Funkadelic — Let’s Take It To the Stage

I’ve written before about how, when Funkadelic was creating the world of ’70s funk, I was not the teen who was ready for what they were putting down. I was told to like John Denver and Billy Joel, and while I certainly liked the Funkadelic tracks that found their way to Top 40 radio, there was something so out there about them that I just didn’t go there until nearly a decade later. And even then, I didn’t go very far.

So, despite my asking Shawn at Forever Changes not to sell me any albums with artists before the letter ‘K,’ because I’d like to move on with this project, when I showed up last week he had not one but TWO Funkadelic albums I did not have and required, as well as a James Brown. (And then this weekend I picked up some more old records. I do this to myself.)

Now, I had really only recently adapted to the Funkadelic ways, despite some earlier experimentation, and my last acquisition, “Standing On the Verge of Getting It On,” about blew my mind. Then there’s this, which is that, but more so. Maybe a little more accessible, and yet also somewhat more like “Maggot Brain.” It’s brilliant, is what it is. Originally released in 1975, just after “Verge.”

In case you thought the title of this 1975 release meant this would be a live album: it is not. The title track, as well as the highly questionable “No Head, No Backstage Pass,” are at least about live performing. The funk gets nasty with “Good To Your Earhole,” heavy with “Baby I Owe You Something Good,” and absolutely prototypical with “Get Off Your Ass and Jam.” You wondered where that came from? This is where that came from. This one often goes on the turntable right after “Standing On The Verge of Getting It On.” It’s a pretty seamless transition.