There are two kinds of people in the world; those who get Bootsy Collins and The ‘One’ and those devoid of funk and who live their lives in the shadows,
Starchild has returned and suddenly the world is brighter and we are all funking to the One.
This is Bootsy’s first album since 2002 and he fills it full of his trademark hard funk and some of the brightest and most alive sounds I have heard in years.
Every track has a featured guest – he includes Dr Cornel West, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Rev Al Sharpton and even Jimi Hendrix and Samuel L Jackson! – and the entire album seems to be a homage to black heroes and superstars but the result is still pure Bootsy; hard funk, fizzing and sparking percussion and some kind of controlled insanity.
If you are familiar with his history then numbers like ‘Hip Hop @ Funk U’ featuring Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg & Chuck D is going to strike home like an electric arrow to tha butt and ‘JB – Still The Man’, a tribute to James Brown not only hits ‘The One’ just like James Brown taught him but has a great voiceover by Rev Al Sharpton and bubbles like JB at his best. ‘After These Messages’ gets the lesson told by Sammy J (Samuel L Jackson).
‘Don’t Take My Funk’ brings Bootsy’s elder brother Catfish in along with some beautiful vocals from Bobby Womack and ‘The Jazz Greats’ / Garry Shider Tribute’ features George Clinton and Linda Shider with some downright nasty jazz sounds. 'Chocolate Caramel Angel' is dirty, sexy and supremely played while the album closes on 'Yummy, I Got The Munchies' - nuff said!
All over, the album shimmers with great playing and unbelievably danceable funk and the smile that appeared on my face hasn’t been there for a long while.
The only negative is that there isn’t quite the same joyous idiocy of old – no ‘Bootzilla’ or ‘Ahhh The Name Is Bootsy’ and nothing approaching the madness of P-Funk – and there is more of a sense of political pride in the themes but this is still quintessential Bootsy and as he so clearly puts it “Tha funk capital of the world is wherever Bootsy is baby – yeahhhhh”
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