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Maggot Brain

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This article is about the album. For the song, see Maggot Brain (song).
Untitled

Maggot Brain is the third studio album by the American funk band Funkadelic. It was recorded at United Sound Systems in Detroit during late 1970 and early 1971,[1] before being released in July 1971 by Westbound Records. Shortly after Maggot Brain was recorded, Tawl Ross, Eddie Hazel, Billy Nelson, and Tiki Fulwood left the band for various reasons.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Blender[4]
Christgau's Record GuideB+[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[6]
MusicHound Rock4.5/5[7]
Pitchfork9.4/10[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide10/10[9]
Tiny Mix Tapes4.5/5[10]
Uncut[11]

In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, Vince Aletti deemed Maggot Brain a collection of competently performed but uninteresting and lyrically-thin funk songs, bookended by an exceptional title track and the "mindless" closer "Wars of Armageddon". He was particularly critical of the record's second side, panning it as "dead-end stuff".[12] Robert Christgau was more enthusiastic in a retrospective review for Blender, calling the last track "Funkadelic's most incendiary freak-out ever" and the culmination of shorter songs on the album that were "heavy with bass, keyboard and class consciousness". "And for once, all three bonus tracks are plusses", he wrote regarding its CD reissue.[4] Music historian Bob Gulla hailed it as an "iconoclastic funk-rock" record, featuring the best guitar playing of Eddie Hazel's career.[13] According to The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History (2006), Maggot Brain and Funkadelic's previous two albums "created a whole new kind of psychedelic rock with a dance groove".[14]

In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Maggot Brain number 486 on the magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, with the 2012 revision raising its rank to number 479.[15] Pitchfork named it the 17th best album of the 1970s.[16] The record was also listed in the music reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[1]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Maggot Brain"Edward Hazel, George Clinton10:21
2."Can You Get to That" (released as a single-Westbound 185)George Clinton, Ernest Harris2:50
3."Hit It and Quit It" (released as a single-Westbound 198)George Clinton, William Nelson3:50
4."You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" (released as a single-Westbound 175)George Clinton, Clarence Haskins, William Nelson, Bernard Worrell, Judie Jones (mistakenly credit)3:36
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."Super Stupid"Edward Hazel, Lucious Ross, William Nelson, George Clinton4:01
6."Back in Our Minds"Clarence Haskins2:38
7."Wars of Armageddon"Ramon Fulwood, Lucious Ross, George Clinton, Bernard Worrell9:42
2005 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Whole Lot of BS"George Clinton, Bernard Worrell2:11
9."I Miss My Baby" (United Soul with Funkadelic, from the CD U.S. Music with Funkadelic)Clarence Haskins5:02
10."Maggot Brain" (alternate mix, recorded in 1971)Edward Hazel, George Clinton9:35

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[17]

Funkadelic

Production

  • Produced by George Clinton
  • Executive producer – Armen Boladian
  • Bernie Mendelson in charge of The Eegangas
  • Cover photography by Joel Brodsky
  • Inside cover photography by Ron Scribner
  • Artwork design – The Graffiteria/Paula Bisacca
  • Art direction – David Krieger
  • Album supervision – Bob Scerbo
  • Album co-ordination – Dorothy Schwartz
  • Model on album cover- Barbara Cheeseborough

Charts

Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album

  • 1971 Pop Albums No. 108
  • 1971 Black Albums No. 14
  • 1990 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums No. 92

References

  1. ^ a b Wilson, Lois (2010). "Maggot Brain". In Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (eds.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
  2. ^ a b Leone, Dominique. Review: Maggot Brain. Pitchfork. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  3. ^ Raggett, Ned. Review: Maggot Brain. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  4. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (August 2008). "The Guide: Back Catalogue: Funkadelic". Blender. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Funkadelic: Maggot Brain". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the '70s. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306804093. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Funkadelic". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0857125958.
  7. ^ Gabriel, Lawrence (1996). "Funkadelic". In Graff, Gary (ed.). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. ISBN 0787610372.
  8. ^ Coleman, Mark (1992). "Funkadelic". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 268. ISBN 0-679-73729-4.
  9. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Funkadelic". Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  10. ^ Pelican, The. Review: Maggot Brain. Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  11. ^ "Funkadelic - Maggot Brain CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  12. ^ Aletti, Vince (September 30, 1971). "Funkadelic: Maggot Brain". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  13. ^ Gulla, Bob (2008). Icons of R&B and Soul. Icons of R&B and Soul: An Encyclopedia of the Artists who Revolutionized Rhythm. Vol. 2. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 446. ISBN 0313340463. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  14. ^ Smith, Chris (2006). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: From Arenas to the Underground, 1974-1980. Greenwood Press. p. 9. ISBN 0-313-32937-0.
  15. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. November 2003. Archived from the original on March 17, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  16. ^ Staff. Top 100 Albums of the 1970s. Pitchfork. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  17. ^ Dean Rudland (2005). Maggot Brain (album liner notes). Westbound Records Inc.
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