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| Funkadelic - Uncle Jam Wants You (1979) |
Released in 1979, Uncle Jam Wants You was Funkadelic's follow-up to their bestselling album One Nation Under A Groove from the year before, and their 11th release overall.
Subtitled Rescue Dance Music from the Blahs, Uncle Jam Wants You is a concept album whose loose theme is just that - Thrill Sergeant Dr. Funkenstein aka George Clinton's mission to revitalise dancefloors worldwide with his patented P-Funk.
The first two-thirds of the album is a mixture of funk, diso and rock. Best is Freak of the Week; the story of a "disco lovin' mama" with some really funky guitar from "The Funkadelic Rescue Dance Band: Axe Force". The 15-minute (not just) Knee Deep, famously sampled by De La Soul on Me Myself & I reprises Freak of the Week at the end.
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| Inner gatefold |
Later comes Holly Wants to go to California; a forgettable gospel-ish ballad with background party chatter, then final track Foot Soldiers; a pseudo-militaristic dance drill (the main instruction being "move it") with a nursery-rhyme synth line.
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| Rear cover |
Uncle Jam Wants You reached no.2 on the US R&B chart. Here's Freak of the Week:
