DVD Review: Parliament Funkadelic – The Mothership Connection

The Mothership has landed. The concert DVD of the Parliament Funkadelic‘s Halloween 1976 performance at the Houston Summit is a stimulating, extravagant production. Working liberally with a mastered style of funk music specific to their burgeoning style – under the leadership of George Clinton, with horn sections and synthesizers alongside a marriage of jazz and rock n’ roll – Parliament Funkadelic set themselves apart from conventional middle-of-the-road genres, and ended up taking the party to the next level.

The components that form and shape P-Funk’s brand could be considered as unintended modifications of ‘the best parts of church’ – lively group vocals, soulful music, “shouting”, and the cohesiveness of a congregation – if only a lot less saint-like in lyrics and attire. Without the eye masks, scantily clad women, the flash, color, or, hell, the alien spacecraft – it  simply would not be P-Funk (just as if we were missing on the sounds and sights of Bootsy Collins and the Brides of Funkenstein). The DVD definitely has gifting opportunities for fans of the collective, and for those leaning towards the genre who might warrant a little push into the pool. It might leave some feeling nostalgic about views towards the generation and culture at the time spreading like wildfire across the country – but for any and all besides, it’ll prove to be some serious fun.

The whole show is worth watching from start to finish, but we recommend the following chapters: “Undisco Kidd”, “Swing Down Sweet Chariot”, and “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)”.

Buy it now on Amazon.com for $13.49.