 In 1968,
the Parliaments had a dispute with Revilot and refused to continue
working for the label. While in the throws of the dispute, in an effort to keep
working, the band signed the name Funkadelics
with West Bound Records. To avoid waiting for some kind of settlement, the band hastily renamed the group
Funkadelic, with the only musicians listed being the
original backing band for the Parliaments. Revilot soon folded, and
the Parliaments contract was sold to Atlantic. At this point, the band permanently
abandoned the doo-wop style (to avoid working for Atlantic), though one Revilot
recording, "A New Day Begins", was released by Atco in 1969. The
re- christened Parliaments Funkadelic emerged in 1970 with the
long-lost "Osimium" on Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus label.
 In the years to follow
the Funkadelic would continue to grow and evolve. And
just as the Parliaments begat Parliaments
Funkadelic, subsequent groups would soon
evolve through the years, such as P-Funk, the P-Funk All Stars and now
The
Original P-Funk. Though the music accomplishment of all are quite extensive,
below are the high-lights that Calvin was involved in.
Up For the Down Stroke positions
Parliament as the lighter side of P-Funk: the sexy R&B ying to the
Funkadelics shanky metal yang. In general, Parlaments plays up a dancible harmony
chants and back on the guitar-stroked freakouts. Veteran James Brown sideman
like bassist Bootsy Collins and the newly named "Horny Horns" pump up
the beat, while an ever shifting cast of singers dispense party tips, sci-fy
fantisy trips, seduction rapps, social commentaries scathing satire and tales
for tots. throughout it all you always feel the "Presence of a Brain"
as one Down stroke track insists.
(written by C. Simon)
Chocolate City reveals
the downside of Parliament's exploratory high-energy approach: even killer riffs
turn into repetitious vamps and the most pointed raps can evaporate into hot air
when left unattended. Parliament snaps back with sharp hooks and a walloping
multi-media concept on Mothership Connection. the cosmic theatrics are actually
supported by music that resembles nothing else on earth. "Tear the Roof Off
the sucker (Give up the Funk)" is a downright irresistible command; that
drum-beat hits your reflex center like a doctor's mallet. Gary Shider's
mellifluous rap on the title track "put a glide in your stride and a dip in
your hip and come aboard the mothership" dodges horn lines and blends into
key-boardist Bernie Worrell's exquisitely synthesized fade out.
 The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein
doesn't possess an all-out anthem like "Give Up the Funk", though it
may be the most consistently tuneful of all the Parliament albums. Dispite the
mad-scientist jive, horn laden love stomps like "Your sexy Body"
define the albums deliciously warped romantic mood. Funkentelechy
Vs the Placebo System lays on the space-bass: it's denser more bottom
heavy, even more wigged out then before. "Flashlight" brilliantly
epitomizes Bootsy's thumb-picking propulsion, white "Bop Gum" leaves a
deeply lingering sting. Motor-Booty Affair
has to be the first and only free-flow aqua funk cartoon song cycle. Amid
imaginative synth squiggles (from Worrell and Waters "Junie" Morrison)
and goofy underwater giggles, light fingers tracks like "One Of Those Funky
Things" and "Liquid Sunshine" strike some of Parliaments most
complex and satisfying grooves. This album (along with Funkadelic's current One
Nation Under a Groove) represents P-Funk's empire at it's dizzying
creative peak.
  
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