1971 and Black America was luxuriating in the soft soul of the O’Jays, the Temptations had just left behind their flirtation with psychedelia, James Brown was explaining Soul Power, Sly & the Family Stone were having a Family Affair, and Marvin Gaye was asking ‘What’s Going On’.

Funkadelic’s masterpiece. A dark vision of what the future holds articulated through George Clinton’s slightly hazy vision and Eddie Hazel’s astounding guitar work.

This could only have been utterly bizarre back in 1971 & it’s no less so decades later; though the mothership was well on its way already, ‘maggot brain’ really helped it take off.

The instrumental title track is the key reason to listen, specifically for eddie hazel’s lengthy, mind-melting solo. george clinton famously told hazel to play “like your momma had just died,” & the resulting evocation of melancholy & sorrow doesn’t merely rival Jimi Hendrix’s work, but arguably bests a lot of it. accompanied by another softer guitar figure providing gentle rhythm for the piece, the end result is simply fantastic, an emotional apocalypse of sound.

Maggot Brain is bookended by another long number, “Wars Of Armageddon,” a full-on jam from the band looping in freedom chants & airport-departure announcements to the freak-out.

In between are a number of short pieces, finding the collective merrily cooking up some funky stew of the slow & smoky variety.