Classic Day – Universal Minds

It is hard not to picture the vibrancy of the 1970s when Funkadelic’s 1971 Maggot Brain bursts onto the scene with its driving rock force and funk undertones. This record is more to the point of becoming strict jam sessions rather than loose articulations of freeform instrumentation and novelization. As Maggot Brain marches toward the listener in a soulful, but triumphant display, the screaming head flashes like visions of some lost period in time.

While the record is the third full length from Funkadelic, there is something to say about the incineration and adaptation that comes from the progression of their sound. Not only sampled continuously in music nearly fifty-years later, but Maggot Brain is still one of the strongest fusions of sound coming from this era of funk. With an all-star lineup of around 15-credited artists in just the grouping of the band, Funkadelic was more of an ensemble that created together rather than a small piece production.

From the opening self-titled track “Maggot Brain” that stretches into 10-minutes of fairly abstract instrumentation and spoken word;; the track is a gentle curtain pull but stands out like a mountain. The foundation of the track is somewhat independent of the record’s remainder and focuses more on the free rein technique of emotional pouring rather than rigid track formation. Every moment on “Maggot Brain” is built for inspiration and experimenting with sound as a medium which then transitions into the very catchy, almost perfectly shaped work of “Can You Get To That.”

As the members and vocalists combine to form Funkadelic at its core, “Can You Get To That” is a track that repeats the chorus throughout the day even weeks after the record stops spinning. The simple placement and stressing of the syllables of each word are layered and intricate which follows a theme for the record. It is carefree, but also has a social message behind intricacy. Each instrument, each word spoken, and each track resonates after the record ends. With the shiny electric guitar works on “Hit It and Quit It” or the ballad styled opening to “Super Stupid,” no matter the place, Funkadelic pounds away at illustrative instrumentation.

This is one of the constant variables of the Maggot Brain equation that sculpts a time machine back into the ’70s with jamboree-esque performance levels. Even with the last track “Wars of Armageddon” which is essentially a reworking and almost exact opposite comparison to “Maggot Brain’s” more tense building ideas. “Wars of Armageddon” adopts to be a faster, more animalistic ending to a seemingly calm and collected record.

From the Afrocentric cover art accompanied by Barbara Cheeseborough to the deadly allusion with a skull placed in the dirt on the back cover; Funkadelic sends a mutual message to the listener through approachable sound. No matter the age or time, Maggot Brain continues to break through as a reference piece.

Listen To Maggot Brain Here!!! – Spotify/Amazon/iTunes