Uncle Jam Wants You

Uncle Jam Wants You
Studio album by Funkadelic
Released September 21, 1979
Recorded 1978-1979
Genre Funk
Length 41:47
Label Warner Bros.
Producer George Clinton
Funkadelic chronology
One Nation Under a Groove
(1978)		 Uncle Jam Wants You
(1979)		 Connections & Disconnections
(1980)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[2]
Robert ChristgauB+[3]
Rolling Stonefavorable (1979)[4]
(2004)[5]

Uncle Jam Wants You is the eleventh studio album by American funk band Funkadelic. It was originally released by Warner Bros. Records on September 21, 1979, and was later reissued on CD by Charly Groove Records and Priority Records. It was produced by George Clinton under the alias Dr. Funkenstein. It is the first Funkadelic album since America Eats Its Young in 1972 not to sport a cover illustrated by Funkadelic artist Pedro Bell, though Bell did contribute some interior artwork. Uncle Jam Wants You was the second Funkadelic album to be certified gold. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard Soul album chart.

Significance

In some ways, Uncle Jam Wants You (a reference to the "Uncle Sam wants you!" US Army recruitment posters) is a more militant sequel to the group's previous album, One Nation Under a Groove. Whereas that album described an ideal country ruled by Funk, "Uncle Jam" actually attempts to provoke the conversion into Funkadelia. Its purpose is also (as the cover claims) to "rescue dance music from the blahs."

The cover art depicts George Clinton in a Huey Newton-Black Panthers pose, reflecting the more martial lyrical themes of the album. The album features the band's last big hit single, "(Not Just) Knee Deep", an edited version of which went to number one on the Billboard Soul singles charts. This album had a profound influence on the West Coast hip-hop scene, especially the legendary DJ organization known as Uncle Jamm's Army.

Samples of the 15-minute Funkadelic cut "(Not Just) Knee Deep" can be heard in De La Soul's "Me Myself and I" (1989), the Teddy Riley-produced "Get Away," as well as several of Dr. Dre's productions.

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Reception

  • Allmusic.com "Uncle Jam Wants You takes not merely a more daring musical approach but a more forthright political stance".
  • Rolling Stone (10/3/02, p. 106) - 4 stars out of 5 - "The home of 'Freak Of The Week' (which launched a thousand g-funk songs)."

Track listing

Side One

  1. "Freak of the Week" (G. Clinton, P. Bishop, D. McKnight) - 5:34
  2. "(Not Just) Knee Deep" (G. Clinton, Jr.) - 15:21

Side Two

  1. "Uncle Jam" (G. Clinton, G. Shider, B. Worrell, W. Collins) - 10:25
  2. "Field Maneuvers" (D. Clinton, D. Clinton) - 2:26
  3. "Holly Wants to Go to California" (G. Clinton, B. Worrell) - 4:25
  4. "Foot Soldiers (Star Spangled Funky)" (G. Clinton., J. Vitti) - 3:31

Personnel

Funkadelic Rescue Dance Band (as given in the liner notes):

Additional Musicians:

Photography:

  • Diem Jones
  • According to Jerome Brailey, Tiki Fulwood is credited on the recording but didn't actually perform.
  • Mallia Franklin is credited as a background vocalist, but she was the female lead singer on the song "Freak of the Week".

References

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