Maggot Brain

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from Hit It and Quit It)
Jump to: navigation, search

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

This article is about the album. For the song, see Maggot Brain (song).
Maggot Brain
File:Maggot Brain (Funkadelic album - cover art).jpg
Studio album by Funkadelic
Released July 12, 1971
Recorded Late 1970–early 1971 at Universal Studios, Detroit
Genre Funk rock,[1] psychedelic rock[2]
Length 36:56
Label Westbound
W-2007
Producer George Clinton
Funkadelic chronology
Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow
(1970)Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow1970		 Maggot Brain
(1971)		 America Eats Its Young
(1972)America Eats Its Young1972

Maggot Brain is the third studio album by the American funk band Funkadelic, released in 1971 on Westbound Records. It was the last album that featured the original Funkadelic lineup; shortly after Maggot Brain was recorded, Tawl Ross, Eddie Hazel, Billy Nelson, and Tiki Fulwood left the band for various reasons. The album incorporates musical elements of psychedelic music, rock, gospel, and soul, with significant variation between each track. Pitchfork Media named it the 17th best album of the 1970s.[3] In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked the album at number 479 on their list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[4] The album is listed as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[5]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
PopMatters (favorable)[6]
Blender 4/5 stars[7]
Tiny Mix Tapes 4.5/5 stars[8]
AllMusic 5/5 stars[9]
Spin (10/10)[10]
Pitchfork Media (9.4/10)[11]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars 2004[12]
Sputnikmusic 5/5 stars[13]
Robert Christgau (B+)[14]
Rolling Stone (mixed) 1971[15]

Songs

"Maggot Brain"

See main article at Maggot Brain (song)

"Can You Get to That"

This song is a departure from the groove-oriented Funkadelic sound and is more of a traditional lyric-based acoustic rock piece. It begins with a descending acoustic guitar line which is joined by piano, bass and drums which support a cast of singers. It is a rewrite of a song by The Parliaments titled, "What You Been Growin'" and is heavily influenced by gospel music stylistically.

Where the Parliaments version was a break-up song, the Funkadelic version begins with the line "I once had a life, or rather, life had me": rather than a bitter reminiscence about a woman, it becomes an account of the singer's revelation that living on principles of co-operation, sincerity and the principles of karma ('When you base your life on credit and your loving days are done / Checks you sign with love and kisses later come back signed 'Insufficient Funds' ' - interestingly, this line seems to echo part of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech) mark him out from the un-enlightened crowd and exalted his life.

This song has recently been heavily sampled in 2010 song "Rill, Rill" by Sleigh Bells.[16] It also appeared 2011 in HTC "Detour" commercial and 2012 in Foot Locker commercial. It was used during the opening credits of the 1998 film Safe Men.

"Hit It and Quit It"

The song feature Bernie Worrell's vocals and organ-playing, as well as an extended Eddie Hazel solo at the end.

"You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks"

This is a very class-conscious song, with the singer pleading for unity among the poor because without doing so, equality could not be achieved. The song has Judie Jones (Worrell's girlfriend at time) in songwriting credits, which it has been claimed was mistakenly for this song instead of "Red Hot Mama" (from Standing on the Verge of Getting It On).

The song's refrain is very similar to an old folk rhyme that was first published in Thomas W. Talley's Negro Folk Rhymes (Wise or Otherwise) (1922):<templatestyles src="Template:Quote_box/styles.css" />

If you and your folks love me and my folks
Like me and my folks love you and your folks
If there ever was folks
That ever ever was poor.

Funkadelic

<templatestyles src="Template:Quote_box/styles.css" />

If you an' yo' folks likes me an' my folks,
Lak me an' my folks likes you an' yo' folks;
You's never seed folks since folks 'as been folks,
Like you an' yo' folks lak me an' my folks.

Negro Folk Rhymes

"Super Stupid"

The title of this song refers to a drug addict who buys the wrong drug accidentally. He is also referred to as having a "maggot brain".

The supergroup Audioslave has done several live covers of this song; the studio version was released on their 2005 single Be Yourself. The song was also covered by Tackhead on their album Strange Things.

"Back in Our Minds"

This song seems to be about the singer and someone else (possibly different races, former lovers or friends) having reconciled and are now "brothers."

"Wars of Armageddon"

The music is a bizarre mix of music and special effects-type sounds, and intelligent, though unusual and abstract, lyrics.

This song is socially conscious, as the singer demands immediate freedom from oppression, as well as "power to the people" (and many more demands, many nonsensical, see above).

"Whole Lot of BS"

This song is a bonus track on the album, originally released as a non-album B-side to the single "Hit It and Quit It".

"I Miss My Baby"

This song is another bonus track, originally released as the B-side to an early take of "Baby I Owe You Something Good", which was later reworked for the Let's Take It to the Stage LP. The single was credited to U.S. Music with Funkadelic, as Garry Shider's group US was featured on the recording with Funkadelic playing most of the music.

Track listing

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Maggot Brain"   Edward Hazel, George Clinton 10:20
2. "Can You Get to That" (released as a single-Westbound 185) George Clinton, Ernest Harris 2:50
3. "Hit It and Quit It" (released as a single-Westbound 198) George Clinton, William Nelson 3:50
4. "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" (released as a single-Westbound 175) George Clinton, Clarence Haskins, William Nelson, Bernard Worrell, Judie Jones (mistakenly credit) 3:36
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Length
5. "Super Stupid"   Edward Hazel, Lucious Ross, William Nelson, George Clinton 3:57
6. "Back in Our Minds"   Clarence Haskins 2:38
7. "Wars of Armageddon"   Ramon Fulwood, Lucious Ross, George Clinton, Bernard Worrell 9:42
2005 CD reissue bonus tracks
No. Title Writer(s) Length
8. "Maggot Brain" (alternate mix, recorded in 1971) Edward Hazel, George Clinton 9:35
9. "Whole Lot of BS"   George Clinton, Bernard Worrell 2:11
10. "I Miss My Baby" (U.S. Music with Funkadelic) Clarence Haskins 5:02

Personnel

Funkadelic
Production
  • Produced by George Clinton
  • Executive producer – Armen Boladian
  • Bernie Mendelson in charge of The Eegangas
  • Cover photography by Joel Brodsky
  • Inside cover photography by Ron Scribner
  • Artwork design – The Graffiteria/Paula Bisacca
  • Art direction – David Krieger
  • Album supervision – Bob Scerbo
  • Album co-ordination – Dorothy Schwartz
  • Model on album cover- Barbara Cheeseborough

Chart history

Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album

  • 1971 Pop Albums No. 108
  • 1971 Black Albums No. 14
  • 1990 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums No. 92

Notes

  1. ↑ Gulla 2008, p. 446.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Staff. Top 100 Albums of the 1970s. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  4. ↑ Wenner, Jann S., ed. (2012). Rolling Stone — Special Collectors Issue — The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. USA: Wenner Media Specials. ISBN 978-7098934196
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Taylor, Yuval. Funk's Death Trip: Maggot Brain. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  7. ↑ Christgau, Robert. Review: Maggot Brain. Blender. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  8. ↑ Pelican, The. Review: Maggot Brain. Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  9. ↑ Raggett, Ned. Review: Maggot Brain. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  10. ↑ Marks, Craig. "Review: Maggot Brain". Spin: October 10, 1995.
  11. ↑ Leone, Dominique. Review: Maggot Brain. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  12. ↑ Hoard, Christian. "Review: Maggot Brain". Rolling Stone: 316–317. November 2, 2004.
  13. ↑ Med57. Review: Maggot Brain. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  14. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Maggot Brain". The Village Voice: 1971.
  15. ↑ Aletti, Vince. Review: Maggot Brain. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 2009-12-28.
  16. ↑ "[1]"

References

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Maggot_Brain&oldid=77697"