History of the Maggot Brain album by Funkadelic
Maggot Brain is the third studio album by Funkadelic, released in July 1971. "Maggot Brain" was the last studio effort by the original Funkadelic line-up: shortly after its release, members Towl Ross (guitar), Billy Nelson (bass) and Tiki Fullwood (drums) left the band for various reasons... However, the album was still a fairly satisfying success: it entered the R&B Top 20 chart and also became widely known for its 10-minute title track performed by guitarist Eddie Hazel! Rolling Stone magazine named Maggot Brain one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It is also included in the list of the best albums of the 70s. Let's take a look at his story together...
Short review
Between towering extremes, Funkadelic have rolled out the kind of soulful funk rock that can fuel world-class parties... It's hard to name their studio work hotter and more confident than Maggot Brain. Listening to this album, it feels like your whole extended family is surrounding you with good vibes on your birthday… Funkadelic put together sun-weary funk with intricate female and male vocals… It was a new twist on old moods that will undergo further manipulations with time and genre ... "Maggot Brain" opens with a spoken monologue by George Clinton: the Funkadelic leader addresses "the maggots in the mind of the universe." As mentioned above, the main decoration of the album was the 10-minute title track, which, as the legend says, was recorded in just one take! According to this legend, Clinton approached Hazel and said: “Play as if you were told that your mother died ...” And Hazel played one of the most soulful solos of his career ... Clinton practically removed all the other musicians from the background, thereby focusing the listener's attention only on Hazel's guitar. The fuzz and wah-wah techniques, as you might guess, were inspired by the work of Jimi Hendrix. As a result, the solo amazed not only the listeners, but also the critics, who described it as an "emotional sound apocalypse"!
Another legend says that the title of the album - "Mag Brain" - was inspired by Hazel's nickname! A dubious nickname, of course, however ... But there are disagreements here: some sources claim that the album got its name "Maggot Brain" in honor of one case when Clinton discovered the body of a man with a split skull ... Horror! Actually, the cover of this masterpiece is no less frightening: we can see the head of a black woman who screams and seems to be getting out of the ground ...
By the way: the notorious model Barbara Cheeseborough is depicted on the cover.
List of tracks
The album "Maggot Brain" includes only 7 tracks. First comes the gem of the same name, followed by "Can You Get to That", one of rock's greatest underrated meditations... "Hit It and Quit It" is a deceptively smooth soul track: it immediately starts off with an infectious rhythm and repetitive chorus. The most glorious element of "Hit It and Quit It" is Tiki Fullwood's rhythm: easy to overlook, but impossible to forget... Closes the first side of "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" - the most sampled track on "Maggot Brain" ". Side two opens with "Super Stupid" - a track reminiscent of a more groovy version of Jimi Hendrix's work with Band of Gypsys... "Back in Our Minds" is the album's weakest track, while the 9-minute closing "Wars of Armageddon" was critically acclaimed like "crazy" jam!
Graduation and Success
"Maggot Brain" was released in the middle of summer 1971: after its release, Funkadelic practically disbanded, but their last collaboration entered the R&B Top 20. In 2005, the album was re-released with several bonus tracks. Previously, in 2003, the album was included in Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list: "Maggot Brain" was described as "the heaviest rock work of P-Funk's entire career..." Today, this album is also included in the list of "a thousand and one albums that you must hear before you die" ...
Conclusion…
After the release of "Maggot Brain", Hazel and Nelson left the line-up to work in the much more popular Motown band, The Temptations, reportedly due to dissatisfaction with the financial situation of Funkadelic ... Fulwood was also unhappy with the pay and left the group. Although Clinton does not mention this problem, many interviews contain complaints about his stinginess ... Ross soon left ... These painful losses were compensated by new members, but ... Nevertheless, Funkadelic never again released an album filled with such powerful, deep and unstoppable genius . It was the culmination of the most daring and ingenious sound ideas! "Maggot Brain" sets a new precedent for how black musicians will exist within the context of rock, fusing metal, gospel, prog, funk, blues and jazz fusion with light-hearted virtuosity. It's the epitome of their extravagant virtues and vices... In these seven songs, you can hear how Funkadelic tries to make sense of the turmoil of all time as they express the euphoria and pain from birth to death in the most extraordinary way.
