Mothership Connection

I was not ready for these levels of Funk. My Funkometer EXPLODED and I got Funk particles (Funkocules) all over my room.

This album! I think a person either has to be not into funk music at all or just dull as dishwater to not like this album. It is 38 and a half minutes of pure fun from start to finish. Blasting this in the car yesterday turned a normally frustrating traffic-filled drive into a joyous trip where the usual bad drivers around me couldn't even remotely get under my skin. THAT is the power of funk!

A story problem: If a Parliament record averages 100bpm, and has a runtime of 38 minutes, how many involuntary head bobs will the listener experience? (The answer is 7600, because you'll listen to the whole thing twice). My personal enjoyment: 4.5/5 Did it belong on this list: 5/5

Funk just does something to me that no other genre can do. 15 seconds in and my erection was bursting out of my shorts. 2 minutes in and I was wanking at such a rate that I thought I was going to catch fire. By the end of the album I was broken, crying with happiness, exhausted, delirious and totally overwhelmed. 5 stars and a raging boner for this one. Amen brother!

Incredible album. It feels like the music is unfolding in real time not necessarily as a live show, but as an all encompassing experience. George Clinton's futuristic vision is pervasive and engaging. The personnel on this album are the very best at what they do. This might be the definitive funk album.

George Clinton makes a type of funk that is explicitly a character of the genre. It is exaggerated compared to the likes of Curtis Mayfield and Sly & The Family Stone. Parliament brings phatter beats, wonkier bass, and an explosive personality to the vocals. It's so good! Of course, we have to pay respect to Bootsy Collins in the band for bringing awesome bass skills to this funk. This carries over from his significant work with James Brown, making for a truly funky sound. Also worth noting Bernie Worrell's work on the synthesizers, who would go on to work with the Talking Heads on Speaking in Tongues and live album Stop Making Sense. Clearly, a star-studded lineup coming together brought together to just record some fun songs. And they are great! Okay that's it. Go listen :)

Extraordinary, extraterrestrial, talented musicians (the drums are particularly superb) play toe-tapping funk jams with a unique style and swagger. Ingenious.

If you’re not rating this 5 stars…what are you even doing with your life?

Fun, fun, fun (or should I say funk, funk, funk?). The only track I disliked was "Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples" because there was some weird deep warbling synthesizer sound that was making my stomach twist. Aside from that, this was just freakin' fun to listen to, particularly Mothership Connection (Star Child), which I've heard sampled a ton ("Swing down sweet chariot, stop, let me ride"), and of course Give Up the Funk which is an awesome classic. Favorite line of the album: "Can you imagine Doobie in your funk?"

Now, this is more like it. Stuff like this is the reason I started this. Never head of the band, never really listened to much in the genre and it's certainly not what I'd ever have picked out to listen to. Absolutely loved it. From the opening bars this was just great to listen to. It's opened up a whole back catalogue to me - perfect. Obvious 5 stars. First one yet.

i am positively blown away! i wish i could have experienced how groundbreaking this album was in 1975. this album takes you on a delightful journey, starting with introductions in "p-funk". i can't get over how many genres and instruments they crammed into seven songs. the amount of fun contained in this album... i just had so much fun listening, and i listened to this album a lot today. i can't wait to listen to it again. let us also take a moment to appreciate this absolutely funkadelic album cover. it is so seventies but i don't care. love those platform wedges.

Funktastic voyage for sure. I now get why George Clinton is an oft-cited musical influence. I can hear everything from the Commodores to Bruno Mars in this album. A little too decadent at times but some cool stuff. I found myself laughing at the storyline and personas within P-Funk (like listening to the Ladies Man narrate a song). Sometimes that got annoying later in the album. The underlying beats on both Mothership Connection and Unfunky UFO were super cool. Sometimes it felt like the album blended together too much, but I wonder if he/they were going for seamless.

I really dislike funk but parliament are undeniably good at making it. It’s repetitive and there’s all this chat in the songs. It’s a great example of a classic from my second least favourite genre. I danced a bit during the first track, despite myself.

Now this is the definition of funk. If you're not movin' and groovin' to this album, your pulse should be checked. Apparently based on Geoge Clinton's vision of the future where black astronauts interact with alien worlds. The names of some of these songs alone make this album great: "Supergroovalisticprosifunstication", " Night of the Thumpasorous Peoples." The Library of Congress added this album to the National Recording Registry for its enormous influence on jazz, rock and dance music. Just in the short time that I've been doing this 1001 challenge, I've heard the influence of Parliament and particularly this album in every hip-hop/rap album that I've listened to. Not only there, a few of these songs reminded me of the late 70's/early 80's Talking Heads. Not to mention the soon-to-be disco era. I'm sure I'll hear it in other areas as I go along. For me, it's Bootsy Collin's bass which really lays the groovy and funky foundation for Parliament songs. But, there is a lot more going here on with horns, keyboards, synthesizers, multiple singers and psychedelic, jazzy-sounding guitars. Of particular note, are the synthesizers/keyboards which add weird sounds, noises and a backdrop which definitely solidifies the whole outer space album concept. Not a bad song here. 7 altogether. To me, some of them stray into jam band territory with their extended jams. The album also has their most recognizable song "Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)." This was a lot of fun.

Incredible. Very rarely can an album be all over the place yet thematically consistent. As for this listener, whether one pays attention or not, Mothership Connection and its tractor-beam appeal invokes the sort of positive indifference that may in fact resemble a perfect album. Fun, energetic, yet brilliantly executed, there is just something about this record that balances tongue-in-cheek silliness along with intelligent blink-and-you-miss-it profundities.

Yes a great album. Fun. Skillfully played. Non pretentious. Relentlessly groovy. There's just not a single misstep. Totally cool album. 5 stars

That was the perfect amount of funk

Mothership Connection forces me to examine what it is to be locked in a groove. This is a party record that has guests nervously looking at each other as they dance, each wondering if they're still on the same song, and if that song is ever going to stop. There's a lot of laughter, a tremendous bowl of punch, and gallons of helium going around, but there's this hovering fear that these garrulous hosts have locked the front door, and you can't help but notice that the chairs have been taken away, and new hosts keep entering from hidden entrances, usually with a bizarre keyboard or brass instrument. That it manages to contain seven endless songs in just over 40 minutes is sorcery, or induced hallucination. Colossal rhythms and hypnotic melodic repetition disguise the fact that much, maybe most of each track's tracks are populated by odd voices and instruments music worthy of a residency at your local chin-stroking freak jazz parlour. When the voices sing yeah yeah yeah, they give me the feeling they're telling us they're not listening to whatever we have to say. Yeah yeah yeah, not leaving this groove, mate. This review may have been influenced by my watching our newly toddling do repeated circuits of our home's ground floor for most of the first runtime. Simon, I can send you the video. I'm exhausted - goodnight!

It's George Clinton introducing Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley, and it oozes cool. On this album you'll learn that we want the funk, it's gotta be that p funk and if you give the people what they want when they want they'll want it all the time. Clinton is such a cornerstone of this music scene this has got 5 stars for that alone.

https://youtu.be/ccvB00h6EnI

классика фанка, отличный альбом.

Shut the funk up

Hard to be in a bad mood listening to this absolute funk masterpiece.

Too many classics and famous samples galore.

I think this is the most fun album that I've gotten on here. I don't even have a ton to say about it, but it's just 40 minutes of ridiculousness and fun funk music. Right from the beginning you get this goofy outer space radio intro thing, and then they kind of keep up with this concept throughout. I guess these guys were part of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective that released a bunch of albums over the years. The driving force seems to be the lead guy George Clinton, who sang a few songs on here and produced the album. There's just so much to like here. "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" gives us the line "If you hear any noise / it's just me and the boys" that inspired the famous Dave Parker Pirates t-shirt, and "Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker" is an iconic beat. The beats are good, it doesn't feel like it drags on at all, it influenced a bunch of later stuff, just an awesome album. Funk music can be a bit of an odd one on here because it just feels like it represents such a distinct moment in time, but this one really feels iconic and fun and a bit timeless in what it's trying to do. I didn't really expect to have a 5-star funk album, but this one deserves it for sure. Favorite song: Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker) Other: P-Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up), Mothership Connection (Star Child), Unfunky UFO, Handcuffs 1/18/25

A sonic vision of a better intergalactic world with the Afrofuturism vibe. Such a fun album. Sci-fi sounding funk is something I always forget I need. It oozes cool, was groundbreaking, and musically tight as fuck. You can see its influences throughout the decades following. Love the voiceovers, the synth, the baselines, the guitar funk riffs. It's fun to listen to, sounds fun to have made, is sexy, is cool. Fits a bunch of different moods. It just has so many of funk's features and does them all so well across the songs. Wouldn't say funk is a core genre of mine but this is a brilliant album.

Pure P-Funk Power. Kick back and digg. Thanks Lollipop Man.

Day 4: This album was amazing, I thought I was being too harsh with previous reviews but, an album or genre will just click. This deserves every right to be in must hear albums.

A few weeks ago, I heard Funkadelic’s “One Nation Under a Groove” and thought it was one of the best parties captured on record. It turns out that George Clinton wasn’t even matching his own efforts from three years earlier. “Mothership Connection” is a rip-roaring, all-singing, all-dancing and by all accounts seminal album in the evolution of funk. I’m ashamed of not having heard it until now, but I’m making up for lost time by repeating it again… and again. The best party tracks are the most famous: “P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)” and “Give Up The Funk” are both so impeccably put together. I’d heard much of the music across the record sampled in Dr Dre’s “The Chronic” (where they were the highlights) so it was a great experience hearing them all in full. The sci-fi overtones are brought in throughout as a campy way without ever feeling trite or forced. There’s just the right amount of synth lines in the mix without letting it feel too dated or kitsch, and the rest is just pure horny goodness… In “Unfunky UFO”, the band channel Sky and the Family Stone with a slightly harder-edged riff, and a delectable “yeah yeah yeah” refrain beaming its way down the minor scale. “Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples” closes on an amazing nonsense singalong refrain. Even “Handcuffs”, bearing perhaps the most questionable lyrical content, has a killer accompaniment which it’s near-impossible not to enjoy. If you aren’t bopping along, you’ve been funked all the way into a black hole. It’s early days but each time I’ve listened to this album, it’s been impossible not to be grinning away, with the sense of experiencing a true classic.

Always been a huge fan of Give Up the Funk, what an epic TUNE! So nice to hear the whole album, it's wall to wall bangers. Really enjoyed listening today! I'm sure this album had a huge influence on a few different areas of music, I could hear this in a lot of dance music. It's such good vibes. I love that they were trying to shock people by "putting Black people in outer space" it's a great statement but sad that this was considered shocking at the time.

We want the funk. Give up the funk. Best track: Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)

Funkalicious grooves from the mothership, baby!

I funking love this one. I saw these guys in the 90's with a gigantic mothership on stage. What a great show! This is a fun album that no doubt influenced later Westcoast hip hop. It doesn't get funkier than this, unless you're talking about another Parliament, or Funkadelic album. I saw a recent documentary about this group, and I lost a lot of respect for George Clinton. He's basically a big piece of shit, and he screwed all these great musicians out of money. Crack is wack. I give this a funky 4.

This album got me FUNKED UP!

Grew on me after 2 listens 7.5/10

TIL Jemaine Clement var en ung mand med sprød stemme i 1975. Det her album er en objektiv banger. Super funky!

Thoughts before listening: I don't know what's on this album but I'm sure it's great. I know this is one of Parliament's most celebrated records so I'm excited to listen. Review: Yep...this is awesome. This is the definition of funk music (as they remind you over and over again) and a lot of it is very recognizable since its been sampled so many times in hip hop songs. Mothership Connection and Give Up the Funk are the best songs, but I enjoyed the whole album. Some of the talking was annoying and there is definitely a lot of repetition to the songs, but this is still a fantastic record.

Amazing funk album. The space theme really suits George Clinton's music. Not a single boring moment throughout the thing except maybe the skit parts. Also album cover is great

Kalle: 1. Paska joo vittu meta biisi 2. Damn töi loppuosa tää alkaa olla iha decent 3. Vktuttaa ei enää vktuta tää genre En jaksa rate jokainen biisi mutta toi Night of the thumpasorus peoples hauska toi lead instrumentti 3:14 miten sitä voi seurata ilman seuraamatta mitään muuta, koska se kaikkimmuu on soinut kokoajan samana The Bumps Bump siisti moni instrumenttinen alku Handcuffs Best lyrics

It is the embodiment of a party and a good time. I was very amused to learn that the motif of aliens coming to Earth to bring up the funk dates so far back. A lot of 'danceable' tracks.

This was too funky for me. I suspect it is objectively too funky. I almost didn’t have a good time.

I mean it is funky, no false advertisement here.

Groovy

Nr. 134/1001 P-Funk 4/5 Mothership Connection 3/5 Unfunky UFO 3/5 Supergroovealistic 3/5 Handcuffs 4/5 Give Up The Funk 3/5 Night of the Thumpu 3/5 Average: 3,29 Funky and soulful record. For me more background music, than something I would actively listen.

Can't say I'm a fan, but sometimes you can't deny the funk. It's upbeat, fun and infectious, so why not?

Yeah, it had some cool songs on it. Was over very quickly.

Best Songs: (The whole thing's a groove) Listen Again: Probably

Cool, catchy funk to start the week. Good listen, ended sooner than I expected.

Another one I'd never get around to listening to if it weren't for this website. Really enjoyable when it was on, managed to get a lot of work done! Not sure I'd choose to listen again, but it's good I can identify some Dr Dre samples from their origins. Creative and fun if not particularly indelible.

Funky but very repetitive. Not my style of music.

Like a bit of 70's funk and soul, this one with its concept of aliens and outer space was a bit different. Really enjoyed this music, so evocative of the era

Funky, soulful, and just a pure blast to listen to. I don't really have much to rate as this normally isn't my favorite style of music, but anytime I can hear the hook to "Let Me Ride" is another good day.

yea it's p groovy

I had never even heard of Parliament before this, and I'm so glad it was recommended! Fantastic, lively, feel-good, amazing inventive lyrics. Impossible not to bop to.

Extraterrestrial brothers, dealers of funky music. What else is there to say??

Yoooo this album goes HARD. Maybe the most fun I have ever had listening to music. From the opening track, it is just so COOL. Great funk basslines obviously, lot of mud, a little wah, vocal talent that stands on its own and good chorus unison/octave work. Makes me want to listen to more funk. And all of this before I realized this was the album with Give Up the Funk! The power of great vocal hooks and great riffs.

gosh where do i even start. this album is absolute heat i love it. funk is just too good to be honest and this album is very funky. first time i’ve listned to it and i can proudly say it gets 5 BIG BOOMSSSS.

Wow! Super fun and definitely would have this playing in the house cooking or hanging out as fun background music. Also good if I found this vinyl, good guest music.

Loved! So fun.

We were so close in 1975. We were right there. We are Orpheus and we had gone to hell and rescued our true love and were on the cusp of stepping out into the sunshine with her by our side. All people - no matter their race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, nationality - were all slowly and tentatively walking up the steps of the mothership, getting ready to join an intergalactic rainbow coalition of peace, love, fun and funk. Parliament-Funkadelic were leaving us musical breadcrumbs leading us up to Nirvana. A future where everyone had enough and lived with all their brothers and sisters in harmony. We were RIGHT THERE!!!! And then we lost faith, started to fear and doubt, and turned back to look and make sure Eurydice was still there. Then the CIA pumped crack into our communities and we elected Reagan and started watching “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”. And now we’re here. Make my funk the p-funk. I want to get funked up.

heard this before p funk japan yeah!

Looooove it already new a song and I'm thrilled this was recommended

V fun! Great introduction to funk which i haven’t heard much of.

The funk is within me. Everything here is so tight. The basslines, the drumming, the horns, the synths. Everything works together. Incredible stuff.

I am all for everything this album has going on (except Handcuffs, that song kinda sucked). The imagination, the coined slang, the call and response.

Oooh, another delightful discovery courtesy of this project. A playful, fun concept album with excellent beats - no boredom here!

It s funky and cheer you up!

The greatest funk album of all time!

I would have never guessed that I'm a fan of 70s funk, but this list gave me an inside into Parliament, Funkadelic, some Stevie Wonder records and many others which turned me into a believer. Mothership Connection is a great album, I had a great time listening to it and it easily becomes one of my favourite funk releases.

All-time classic

Pass me a cigarette.....I am spent !!

Solid funk album

T’was a bland and bleak existence. Then came the funk…

i love funk, i love parliment, i love this album, i love bootsy. this album is funny bc it is only 38 minutes long, but i know in real life, when George and the gang play live, EACH song is like 38 minutes long! lol. i wonder how the sudio guys got them to cut it short. maybe the producer just cut off the song after 5 minutes each lol. album makes me reflect on meditation, and the transcendental meditation theory of a repeating a syllable(s) to bring peace. Each song is lyrically simple, with just one or 2 repeated phrases, repeated over and over and over, like an Om. i feel it would not be out of funkadelic's wheelhouse to be attempting to bring a trance like state to themselves and audience.

Some of the best work on one record - Afrofuturism found. Hard to imagine more influential playing on another record.

Love it ! My first funk album

Pre-listening thoughts: you know, I’ll take anything over Slipknot yesterday but funk is very welcome today. Feel like this is going to be fire. Post/during listening thoughts: I didn’t realize this was only 7 songs! 😭 this is what I THOUGHT the funkadelic album was gonna sound like, but that was an idiot assumption on my behalf considering their name is literally a fusion of the words funk and psychedelic. I usually am against long songs but Jesus this is so fun. Every piece of this band is heard/balanced and in sync and playing with a really infectious energy. If this doesn’t get you dancing I’m not sure anything will. I have no choice but to give this a 9/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: yes this is 100% essential listening and a staple of its genre Fav tracks: everything but was lukewarm on the last track being the last track if that makes sense Least fav tracks: n/a

Funky

By 1975, funk had already made its mark, but Mothership Connection took it to the cosmos. George Clinton and Parliament didn’t just make an album—they built a world, one where groove was gospel, and the funk was a ticket to transcendence. Bootsy Collins’s bass bounces like it’s got its own gravitational pull, Bernie Worrell’s synths stretch reality, and the horn section punches through the mix with an almost military precision. Musically loose but perfectly in sync, Mothership Connection is a party, a sermon, and a revolution rolled into one. Standout tracks? No shortage of those. “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)” is anthemic funk at its purest—thunderous basslines, call-and-response vocals, and a groove that demands movement. “Mothership Connection (Star Child)” is pure Afrofuturist theater, Clinton fully stepping into his intergalactic alter ego, backed by Worrell’s swirling keyboards and some of the tightest horn arrangements in funk history. And then there’s “P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up),” where Parliament turns a laid-back groove into a hypnotic, slow-burning manifesto. It reshaped the very idea of what funk could be, blending Afrofuturism with funky beats and political commentary. Clinton and Parliament pushed the concept of “Star Child” as a mythical figure escaping to a better world through the transcendence of funk, making the album as much about the future as the music. This wasn’t just a record—it was an ideological shift. Its influence is everywhere. Dr. Dre built The Chronic on its DNA (just listen to “Let Me Ride”), OutKast’s ATLiens wouldn’t exist without its space-funk blueprint, and Prince absorbed its theatricality into his own purple kingdom. The Beastie Boys sampled it, Kendrick Lamar carries its spirit, and Janelle Monáe channels its Afrofuturist vision. Respected by your favorite artists, sampled by your favorite rappers, this is foundational.

Concentration of funk

So unbelievably cool. The band is so tight, the album flows perfectly. The songs are long and evolving without the album feeling drawn-out. So funky, I dig it.

I’m not usually into funk but top to bottom this album is so much fun

Tear the roof off the sucka

The world would be a better place if everyone listened to Parliament and felt the funk.

We should change St. George's day to December 15th to commemorate the day George Clinton brought us this album back in 1975. I wish my inner voice sounded like George Clinton. His speaking voice is as comforting as it is funky. This was great. Recognising the 2nd song as the sample from Dr. Dre's Let Me Ride was also fun. The instruments were so simple but were woven together masterfully and that bass guitar felt like a heart beat carrying me through each track. I started listening to it just before bed and thought I'd just check out the first song and finish the rest in the morning, but, once I started, I couldn't pause it. This thing is a masterpiece. Clearly I'm a big fan of albums with spaceship cover art. In summary, there isn't a single weak song on here. After one listen, it's already one of my favourite full albums of all time. Also shout out to Garry Shider. The vocals on Handcuffs are incredible.

Solid groove, more jazzy than I remembered, definitely cures migraines and arthritis

Straight bangers, Mothership connection, supergroovalisticprosifunkstacation and Night Of The Thumpasorus People are my favorites, but all of them are great

Didn't know what to expect but this was so much freaking fun. Lots of head bobbing. Funk isn't necessarily my thing but I can appreciate the music and how it works so well with all of the moving pieces, great piece of music

Starting with P-Funk, which is a classic that was already on my liked songs. Parliment has always been in my wheelhouse. Though I haven't gave this entire album a proper listen. So I'm gonna kick back and let my ear drums be soothed by funk. I love how tongue in cheek this band is, "Let me put on my sunglasses so I can see what I'm doing." Most of the lyrics are very about making love, but also playing funk, which go hand in hand I'm sure. I love the outlook of a horny alien coming to Earth to give us mortals a party and a good time. The samples in Mothership are sooo good. Let Me Ride by Dre and Regulate by Nate Dogg is where I first heard this sample of course. With Unfunky UFO I am reminded of The Mighty Boosh show about how George Clinton kicked the funk over the mothership and it landed at the bottom of a lake for Old Greg to find. Where is the funk today? Those keys were so impressive on The Bumps Bump song that I had to look up who it was. Of course it's a musical prodigy, Bernie Worrell. Who played with the Washington Symphony at age 10! Bootsy calls him the Jimi Hendrix of keyboards. I think I agree. He also did Talking Heads for Stop Making Sense! And Fela Kuti. I never knew, but now it makes sense. He used the minimoog keyboard for Parliament. Anything Moog from the 70s was gold. Speaking of he also used a gold wah wah. Alright went on a deep dive about the sounds and keyboards used by Bernie. Definitely adding him to my list of innovators. Well Handcuffs is a little problematic but this seems to be a theme from all these albums from the 70s. "I have to keep you barefoot and pregnant." Rules for you, but not for me mentality. God bless this song even says they don't care if they appear chauvinist. Just look at the lyrics. This album is just a party. Next up is the classic, "We want the funk, give up the funk." Overall this is a classic album, and now I am seeing that George Clinton and Pariament are coming to Ventura Music Hall. I might have to buy tickets, even though my wife is probably pissed about all the ones I've already bought.

All timer. Long live George Clinton

Awwww yeahhhh. What is there to say about this album? It’s an absolute classic, a behemoth of music history and culture, a stroke of crazy creative genius. Better enjoyed than talked about. 10/10

Did every late 90’s early 2000’s hip hop album sample from this album or what? My Gosh, did I miss the “ship” when it came to Parliament. This album is the shit. Not shit, THE shit. I got so caught up in the album that it finished and I just kept listening to whatever Spotify played next, thinking it was Parliament. I don’t know how one could not like this album but I’m sure there are hippies, country people and metal heads that will melt like the Wicked witch of the west when they hear it. Her problem was water, I know that. Choice cut: Mothership Connection

AW HELL YA FUNK!

essential funk! “we need the funk, we gotta have that funk”

sound super cool and funky. lyrics full of contextual mysticism and humour.

Oh, we are starting like this? P-Funk has to be one of the best opening tracks ever.

We are all connected to the mothership. A monument in funk, culture, and fun whose influence reaches far beyond the bounds of its own genres (looking at you Dr. Dre and every other sampler). It engages the listener the whole time and is one of the best showcases of P/F's true talent

Such a banger. One of the best on this list. No complaints, all vibes.

some of the best funk I’ve heard from this planet

funk it up