- Mothership Connection
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Mothership Connection 
Studio album by Parliament Released December 15, 1975 Recorded 1975 Genre Funk Length 38:06 Label Casablanca
NBLP 7022Producer George Clinton Parliament chronology Chocolate City
(1975)Mothership Connection
(1975)The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein
(1976)Mothership Connection is the fourth album by American funk band Parliament, released on December 15, 1975 on Casablanca Records. This concept album of P Funk mythology is usually rated as one of Parliament's best. Mothership Connection was the first P-funk album to feature Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley, who had left The J.B.'s, James Brown's backing band. "Mothership Connection" became Parliament's first album to be certified gold and later platinum.[1]
Contents
Themes
The Mothership Connection also reappropriates the image of the slave ship, transforming it into a spaceship.[2] The Mothership Connection draws on the imagery linking Black people and space travel pioneered by Sun Ra and that is important for Afrofuturism.
History
Describing the album, George Clinton said "We had put black people in situations nobody ever thought they would be in, like the White House. I figured another place you wouldn't think black people would be was in outer space. I was a big fan of Star Trek, so we did a thing with a pimp sitting in a spaceship shaped like a Cadillac, and we did all these James Brown-type grooves, but with street talk and ghetto slang."[3]
Dr. Dre prominently sampled the songs "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" and "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" on his album The Chronic.
Reception
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic 
[4]Billboard (favorable)[5] Blender [6]Robert Christgau (A-)[7] Pitchfork Media (8.5/10)[8] PopMatters (favorable)[9] Rolling Stone (favorable) 1976[10] Rolling Stone 2004[11]Spin (10/10)[12] Sputnikmusic [13]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.In 2003 the TV network VH1 named Mothership Connection the 55th greatest album of all time.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 274 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Rolling Stone (5/1/03, p. 59) - 5 stars out of 5 - "The masterpiece, the slang creator, the icon builder, the master narrative--or 'the bomb,' as Clinton succinctly put it before anyone else."
Vibe (2/02, p. 87) - Included in Vibe's "Essential Black Rock Recordings".
The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Track listing
No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" George Clinton, William Collins, Bernard Worrell 7:41 2. "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" Clinton, Collins, Worrell 6:13 3. "Unfunky UFO" Clinton, Collins, Garry Shider 4:23 4. "Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication" Clinton, Collins, Shider, Worrell 5:03 5. "Handcuffs" Clinton, Glen Goins, John McLaughlin 4:02 6. "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" Jerome Brailey, Clinton, Collins 5:46 7. "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples" Clinton, Collins, Shider 5:10 2003 CD remaster bonus track No. Title Writer(s) Length 8. "Star Child (Mothership Connection)" (Promo Radio Version) Clinton, Collins, Worrell 3:08 Personnel
Vocals, Handclaps
- George Clinton
- Calvin Simon
- Fuzzy Haskins
- Ray Davis
- Grady Thomas
- Garry Shider
- Glen Goins
- Bootsy Collins
- Gary Cooper
- Debbie Edwards
- Taka Kahn
- Archie Ivy
- Bryna Chimenti
- Rasputin Boutte
- Pam Vincent
- Debra Wright
- Sidney Barnes
Horns
- Fred Wesley
- Maceo Parker
- Michael Brecker
- Randy Brecker
- Boom
- Joe Farrell
- Garry Shider
- Michael Hampton
- Glen Goins
- Bootsy Collins
- Bootsy Collins
- Cordell Mosson
Drums and Percussion
- Tiki Fulwood
- Jerome Brailey
- Bootsy Collins
- Gary Cooper
Produced by George Clinton
Chart positions
Chart (1976) Peak
positionUS Billboard 200[14] 13 US R&B Albums[14] 4 Certification
Region Certification Sales/shipments United States (RIAA)[15] Platinum 1,000,000^ ^shipments figures based on certification alone
References
- ^ "American album certifications – Parliament". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=Parliament. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
- ^ Corbett, John. "Brothers From Another Planet." Extended Play: Sounding Off from John Cage to Dr. Funkenstein. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1994.
- ^ Cleveland - Music - Turn This Mutha Out
- ^ Birchmeier, Jason. Mothership Connection at Allmusic
- ^ Review: Mothership Connection
- ^ Review: Mothership Connection
- ^ Consumer Guide: Mothership Connection
- ^ Review: Mothership Connection
- ^ Review: Mothership Connection
- ^ McEwen, Joe (March 25, 1976). "Mothership Connection | Album Reviews | Rolling Stone". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/mothership-connection-19760325. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ Review: Mothership Connection
- ^ Review: Mothership Connection
- ^ Review: Mothership Connection
- ^ a b Mothership Connection at Allmusic
- ^ "American album certifications – Parliament – Mothership Connection". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?artist=%22Mothership+Connection%22. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
External links
Categories:- Albums certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
- Parliament albums
- 1975 albums
- Casablanca Records albums
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