AWESOME
PiggyAlice | 11/17/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"THIS CD AND SPECIALLY THE SETLIST ARE PRETTY COOL. THE NEW SONGS (SPECIALLY BOUNCE & SOMETHING' ) ARE SO COOL AND OF COURSE THE CLASSICS (ATOMIC, FLASHLIGHT). AWESOME STUFF. GEORGE CLINTON IS (40 YEARS LATER) STILL ON THE FUNKIN' TOP. GENIUS."
P-Funk could do better.
guitar god | 10/05/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"What's Good: For the first time in a long time, Parliament/Funkadelic (a name used loosely in an era where many original members are few and far in between) offer a true, new live album from start to finish, not just rehashed material from the 70's with 90's material thrown in at the end a la "Live And Kickin'". The band starts off strong with the Parliament classic Bop Gun before moving onto a smokin' rendition of "Gamin' On Ya". Unfortunately, there aren't too many high points past this.
What's Bad: I haven't seen the band lineup myself, so I couldn't tell you who's present at this show, but I'm certain there's quite a few old members/mainstays who aren't on this one (where's Gary Shider? Just 2 horns?). Although the band starts out fairly strong, it doesn't hold up for too long. The groove is a little TOO laid back; "(Not Just) Knee Deep", a classic dancefloor romp, is a painfully slow snoozer here. "Up For The Downstroke" just sounds confused - did they not rehearse this one? Also, George Clinton himself can no longer sing worth a damn. My best guess is that his crack habit has long ruined his voice since the early 80's, and its at an all-time low here. I don't blame age; plenty of older folks can sing without sounding as tortured as this. GC, please lay off the pipe, get in shape and give your fans their money's worth. My biggest problem with P-Funk in their latest incarnation is the fusion of funk and hip-hop. I'm a bit of a purist, I love funk as well as rock/metal, jazz, fusion, prog, etc. To me, its insulting and irrelevant; just think what classics they could have put in the show (Standing on the Verge? One Nation Under a Groove?!) instead of the hip-hop numbers or Belita Woods' spotlight-stealing jazzy time-wasters. Zzzzzzzz.
Regardless, this is P-Funk live in 2004, the sound quality is good, the crowd is great, and any P-Funk is essentially better than none at all. My recommendation is to get this in conjunction with the hands-down best live funk mob output, recorded in 1983 - "P-Funk All-Stars Live At The Beverly Theatre in Hollywood"."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1