July
20th marks the 45th anniversary of the release of Parliament’s fifth
album (their fourth with Casablanca Records), The Clones of Dr.
Funkenstein, which was issued this day in 1976.
The album is the
2nd in a series of releases which built out the “Funkenstein” mythology
that was begun on the previous album, Mothership Connection, and would
continue through the remainder of Parliament’s output up until 1980’s
Trombipulation. These albums would lay out the epic tales of space funk
and the battles of Starchild to bring the groove to the groove-less,
thwarting the unfunky machinations of the dastardly Sir Nose'd
D'Voidoffunk! They represent the P-Funk gang at the peak of their
powers during the heyday of the ’70s, when massive funk bands roamed the
land like great prehistoric beasts.
The album’s creative core
consisted of George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Garry
Shider & former James Brown horn man, Fred Wesley, handling the
brass arrangements. Together, they fashioned some of the great funk
albums of the era and the P-Funk axis. They were firing on all
cylinders at this point and were benefiting from the financial support
of their label, which sought to put the same kind of epic showmanship
into them as had proved so successful with label mates KISS. You can
see the influence in terms of the elaborate costuming and makeup on the
cover and the massive stage show they’d been touring with, complete with
an actual spaceship for George Clinton to emerge from during the intro
to their sets. These were the glory days of the record industry when
money seemed to be no object and the sky was literally the limit!
