Monday, December 6, 2010

Bootsy Collins: Back in the Day: The Best of Bootsy (1994)

Can it get any better? If aliens came down needing to know what funk was all about, in all its talented, embrace-anything-and-everything, screw with your head and get your butt down glory, then this is a prime candidate for what to give them. The man, his voice, his bass, the backing of a prime core band including his guitarist brother Catfish, Fred Wesley, and Maceo Parker leading the brass -- beautiful, hilarious, and just plain great. This one-disc collection could easily be a two-disc or more if one wanted to include every last highlight from Collins' up-down-all-around career -- his work with James Brown alone is beyond the bomb -- but when it comes to solo work, this is as perfect a place to start as any. Drawing mostly on the albums done with the active help of George Clinton in the late '70s, Back in the Day is a model for what a good compilation should be. Sound is excellent throughout, while full details on who plays what and where, along with where everything came from in the first place, all appear in exhaustive detail. The liner notes, meanwhile, come from longtime funk road manager (Brown, Prince, plenty of others) Alan Leeds, explaining every step of Collins' wonderful story. Collins himself gets in a great concluding bit of thanks and message that's a joy to read, and needless to say the photos of him in his sunglassed late-'70s star-bass-guitar glory abound. And the music? "Bootzilla," "Stretchin' Out (In a Rubber Band)," and "Pinocchio Theory" are just three jam masterpieces of many. A couple of fine rarities flesh things out; "What So Never the Dance," recorded in 1971 when Collins' band was still known as the House Guests, is a great slice of greasy, JB-tinged funk. "Body Slam!" shows him getting to grips with electro nicely, while "Scenery," originally a B-side ballad, has him doing his loveman-goes-nuts deal at the end. A fierce 1976-era live take on "Psychoticbumpschool," with the Horny Horns in full blow, wraps up this fantastic collection.
Tracklist:
01. Ahh... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby                                                                                    
02. Stretchin' Out (In A Rubber Band)                                                                                   
03. The Pinocchio Theory                                                                                               
04. Hollywood Squares                                                                                                  
05. I'd Rather Be With You                                                                                             
06. Bootzilla                                                                                                          
07. What So Never The Dance                                                                                            
08. Can't Stay Away                                                                                                    
09. Jam Fan (Hot)                                                                                                       
10. Mug Push                                                                                                           
11. Body Slam                                                                                                           
12. Scenery                                                                                                            
13. Vanish In Our Sleep                                                                                                 
14. Psychoticbumpschool ‘Live’   
Personnel includes: Bootsy Collins (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, percussion); Gary "Mudbone" Cooper, Rufus Allen (vocals); Robert "Peanut" Johnson (vocals, percussion); Phelps "Catfish" Collins, Gary Shider, Michael Hampton (guitar); Maceo Parker, Randy Wallace (saxophone); Rick Gardner, Richard "Kush" Griffith, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells, Ronnie Greenway (trumpet); Fred Wesley (trombone); Kae Williams, Jr. (piano); Joel "Razor Sharp" Johnson (keyboards, percussion, background vocals); Bernie Worrell (keyboards); Frankie "Kash" Waddy, Cordell "Boogie" Mosson (drums); Mallia Franklin, Sheila Hayden, Lynn Mabry, Cynthia Girty, Tony Walker, Carolyn Myles (background vocals).
Producers: William Collins, Phelps "Catfish" Collins, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells, Chopper, George Clinton.
Compilation producer: Alan Leeds.
Recorded between 1970 and 1980.
All songs written or co-written by William Collins or George Clinton.
Label: Warner
Orig Year: 1994
Fileserve @ 320K