Parliament - Mothership Connection - 1975 - Vinyl Rip - 24/96 and 16/44.1 - Cassablanca - NBLP-7022 - Allen Zentz mastering

The addition of ex-JB's Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker to the Parliament roster on Mothership Connection elevated an already mind-blowing band into the best funk band of the '70s, arguably the best funk band ever. With these two funk veterans supplying the horns, Clinton had everything he could ask for in his already stellar group.
The opening song, "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)," harkened back to the opening title track from Parliament's previous album, Chocolate City, laying down a languid synth aura for a spoken-word intro. When "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" steps into second gear though, bringing in Bootsy's bass, Wesley's horn, Worrell's piano, and a chorus of vocalists, it's fairly evident just how large a step forward Mothership Connection is from the conventional R&B roots of Chocolate City and Up for the Down Stroke.
The second song, "Mothership Connection (Star Child)," makes the differentiation glaringly evident, most noticeably when the song enters the cosmic, proto-hip-hop "swing down sweet chariot" bridge with its accompanying melody from beyond.
The funk doesn't stop there though, with the remaining five songs keeping the tempo laden with dense interweaving rhythms, peaking on "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)."
In the end, there's no questioning this album's impact, one that is still being felt via rap-induced aftershocks. In addition to its contemporary impact and continued longevity, the album was a massive success for Clinton and company upon its release in 1975, elevating the P-Funk collective to unparalleled heights in terms of audience. Some Parliament albums may be flawless, and others may be innovative, but this is the P-Funk zenith in more ways than one, perfect as well as perennial.

Track listing
01 - P. Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)
02 - Mothership Connection (Star Child)
03 - Unfunky UFO
04 - Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication
05 - Handcuffs
06 - Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)
07 - Night Of The Thumpasorus Peoples

Produced and Conceived by George Clinton
All tunes published by Malbiz and Ricks Music, Inc., BMI

Band lineup
VOCALS:
George Clinton, Calvin Simon, Fuzzy Haskins, Raymond Davis,
Grady Thomas, Gary Shider, Glen Goins, Bootsy Collins
MUSICIANS:
HORNS: Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, Michael Brecker,
Randy Brecker, Boom, Joe Farrell
BASS: Bootsy Collins, Cordell Mosson
GUITARS: Gary Shider, Michael Hampton, Glen Goins, Bootsy Collins
DRUMS & PERCUSSION: Tiki Fulwood, Jerome Brailey,
Bootsy Collins, Gary Cooper
KEYBOARDS & SYNTHESIZERS: Bernie Worrell
HORN ARRANGEMENTS: Fred Wesley, Bernie Worrell
RHYTHM ARRANGEMENTS: Bootsy Collins, George Clinton
EXTRATERRESTIAL VOICES & GOOD TIME HAND CLAPPERS: Gary Cooper,
Debbie Edwards, Taka Kahn, Archie Ivy, Bryna Chimenti,
Rasputin Boutte, Pam Vincent, Debra Wright and Sidney Barnes

P-FUNK LABS: United Sound, Detroit.Michigan
Hollywood Sound. Hollywood,Caliornia
STIRRERS & BLENDERS: Jim Vitti- Detrolt, Ralph (Oops) Jim Callow-Hollywood
MASTERED BY: Allen Zentz
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: David Alexander
ART DIRECTION & DESIGN BY: Gribbitt
MANAGEMANT: R.S.A. 3


SPECIAL THANKS: Cholly Bassoline, Ron Strassner, Robert Mittleman, Nick Byrne,
Screwie, Bob Bishop, Chris, Ina Meibach, Arron Schechter, & "Pencil" Epstain.

1975 Casablanca Records, Inc.


Recording Procedure
Recorded using a Linn Sondek LP12 turntable,
Origin Live power supply,
Linn Ittok LVII tonearm,
Goldring 1042 MM Cartridge,
into Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 Special Edition Phono Stage
Chord Cobra 3 Interconnect
to Edirol R-09HR @ 24bit / 96kHz wav
Click Repair wav reverse - Declick 10
wavelab5 for track splitting
Adobe Audition 3.0 for manual click removal > flac

Flac Frontend > wav
iZotope RX advanced 1.21 for resampling and dithering to 16bit / 44.1kHz
Flac Frontend - align on sector boundaries > flac



I bought this in a bargain bin around '79-'80 along with Clones of Dr. Funkenstein (coming up next ;) )