Thus far this has been the hardest album for me to locate. It's not available on any streaming service. Amazon has no new or used CDs for me to buy. Even my new best friend Murfie, which has thankfully helped be find other people who are willing to sell me their copies of obscure or hard-to-obtain used versions, lets me down when it comes to this album. Why doesn't Funkadelic want me to listen to One Nation Under A Groove? Are they being lazy about reissuing their back catalog? Are they trying to drum up the legendary status of their most popular work? Or do they think this album is so atrocious they're essentially trying to delete it?
This album features about as close to as a "cold opening" as an album can have. Usually albums have a smooth lead in, but the first notes of the title track almost feel like the middle of a measure. If you know funk, you know what the rest of the song sounds like. It sounds like the greatest sex you've ever had in your life. This music spares no expense at getting you to groove. I love the extended sequence where the lead vocalist begs, "Feet, don't fail me now!" As if he so desperately needs to dance to this music. I don't really blame him. It's no secret I don't dance much. It's mostly because nobody plays this kinda of music anymore when they want to dance. Those people suck.
"Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock!" is a pretty decent fusion song. The guitar player can absolutely shred. My one complaint is with the drummer. I know the major difference between rock and funk is the back beat, which in standard rock music is flat and boring. But rock drummers can mix it up and make the drum part just as interesting as found in any funk song. The drummer here is just laying down a standard rock beat sans fills or any breakdowns. The song is too long to play without a tiny bit of flash on the drum kit.
"Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The Doo Doo Chasers)" is not only a needlessly long title, but the song is way too long for what it does. The track is a simple 2-note melody that the band jams around a bit. The vocals are made up of various parts. One guy is singing James Brown-esque screetches, another is doing a goofy spoken word piece that sounds kinda like a town-hall screed with lots of references to food a feces. There's also lots of other people talking... I nodded off after the first 8 minutes to be honest.
"Into You" features Ray Davis on vocals singing in a most perfect bass. Man or woman, you are getting pregnant from this song. Don't say I didn't warn you.
I'm glad I finally got a chance to listen to One Nation Under A Groove. It's fantastic dirty sexy funk that this world needs more of. 4 stars.
Aside: I learned of the concept of "deletion" after listening to The Divine Comedy's Casanova. The idea is artists or bands put out a work that they eventually come to hate or be embarrassed by, or that they feel no longer fits with their style as a band. The former was the case for The Divine Comedy's debut album. Deletion is different from an album being out-of-print in that the artist requests the album no longer be issued. It seems pretty extreme, and to me makes the deleted work far more fascinating. I didn't like Casanova, but I'm extremely interested in Fanfare for the Comic Muse just because I'm not supposed to hear it.
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