Funkadelic - Cosmic Slop

Cosmic Slop is one of the lesser Funkadelic releases, with only the title track ranking as one of their best, but thankfully the songs are all short. Not that their bad - but hearing any of these elongated too far would throw the album off-kilter. Funk in general, but especially that overseen by George Clinton in his prime, has the benefit of working as background music when it's not great. Funkadelic, too, is a very technically sound band, so it's never bad. It's just mediocre.

Funkadelic - Let's Take It to the Stage

As with most P-Funk, the band's unity is the star here, with each song being a vehicle for a groove, interlocking bass, guitar, keyboard and chants. Following the deliciously filthy Standing on the Verge of Getting it On, this album continues in the vein of that album's party aesthetic, with less extended psychedelic jamming a-la Funkadelic. It's not the most uniformly strong Funkadelic record: "Baby I Owe You Something Good" is an interminable ballad, notable because it's the second longest song on the album. The longest, "Atmosphere" features some great organ-driven work, especially for a band whose guitars take center stage for most of the album. The title track, "Better by the Pound" and "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" are absolute classics, though. The rest is passable fun. Special mention has to go to "No Head No Backstage Pass," which finds the id and just runs with it.