Mothership Connection

Mothership Connection
Studio album by Parliament
Released December 15, 1975
Recorded March–October 1975 [1]
Studio United Sound, Detroit, Michigan, and Hollywood Sound, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length 38:06
Label Casablanca
NBLP 7022
Producer George Clinton
Parliament chronology
Chocolate City
(1975)Chocolate City1975		 Mothership Connection
(1975)		 The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein
(1976)The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein1976

Mothership Connection is the fourth album by American funk band Parliament, released on December 15, 1975 on Casablanca Records. This concept album of P-Funk mythology is usually rated as one of Parliament's best. Mothership Connection was the first P-Funk album to feature Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley, who had left The J.B.'s, James Brown's backing band. Mothership Connection became Parliament's first album to be certified gold and later platinum.[4] The Library of Congress added the album to the National Recording Registry in 2011, declaring "[t]he album has had an enormous influence on jazz, rock and dance music."[5]

History

Describing the album, George Clinton said "We had put black people in situations nobody ever thought they would be in, like the White House. I figured another place you wouldn't think black people would be was in outer space. I was a big fan of Star Trek, so we did a thing with a pimp sitting in a spaceship shaped like a Cadillac, and we did all these James Brown-type grooves, but with street talk and ghetto slang."[6]

Dr. Dre sampled the songs "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" and "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" on his album The Chronic.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Billboard(favorable)[7]
Blender[8]
Robert ChristgauA−[9]
Pitchfork Media(8.5/10)[10]
PopMatters(favorable)[11]
Rolling Stone(favorable) 1976[12]
Rolling Stone 2004[13]
Spin(10/10)[14]
Sputnikmusic[15]

On release, Rolling Stone gave the album 5 stars, whilst describing it as a "parody of modern funk,"[12] and critic Robert Christgau awarded the record an A- rating.[9]

Retrospectively, it gained high regard, being named TV network VH1's 55th greatest album of all time, and #276 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Vibe listed Mothership Connection in their "Essential Black Rock Recordings" list, and it was included in the 2005 book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Rolling Stone's 2003 review again gave the record 5 stars out of 5 - "The masterpiece, the slang creator, the icon builder, the master narrative--or 'the bomb,' as Clinton succinctly put it before anyone else."

Track listing

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)"George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell7:41
2."Mothership Connection (Star Child)"Clinton, Collins, Worrell6:13
3."Unfunky UFO"Clinton, Collins, Garry Shider4:23
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication"Clinton, Collins, Shider, Worrell5:03
5."Handcuffs"Clinton, Glenn Goins, Janet McLaughlin4:02
6."Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)"Jerome Brailey, Clinton, Collins5:46
7."Night of the Thumpasorus Peoples"Clinton, Collins, Shider5:10
2003 CD remaster bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Star Child (Mothership Connection)" (Promo Radio Version)Clinton, Collins, Worrell3:08

Personnel

Production
  • Produced by George Clinton
  • Engineered by Jim Vitti (in Detroit, Michigan), Ralph (Oops) Jim Callow (in Hollywood, California)
  • Mastered br Allen Zentz
  • Photography by David Alexander
  • Art Direction and Design by Gribbitt!

Chart positions

Chart (1976) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[16] 13
US R&B Albums[16] 4

Certification

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Singles released

  • P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)-NB 852
  • Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)-NB-856
  • Star Child-NB 864

References

  1. 1 2 "Parliament's 1975 LP Mothership Connection revisited with Bernard Worrell". Soulculture.com. Retrieved 2015-02-24.
  2. 1 2 Birchmeier, Jason. Mothership Connection at AllMusic
  3. ↑ Robins, Wayne (2016). A Brief History of Rock, Off the Record. Routledge. p. 286. ISBN 978-0-415-97472-1.
  4. ↑ "American album certifications – Parliament". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  5. ↑ "Registry Choices 2010: The National Recording Preservation Board (Library of Congress)". Loc.gov. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  6. ↑ Niesel, Jeff (2013-06-26). "Cleveland - Music - Turn This Mutha Out". Clevescene.com. Archived from the original on 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  7. ↑ "Review: ''Mothership Connection''". Superseventies.com. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  8. ↑ Review: Mothership Connection
  9. 1 2 "Consumer Guide: ''Mothership Connection''". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  10. ↑ Review: Mothership Connection Archived February 6, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ Bowden, Marshall. "Review: ''Mothership Connection''". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  12. 1 2 McEwen, Joe (March 25, 1976). "Mothership Connection | Album Reviews | Rolling Stone". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  13. ↑ Review: ''Mothership Connection''. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  14. ↑ "Review: ''Mothership Connection''". Acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  15. ↑ "Review: ''Mothership Connection''". Sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  16. 1 2 Mothership Connection at AllMusic
  17. ↑ "American album certifications – Parliament – Mothership Connection". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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