters rairity album (kickback) is cool, it came out in 2001 on Sundaze who've rereleased their stuff on CD. The Parliment 2CD best of is great.

Get the best of the JB's now!

Compilations are easier to find then albums. I'm still looking for some Edwin Starr. Funk is also located in weird spots in record stores, sometimes in the rock section, some times in soul, r&b, urban, dance, etc. etc. Jazz also has funky records, you have to dig to find the good stuff.

Muskie

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

There's a good blaxploitation soundtrack compilation available domestically called "Pimps, Players, and Private Eyes". It's biggest flaw is being way too short, though, with only 10 tracks. There are tracks missing that would be nice (where's James Brown & Bobby Byrd from Slaughter's Big Rip-off? Where's Edwin Starr from Hell up in Harlem?), but it is a nice sampling.

Regards,

 

[Rachael B]

Parliament - MOTOR BOOTY AFFAIR & THE CLONES OF DR. FUNKENSTEIN are killer.

Mandrill is excellent.

Try something by Maceo Parker. LIFE ON PLANET GROOVE is good....

Crown Heights Affair's GREATEST HITS

Brick GREATEST HITS

Grahamn Central Station

Dazz Band

Maze

Con Funk Shun

Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers

Heatwave

Slave

T-Connection

Bootsy's Rubber Band

Fatback

Is that a start? Best wishes!

 

[Seth Paxton]

Yeah that James Brown - Startime 4 CD set is kick ass.
The man could rock the house with the best of them.
Let's not forget Prince. I'd say Lovesexy might be his funkiest album with Sign of the Times being the next closest.
And any and all Parliament is a must.

 

[Raine Linton]

Also, after George stuck it to the band members of Parliment-Funkadelic, some of them broke off and did CD's of their own. Two of the best come from Jerome Brailey's band Mutiny, and Tal Ross. Look for:

Mutiny: How's Your Loose Booty? and

Tal Ross: aka detrimental vasoline-Giant Shirley

both can be found at amazon.com as well as CD's by Eddie Hazel, Fuzzy Haskins, and Mike Hampton and let's not forget the Brides of Funkenstein, or Bernie Worrell.

Peace out-

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Check out Pass the Peas by the JB's. That's a pretty good funk album. I like it!

 

[PaulBoud]

There's a great funk band in the New England area called SuperHoney. You used to be able to download a couple of their songs at mp3.boston.com They have a decent website. I actually got a free cd from them there a while back.

FUNK RULES!

 

[Peter Mazur]

Don't forget albums from:

The Time

Jesse Johnson

Lakeside

The Brothers Johnson

 

[John Thomas]

You can't go wrong with the Godfather of Soul. If you're just getting into his music, check out his 20 All Time Greatest Hits! cd.
Parliament's Greatest Hits: The Bomb is where I'd start with them. If you want to get all their albums, start off with Mothership Connection.
Check out Earth Wind & Fire, Kool & The Gang, The Commodores, Average White Band, Bohannon and Herbie Hancock. Good sources for funk grooves.

 

[Raine Linton]

Oh My Gawd!! Lets not forget The Isley Brothers!!!

The Heat is On

Go for Your Guns

Harvest for the World

 

[muskie]

The funk compilation (blaxploitation) I was trying to recommend is called "The Big Score". I went home and looked.
My favorite surpise track is possibly "Easin' In" by Edwin Starr who if you can find him at all is in the Soul section...
If you can dig, look for and album called "Hustler's Convention" I think. Funk songs with no lyrics are pretty cool and not uncommon both the Meters and JB's have minimal lyrics. "Blow your Head" and "Funky Miricles" for example are slamin' tracks.
S.O.U.L. by...
"Inner City Blues make me wanna Holler" by Grover Washington Jr.
The Q had some damn funky soundtrack work.
Muskie
PS The Q is Quincy Jones, natch. The soundtrack section honestly might be one of the best places to find funk in say Virgin cause Virgin don't have no funk section... I'm going to concentrate on searching there more in the future myself that and the Jazz section. Bobby Byrd, the Blackbyrds, the Headhunters have all been recommended to me but I've yet to check them out.
Maceo is of course the bomb. Though I haven't gotten big into them there is Tower of Power which has gone unmentioned I think. War can be pretty damn funky of course also unmentioned I believe. Everyone should listen to more funk.