Urban Dancefloor Guerillas (1983)

(P-Funk All Stars)

Track Listing:

Generator Pop {G Clinton, Garry Shider, David Spradley}  4:58
Acupuncture {DeWayne McKnight, G Clinton, Walter Walters}  4:20
One Of Those Summers {G Clinton, Walter Morrison}  4:35
Catch A Keeper {G Clinton, Donnie Sterling, Sylvester Stewart}  5:46
Pumpin' It Up {Bob Bishop, G Shider, G Clinton, Ron Ford}  6:59
Copy Cat {D Spradley, LaShawn Clinton, G Shider}  5:11
Hydraulic Pump {G Clinton, S Stewart, Jimmy Giles, R Ford}  6:40
Pumpin' It Up (Reprise)  :18

Personnel:

 "Generator Pop"
Producers: George Clinton, Garry Shider
Arranger: David Spradley
Drums: Jerry Jones
Keyboards: David Lee Chong
Guitar: Gary Shider
Vocals: Gary Shider, Robert Johnson, Eddie Hazel, Mallia Franklin, 
 Jeannette McGruder, Lynn Mabry, Michael "Clip" Payne

 "Acupuncture"
Producer: George Clinton
All Arrangements & Instruments: DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight
Sax: Norma Jean Bell

 "One Of Those Summers"
Producers: George Clinton, Junie Morrison
Arrangements: Junie Morrison
All Instruments: Junie Morrison
Horns Arranged and Performed By: Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker,       
 Richard Griffith, Larry Hatcher
Vocals: George Clinton, Junie Morrison, Janice Evans, Shirley Hayden, 
 Sheila Horne, Mallia Franklin, Jeannette McGruder, 
 and featuring Rev. Uriah from Planet Hughboyington

 "Catch A Keeper"
Producers: George Clinton, Sly Stone
Arrangements: Sly Stone
Guitar: Tony Thomas
Bass: Donny Sterling
Keyboards: David Lee Chong
Drums: Dean Ragland
Electric Drums: Maruga Booker
Vocals: Dawn Silva, Sheila Horne, Jeannette McGruder, Michael "Clip" Payne,
 George Clinton, Sly Stone

 "Pumpin' It Up"
Producers: George Clinton, Gary Shider
Drums: Kenny Colton
Guitar: Eddie Hazel, Gary Shider
Bass: Eddie Hazel
Bass Synth: David Lee Chong
Keyboards: David Lee Chong
Vocals: George Clinton, Gary Shider, Robert Johnson, Gary Cooper, 
 Ron Ford, Michael "Clip" Payne

 "Copy Cat"
Producers: George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Gary Shider
Horn Arrangements: Horny Horns, Baltimore Connection
Guitars: Eddie Hazel, Gary Shider, Bootsy Collins, Michael Hampton
Bass Synth & Keyboards: David Lee Chong
Drums: Gary Cooper
Horns: Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, Greg Thomas, Greg Boyer, Bennie Cowan
Vocals: Robert Johnson, Mallia Franklin, Bootsy Collins, Debbie Wright, 
 Darryl Clinton, Rev. Uriah Boyington, Gary Shider, Linda Shider, 
 George Clinton, Gary Cooper, Michael "Clip" Payne
 Meows: Bone, Gary, P-Nut, Sheba, Tom & Pussy

 "Hydraulic Pump"
Producers: 'George Stone and Sly Clinton'
Guitar: Tony Thomas
Bass: Jimmy Giles
Drums: Dean Ragland
Keyboards: David Lee Chong, Sly Stone, Roger Dollarhide
Organ & Synth: Sly Stone, Roger Dollarhide
Vocals: Jimmy Giles, George Clinton, Sly Stone, Norma Jean Jenkins, 
 Bobby Womack, Phillip Wynne, Ron Ford, Mallia Franklin

Rating: GZ: **** RC: **** MM: ****

RC: The P-Funk All Stars album is better than several Parliament albums. After assorted financial and legal hassles, Clinton and P.Funk got themselves together to produce a superb album and tour. While keyboards dominate most of the tunes, they're counterbalanced by great drumming, clever songwriting, excellent singing and stinging guitar riffs. 'All-Stars' is an accurate label, because almost every song has a different lineup and a different feel. But they're all done by P.Funkers, and this leads to only minor variations in feel. This is a dance album with bite, unconstrained by any particular gimmick that weighed down Parliament at the end.

"Generator Pop" is a David Spradley-dominated tune, with his funky keyboards making it a great dance number. George & Garry Shider handle the vocals, with Garry chiming in with some nice rhythm guitar. "Acupuncture" features Blackbyrd McKnight on all instruments, and he proves his virtuosity on drums & bass as well as guitar, with some great drum kicks and a bass solo. The song cleverly compares acupuncture with being stung by love. Norma Jean Bell's sax holds up the high end while George sings solo. "One Of Those Summers" would sound like a sappy ballad if Junie wasn't handling all of the instrumentation. He gives it a lightness that balances against the shoo-wopping of the vocals and their sentimentality. Junie's voice is also in top form. "Catch A Keeper" is a brilliant Clinton/Stone dance tune, featuring vocals from assorted members of the Brides and Parlet, with a driving funky keyboard riff from David Spradley. "Pumpin' It Up" is one of P.Funk's greatest dance tunes, driven by David Spradley and Eddie Hazel. The intro bass synth line matched against a funky guitar riff is a perfect hook. It's lyrically just as addicting, with the 'I got one more fun in my k, I got one more hump in my back' lines, as well as the title chant. "Copy Cat" is a sequel to "Atomic Dog" that cleverly digs at all those who stole the P.Funk. It's a wild Bootsy-George collaboration with horn riffs, meows, Eddie and Michael H trading licks, and great lyrical ideas, like 'catnip--not to be confused with catnap, catsup--not to be confused with the latest sauce'. "Hydraulic Pump" is another Sly Stone/Clinton song, the version on this album being much shorter than the original 12" single. As a result, the track, while very funky, sounds a bit odd. It features great horn and guitar solos built around a solid keyboard foundation.

"Generator Pop" and "Hydraulic Pump" were originally released much earlier on a small label called Hump Records, due to assorted contract disputes between Clinton and Westbound. It eventually ended up on CBS, who ended up screwing Clinton & Co. Because the longer versions of "Pop" and "Pump" are so damned good, I would recommend finding Westbounds's Hydraulic Funk CD, which contains everything mentioned above plus the the 12" cuts. Guerillas is still in print on CD.

MM: Urban Dancefloor Guerillas is good. "Pumpin' It Up" is a great dance track. Mostly winners here.