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Friday Funk #4 – ‘Flash Light’ by Parliament
Friday Funk #4 – ‘Flash Light’ by Parliament
Friday Funk #4 – ‘Flash Light’ by Parliament
To celebrate the anniversary of the single release of ‘Flash Light’ on 28 January 1978, this week’s and next week’s Friday Funk will be dedicated to the 1977 Parliament album, Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome.
The original arrangement of ‘Flash Light’ featured a traditional guitar and bass pairing, conceived by Bootsy Collins. George Clinton, who is not an instrumentalist but has tremendous ears for arranging, replaced the bass with Bernie Worrell’s Moog keyboards. (Clinton’s most fabled arrangement/production decision was to remove the keyboards, bass and drums in ‘Maggot Brain’, allowing Eddie Hazel’s extraordinary guitar playing to shine.)
Clinton wrote in his memoir, Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You?, that Worrell’s three connected Moog keyboards turned ‘Flashlight’ from “straight James Brown to something more bubblegummy.” Worrell adds peculiar flourishes to the main line. The twisting and sliding notes are hard to imagine from a traditional bass, even in the hands of Bootsy. Worrell's unusual melodies may not have been apparent on a bass fretboard. Asides from the notes, the Moog-bass provides a mesmerising computerised tone, with gurgles and burps adding a strangeness to the more familiar elements of guitar and drums.
Clinton speaks as fondly of Worrell as any of the world-class funkateers he worked with. Clinton had heard in his early Plainfield days how Worrell “was a local Mozart who wrote his first symphony before he was in junior high school.” Clinton wrote of Worrell’s gift for accompaniment: “He’ll step up behind you and make you sound like the best thing in the world.”
Bootsy switched to drums, and although he has said, “Even the stuff I played drums on, I made sure that One was like, BAM!” (emphasising that crucial first beat), on ‘Flash Light’, the most noticeable drumming is the snare on the two and four of each bar. While the kick drum does come in on the One, Worrell’s Moog-bass is chiefly responsible for ensuring the bounce on that beat. Many of his wandering phrases lead into the first beat, where the main bassline hits ‘home’ by starting with a G note.
Bootsy’s brother, Catfish Collins, provides a trademark guitar part full of high-pitched, fidgety strumming. Towards the end of the track, a saxophone (provided by Darryl Dixon, who goes without mention in Brothas but who played in P-Funk spinoff groups Quazar and Mutiny) briefly dovetails with the Moogs in freewheeling melodies.
The Funkentelechy album saw the arrival of Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk, a character who would return in forthcoming Parliament albums and become a staple of their live shows. Sir Nose’s nose grew when he faked the funk, and he was the nemesis of Star Child (the character brought to life on Mothership Connection). Sir Nose was fake-cool: he “only cared about his look and presentation” and refused to dance. (He later refused to swim on ‘Aqua Boogie’ from Motor Booty Affair.) ‘Flash Light’ implores Sir Nose to dance: “Dance, sucker”, “Dance, Nose”, “Most of all he needs the funk / Help him find the funk”.
Next week’s Friday Funk will go deeper into the album’s concepts and enjoy another booty-moving classic.
To celebrate the anniversary of the single release of ‘Flash Light’ on 28 January 1978, this week’s and next week’s Friday Funk will be dedicated to the 1977 Parliament album, Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome.
The original arrangement of ‘Flash Light’ featured a traditional guitar and bass pairing, conceived by Bootsy Collins. George Clinton, who is not an instrumentalist but has tremendous ears for arranging, replaced the bass with Bernie Worrell’s Moog keyboards. (Clinton’s most fabled arrangement/production decision was to remove the keyboards, bass and drums in ‘Maggot Brain’, allowing Eddie Hazel’s extraordinary guitar playing to shine.)
Clinton wrote in his memoir, Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You?, that Worrell’s three connected Moog keyboards turned ‘Flashlight’ from “straight James Brown to something more bubblegummy.” Worrell adds peculiar flourishes to the main line. The twisting and sliding notes are hard to imagine from a traditional bass, even in the hands of Bootsy. Worrell's unusual melodies may not have been apparent on a bass fretboard. Asides from the notes, the Moog-bass provides a mesmerising computerised tone, with gurgles and burps adding a strangeness to the more familiar elements of guitar and drums.
Clinton speaks as fondly of Worrell as any of the world-class funkateers he worked with. Clinton had heard in his early Plainfield days how Worrell “was a local Mozart who wrote his first symphony before he was in junior high school.” Clinton wrote of Worrell’s gift for accompaniment: “He’ll step up behind you and make you sound like the best thing in the world.”
Bootsy switched to drums, and although he has said, “Even the stuff I played drums on, I made sure that One was like, BAM!” (emphasising that crucial first beat), on ‘Flash Light’, the most noticeable drumming is the snare on the two and four of each bar. While the kick drum does come in on the One, Worrell’s Moog-bass is chiefly responsible for ensuring the bounce on that beat. Many of his wandering phrases lead into the first beat, where the main bassline hits ‘home’ by starting with a G note.
Bootsy’s brother, Catfish Collins, provides a trademark guitar part full of high-pitched, fidgety strumming. Towards the end of the track, a saxophone (provided by Darryl Dixon, who goes without mention in Brothas but who played in P-Funk spinoff groups Quazar and Mutiny) briefly dovetails with the Moogs in freewheeling melodies.
The Funkentelechy album saw the arrival of Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk, a character who would return in forthcoming Parliament albums and become a staple of their live shows. Sir Nose’s nose grew when he faked the funk, and he was the nemesis of Star Child (the character brought to life on Mothership Connection). Sir Nose was fake-cool: he “only cared about his look and presentation” and refused to dance. (He later refused to swim on ‘Aqua Boogie’ from Motor Booty Affair.) ‘Flash Light’ implores Sir Nose to dance: “Dance, sucker”, “Dance, Nose”, “Most of all he needs the funk / Help him find the funk”.
Next week’s Friday Funk will go deeper into the album’s concepts and enjoy another booty-moving classic.
To celebrate the anniversary of the single release of ‘Flash Light’ on 28 January 1978, this week’s and next week’s Friday Funk will be dedicated to the 1977 Parliament album, Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome.
The original arrangement of ‘Flash Light’ featured a traditional guitar and bass pairing, conceived by Bootsy Collins. George Clinton, who is not an instrumentalist but has tremendous ears for arranging, replaced the bass with Bernie Worrell’s Moog keyboards. (Clinton’s most fabled arrangement/production decision was to remove the keyboards, bass and drums in ‘Maggot Brain’, allowing Eddie Hazel’s extraordinary guitar playing to shine.)
Clinton wrote in his memoir, Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard On You?, that Worrell’s three connected Moog keyboards turned ‘Flashlight’ from “straight James Brown to something more bubblegummy.” Worrell adds peculiar flourishes to the main line. The twisting and sliding notes are hard to imagine from a traditional bass, even in the hands of Bootsy. Worrell's unusual melodies may not have been apparent on a bass fretboard. Asides from the notes, the Moog-bass provides a mesmerising computerised tone, with gurgles and burps adding a strangeness to the more familiar elements of guitar and drums.
Clinton speaks as fondly of Worrell as any of the world-class funkateers he worked with. Clinton had heard in his early Plainfield days how Worrell “was a local Mozart who wrote his first symphony before he was in junior high school.” Clinton wrote of Worrell’s gift for accompaniment: “He’ll step up behind you and make you sound like the best thing in the world.”
Bootsy switched to drums, and although he has said, “Even the stuff I played drums on, I made sure that One was like, BAM!” (emphasising that crucial first beat), on ‘Flash Light’, the most noticeable drumming is the snare on the two and four of each bar. While the kick drum does come in on the One, Worrell’s Moog-bass is chiefly responsible for ensuring the bounce on that beat. Many of his wandering phrases lead into the first beat, where the main bassline hits ‘home’ by starting with a G note.
Bootsy’s brother, Catfish Collins, provides a trademark guitar part full of high-pitched, fidgety strumming. Towards the end of the track, a saxophone (provided by Darryl Dixon, who goes without mention in Brothas but who played in P-Funk spinoff groups Quazar and Mutiny) briefly dovetails with the Moogs in freewheeling melodies.
The Funkentelechy album saw the arrival of Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk, a character who would return in forthcoming Parliament albums and become a staple of their live shows. Sir Nose’s nose grew when he faked the funk, and he was the nemesis of Star Child (the character brought to life on Mothership Connection). Sir Nose was fake-cool: he “only cared about his look and presentation” and refused to dance. (He later refused to swim on ‘Aqua Boogie’ from Motor Booty Affair.) ‘Flash Light’ implores Sir Nose to dance: “Dance, sucker”, “Dance, Nose”, “Most of all he needs the funk / Help him find the funk”.
Next week’s Friday Funk will go deeper into the album’s concepts and enjoy another booty-moving classic.