Quotable:
“one of the best funk albums ever released” – Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Album Tracks:
One Nation Under a Groove
Groovallegiance
Who Says a Funk Bank Can’t Play Rock?!
Promentalshitbackwash- psychosis Enema Squad (The Doo Doo Chasers)
Into You
Cholly (Funk Gettin’ Ready to Roll)
Lunchmeataphobia (Think! It Ain’t Illegal Yet) *
P.E. Squad/ Doo Doo Chasers *
Maggot Brain (live) *
* See notes.
Sales:
1 million
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1 million
Peak:
16
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Singles/Hit Songs:
One Nation Under a Groove (8/19/78) #28 US, #9 UK, #1 RB. Gold single.
Cholly (Funk Gettin’ Ready to Roll) (2/10/79) #43 RB
Notes: “The original LP included a three-song bonus EP featuring the heavy riff rock of Lunchmeataphobia, an unnecessary instrumental version of P.E. Squad, and a live Maggot Brain; these tracks were appended to the CD reissue” (Huey). The original version of “Maggot Brain” appeared on the 1971 album of the same name.
Awards:
One Nation Under a Groove
Funkadelic
Review:
“One Nation Under a Groove was not only Funkadelic’s greatest moment, it was their most popular album, bringing them an unprecedented commercial breakthrough by going platinum” (Huey). “More than that, though, the whole album is full of fuzzed-out, Hendrix-style guitar licks, even when the music is clearly meant for the dancefloor. This may not have been a new concept for Funkadelic, but it’s executed here with the greatest clarity and accessibility in their catalog” (Huey).
Who Says a Funk Band Can’t Play Rock?! is “the band's long-time statement of purpose” (Tyrangiel/ Light), “a seamless hybrid that perfectly encapsulates the band's musical agenda” (Huey). “For years, George Clinton had been wheeling and dealing his musicians into different configurations, mostly as a way to outwit the record companies. Parliament was the dance band; Funkadelic was the home for guitar-frenzy acid-rock freak-outs. On One Nation, he brought the sides together for a crazy electro-jam dance party” (Tyrangiel/ Light).
“Out of George Clinton's many conceptual albums (serious and otherwise), One Nation Under a Groove is the pinnacle of his political consciousness. It’s unified by a refusal to acknowledge boundaries — social, sexual, or musical — and, by extension, the uptight society that created them. The tone is positive, not militant — this funk is about community, freedom, and independence, and you can hear it in every cut (even the bizarre, outrageously scatological P.E. Squad)” (Huey).
“The title track is an African-inflected booty-shaking philosophical anthem” (Tyrangiel/ Light) and “one of funk’s greatest anthems” (Huey). “Groovallegiance and the terrific Cholly both dovetail nicely with its concerns…while Into You is one of their few truly successful slow numbers” (Huey) as it “manages to be both romantic and patriotic” (Tyrangiel/ Light). “As for Lunchmeataphobia, its subtitle is more relevant now than ever – ‘Think! It Ain’t Illegal Yet!’” (Tyrangiel/ Light).
One Nation Under a Groove “was a landmark LP for the so-called ‘black rock’ movement” (Huey), “the best realization of Funkadelic's ambitions, and one of the best funk albums ever released” (Huey).
1 million
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1 million
