Bringing what was their seventh album under this name, Funkadelic released their seventh album in 1975. The George Clinton-led Funk band (who also went under Parliament for their more Soul-based work) came with “Let’s Take It To The Stage” with a line-up that included Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell , Fuzzy Haskins and most of the other regulars.
1. “Good To Your Earhole”
They get the album underway with something expectedly strong as you find that by this point that had really matured as a band and knew exactly what they were capable of as an act and so they lead the way nicely with some lively Funk material that makes the most of all aspects of the band and their unity that makes for such impressive work (that was seen to lead the way for all others working in this genre at the time).
**Five Stars**
2. “Better By The Pound”
With this one you see that you get Boogie Mosson laying down a hard groove on the bass to take them in and take them right into the right frame of mind to come out with more funky material that shows them working to their maximum potential. I felt that although this may not
be the case (entirely) it is a nice one and one that keeps it flowing as they test their song writing primarily as the rest will always fall into place well.
**Four Stars**
3. “Be My Beach”
On this one Bootsy steps up to be a part of the vocals, alongside both ‘Bad Bosco’ Bernie Worrell and ‘The Maggot Overlord’ George Clinton on a soulful tune. It is one that needs some time to feel, as it is a bit of a change to previous material, and you find that with it you have to work for the quality within it. I felt that it didn’t really stand up to the quality that the rest offered to the thing, but should be valued nonetheless.
Made obvious through the title alone, you see that here you have them doing an explicit one that has them directly showing how they bring their humour into the mix (with Clinton taking it all on by providing the lead vocals) and although it may be effective the first time around, the heavy repetition tires the thing out quickly and leaves it as nothing of any real significance by the end as one that simply doesn’t live up to expectations.
**Two Stars**
5. “Let’s Take It To The Stage”
They change it all up with this one by moving on into one of the singles from the album (and the titular jam from the record0. It is a heavy jam and one that finds Clinton twisting James Brown’s “I’m Black And I’m Proud” to make it directly relate to ‘Funk’ and what exactly this band stand for. It is a killer joint and you see that in it Clinton’s raps give you the chance to really feel what the band is about, as they challenge other popular Funkateers such as Brown and his J.B.s, Kool & The Gang, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rufus and Sly & The Family Stone.
**Five Stars**
6. “Get Off Your A*s And Jam”
Sampled on many occasions by the likes of N.W.A, 2Pac and A Tribe Called Quest, i would consider this one to be amongst the best on the album and one that makes up for average and weak material earlier on during the release as you find that here they come with a pure party tune. You find that with it they repeat a simple phrase and manage to round up all you can possibly feel when you here he backing to it.
**Five Stars**
7. “Baby I Owe You Something Good”
Coming off such a heavy tube, you see that here they switch things up by playing the listeners a little Blues as hey slow down the tempo dramatically and come out with more of the type of thing that hadn’t been seen in their material since 1970. I personally don’t particularly enjoy this time of thing as you see that they revert back towards the experimentation (when we have had hints of what they are able to do).
**Two Stars**
8. “Stuffs And Things”
You get a massive lift in this one as they get back towards the dance material that makes for the most exciting listen and has them making the most out of the kind of thing that it appears that they have attempted to suppress as with a short, sharp burst they come out with a powerful display that takes on all opposition that they may have come across in the past to show just how funky they can make their music.
**Five Stars**
9. “The Song Is Familiar”
Clinton, Worrell and Collins come to bring the vocals on this one too and in this case they are seen to do it on a Soul tune. I can’t say that I enjoyed it as I had liked the lively Funk jams before, but in it I could see when Bootsy found inspiration for later work in his Rubber Band. The lyrics to it show just how far along they have come on over the years, but I didn’t think that it really translated that well into a full-developed recording.
**Two Stars**
10. “Atmosphere”
They end this highly inconsistent release with a seven-minute-long jam session where they get back to the sorts of experimentation that was seen on their early work where everything sounds improvised. This alternative tune is a nice way to finish it off and I felt that it added to the thing as they do a little something different and although it may escape all conventions, you can feel the Soul and Funk within it.
**Four Stars**
I didn’t expect things to go as they did with this album as it was really a long distance away from my expectations of what they would bring (considering how strong some of the releases leading up to this point were). It has a little to offer, but not much of it stays true to the Funk that they are mostly known for.
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