The Mothership Connection

Synopsis : George Clinton struck the mama load with The Mothership Connection. This one was the turning point, alright. Not only did it give Clinton his first gold album and launch P-Funk as damn near a musical genre in its own right, but most important, it provided the impetus for The Mothership tour, which in turn begat The Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Sundrome "Flashlight" tour, which begat the clones of Dr. Funkenstein tour, which gave rise to the One Nation Under a Groove Antitour-All Barnstorming Black Guerrilla Theater/extravaganzas that make P-Funk seem like a cross between the old Apollo and the circus. Listen to Clinton's lyrics and you find him playing plenty of roles : hustler, poet, pimp, professor, psychoanalyst, student of politics and sexual manners, carny baker, soulman, swingmeister, bevopper, do-wopper, druggy, subliminal seducer, free spirit. And the band he leads is the best rock band in America.