Cosmic Slop
Encyclopedia
Cosmic Slop is the fifth studio album by Funkadelic
, released in 1973 on Westbound Records
. While it has been favorably reevaluated by critics long after its original release, the album was a commercial failure, producing no charting singles
, and making only #112 on the Billboard albums chart.
Cosmic Slop is the first Funkadelic album to feature artwork and liner notes by Pedro Bell
, who assumed responsibility for the band's gate-fold album covers and liner notes until the band's collapse after 1981's The Electric Spanking of War Babies
. Bell's liner notes to Cosmic Slop include small illustrations next to each song's name, summarizing the song in a picture.
single "Heart Trouble". The instrumental portion of this song was reworked into "Do That Stuff" for the 1976 album The Clones Of Dr. Funkenstein.
.
The song's title refers to a meeting of Vietnam vets and President Nixon at the White House. An overtly political song, "March to the Witch's Castle" concerns the tribulations of Vietnam veterans coming home to the United States
, and deals with adjusting to a non-wartime society and addiction. The soldier has become addicted (presumably to heroin) and found that his wife, thinking he was dead, married someone else. The soldier did not understand why he was fighting the war, and why he gave so much of his life to fighting abstract concepts that he cared little about.
. George Clinton
later compared himself to the subject of the song (a woman who becomes a prostitute to feed her children) because he was forced to use his celebrity-status in commercials (such as for the IMac
) due to severe financial difficulties.
This song continues the progression begun on Maggot Brain
towards a hard rock
/heavy metal
style of funk
.
The song is about an impoverished mother with five children who has resorted to prostitution
in order to support her family. Although she tries to shield her children from the knowledge that they are poor and she is a prostitute, every night the narrator hears his mother beg God for forgiveness and understanding for doing what she has to do for the sake of her children.
This track was remade twice by future lineups of Parliament/Funkadelic. A live version (recorded during a rehearsal) appears on the 1976 Funkadelic album Hardcore Jollies
. Several Parliament/Funkadelic members contributed to a full cover of the track for Bill Laswell
's Axiom Funk project, released on the 1995 album Funkcronomicon
.
, and goes in search of a sexual partner. He finds a woman who agrees but expresses worry over the possibility of getting pregnant. The singer says "spit don't make babies" and the woman agrees. Afterward, looking at the person he has just had an encounter with, "breath smelling like a 1946 Buick", the singer has "the guilties."
from the northwest) song by the same name.
The singer proclaims his love for a woman, and asks if she is planning on leaving him. He claims that no one will ever love her as much as he does.
stable, "Whatever Makes My Baby Feel Good," released in 1968 under the name Rose Williams, George Clinton, & the Funkadelics.
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
, released in 1973 on Westbound Records
Westbound Records
Westbound Records is a Detroit-based record label founded by Armen Boladian in 1970. It had a distribution deal with Janus Records from 1970 to 1975, but then it switched distribution to 20th Century Records during 1975 and 1976, but again switched distribution to Atlantic Records from 1976 to...
. While it has been favorably reevaluated by critics long after its original release, the album was a commercial failure, producing no charting singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
, and making only #112 on the Billboard albums chart.
Cosmic Slop is the first Funkadelic album to feature artwork and liner notes by Pedro Bell
Pedro Bell
Pedro Bell is an American artist and illustrator. He is best known for his elaborate cover designs and other artwork for numerous Funkadelic and George Clinton solo albums....
, who assumed responsibility for the band's gate-fold album covers and liner notes until the band's collapse after 1981's The Electric Spanking of War Babies
The Electric Spanking of War Babies
The Electric Spanking of War Babies is the twelfth studio album by American funk band Funkadelic, released in 1981 on Warner Bros. Records. The title is an allusion to the Vietnam War and baby boomers...
. Bell's liner notes to Cosmic Slop include small illustrations next to each song's name, summarizing the song in a picture.
Track listing
- "Nappy Dugout" (George ClintonGeorge Clinton (funk musician)George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
, Cordell Mosson, Garry ShiderGarry ShiderGarry Marshall Shider was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.-Early life:Shider was born in Plainfield, New...
) – 4:33 - "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure" (Clinton, Sidney Barnes) – 3:03
- "March to the Witch's Castle" (Clinton) – 5:59
- "Let's Make It Last" (Clinton, Eddie HazelEddie HazelEdward Earl "Eddie" Hazel was a guitarist in early funk music in the United States who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic...
) – 4:08 - "Cosmic Slop" (Clinton, Bernie WorrellBernie WorrellGeorge Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
)(released as a single-Westbound 218) – 5:17 - "No Compute" (Clinton, Shider) – 3:03
- "This Broken Heart" (W. Franklin) – 3:37
- "Trash A-Go-Go" (Clinton) – 2:25
- "Can't Stand the Strain" (Clinton, Hazel) – 3:27
Line-up
- Bernard WorrellBernie WorrellGeorge Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
: Keyboards & Melodica, Strings on 'Broken Heart' - "Boogie" Mosson: Bass Guitar
- Tyrone Lampkin: Percussion
- Gary ShiderGarry ShiderGarry Marshall Shider was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.-Early life:Shider was born in Plainfield, New...
: Lead & Rhythm Guitar - Ron Bykowski: Lead & Rhythm Guitar
- Guest Funkadelic Maggot: Tiki FulwoodTiki FulwoodRamon "Tiki" Fulwood was a drummer for the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic...
, Drums on 'Nappy Dugout' - Engineers: Lee De Carlo, Manta Sound, Toronto
Nappy Dugout
'Nappy Dugout' is a slang term referring to the vagina.- Drums: Tiki FulwoodTiki FulwoodRamon "Tiki" Fulwood was a drummer for the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic...
You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure
The singer explains why he is sad, because his woman has left him for someone else. He claims to have noticed water in his house and called a plumber, who told him that the water did not come from his sink, but from his tears. He also claims his "nerves are shot" and he has devoured most of his fingernails in his pain. This song is a reworking of the 1965 ParliamentsThe Parliaments
The Parliaments were a doo-wop quintet from Plainfield, New Jersey, formed in the back room of a barbershop in the late 1950s and named after the cigarette brand. After some early personnel changes their lineup solidified with George Clinton, Ray Davis, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas...
single "Heart Trouble". The instrumental portion of this song was reworked into "Do That Stuff" for the 1976 album The Clones Of Dr. Funkenstein.
- Lead Vocals: George ClintonGeorge Clinton (funk musician)George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
, Ray DavisRay Davis (musician)Raymond "Ray" Davis was the original bass singer and one of the founding members of The Parliaments, Parliament, and Funkadelic. His regular nickname while he was with those groups was "Sting Ray Davis". Aside from George Clinton, he was the only original member of the Parliaments not to leave the...
, Garry ShiderGarry ShiderGarry Marshall Shider was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.-Early life:Shider was born in Plainfield, New...
March to the Witch's Castle
This was one of the first P Funk songs to deal with the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
The song's title refers to a meeting of Vietnam vets and President Nixon at the White House. An overtly political song, "March to the Witch's Castle" concerns the tribulations of Vietnam veterans coming home to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and deals with adjusting to a non-wartime society and addiction. The soldier has become addicted (presumably to heroin) and found that his wife, thinking he was dead, married someone else. The soldier did not understand why he was fighting the war, and why he gave so much of his life to fighting abstract concepts that he cared little about.
- Lead Vocals: George ClintonGeorge Clinton (funk musician)George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
Let's Make It Last
The singer of this song proclaims his desire for a long-standing love instead of a temporary fling.- Lead Vocals: Garry ShiderGarry ShiderGarry Marshall Shider was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.-Early life:Shider was born in Plainfield, New...
Cosmic Slop
This is one of the most popular P Funk songs among fans of the group, and is often played in live shows. An updated recording of the song, recorded "live" during a rehearsal for the P-Funk Earth Tour, appeared on the 1976 album Hardcore JolliesHardcore Jollies
Hardcore Jollies is the ninth studio album by the funk band Funkadelic, released on October 29, 1976 by Warner Bros. Records, their first album to be issued on a major label...
. George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
later compared himself to the subject of the song (a woman who becomes a prostitute to feed her children) because he was forced to use his celebrity-status in commercials (such as for the IMac
IMac
The iMac is a range of all-in-one Macintosh desktop computers built by Apple. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its introduction in 1998, and has evolved through five distinct forms....
) due to severe financial difficulties.
This song continues the progression begun on Maggot Brain
Maggot Brain
Maggot Brain is the third studio album by the American funk band Funkadelic, released in 1971 on Westbound Records. The album incorporates musical elements of psychedelia, rock, gospel, and soul music, with significant variation between each track. Pitchfork Media named it the seventeenth best...
towards a hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
/heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
style of funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
.
The song is about an impoverished mother with five children who has resorted to prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
in order to support her family. Although she tries to shield her children from the knowledge that they are poor and she is a prostitute, every night the narrator hears his mother beg God for forgiveness and understanding for doing what she has to do for the sake of her children.
- Lead Vocals: Garry ShiderGarry ShiderGarry Marshall Shider was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.-Early life:Shider was born in Plainfield, New...
- Guitars: Garry Shider, Ron Bykowski, Eddie Hazel
- Drums: Tyrone Lampkin
- Bass: Cordell Boogie Mosson
This track was remade twice by future lineups of Parliament/Funkadelic. A live version (recorded during a rehearsal) appears on the 1976 Funkadelic album Hardcore Jollies
Hardcore Jollies
Hardcore Jollies is the ninth studio album by the funk band Funkadelic, released on October 29, 1976 by Warner Bros. Records, their first album to be issued on a major label...
. Several Parliament/Funkadelic members contributed to a full cover of the track for Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell
Bill Laswell is an American bassist, producer and record label owner....
's Axiom Funk project, released on the 1995 album Funkcronomicon
Funkcronomicon
Funkcronomicon is a 1995 various artists collection of tracks produced by Bill Laswell under the name Axiom Funk, after Laswell's associated record label. It is a 2-CD set that was released by Island Records...
.
No Compute
The singer awakens from a dream hornySexual arousal
Sexual arousal, or sexual excitement, is the arousal of sexual desire, during or in anticipation of sexual activity. Things that precipitate human sexual arousal are called erotic stimuli, or colloquially known as turn-ons. There are many potential stimuli, both physical or mental, which can cause...
, and goes in search of a sexual partner. He finds a woman who agrees but expresses worry over the possibility of getting pregnant. The singer says "spit don't make babies" and the woman agrees. Afterward, looking at the person he has just had an encounter with, "breath smelling like a 1946 Buick", the singer has "the guilties."
- Lead Vocals: George ClintonGeorge Clinton (funk musician)George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
This Broken Heart
This is a cover of a song by The Sonics (a 50's doo wop group and not the later identically named garage bandThe Sonics
The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, originating from the early and mid-1960s. Among The Sonics' contemporaries were The Kingsmen, The Wailers, The Dynamics, The Regents, and Paul Revere & the Raiders...
from the northwest) song by the same name.
The singer proclaims his love for a woman, and asks if she is planning on leaving him. He claims that no one will ever love her as much as he does.
- Strings: Bernie WorrellBernie WorrellGeorge Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
- Lead Vocals: Ben Edwards
- Drums: Geezer McGee (disputed)
Trash A-Go-Go
The singer is a man who is on trial for having pimped his girlfriend out as a prostitute. The judge and jury are not sympathetic, though he claims to love her deeply. The man is given 10–20 years in prison.Can't Stand the Strain
The singer of this song is suspicious that his lover is planning on leaving him, and he begs her not to leave because he will not be able to withstand the strain of his sadness if she did. This song features the same tune as an early song in the George ClintonGeorge Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
stable, "Whatever Makes My Baby Feel Good," released in 1968 under the name Rose Williams, George Clinton, & the Funkadelics.
- Lead Vocals: Garry ShiderGarry ShiderGarry Marshall Shider was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.-Early life:Shider was born in Plainfield, New...