Funk music is the original underground black pop music. Unlike soul, r and b, Motown and other pop genres, funk never really caught on popularly. Though disco borrowed from it and many new wavers paid lip service, the music itself remained stubbornly underground, even in it's most popular incarnations such as EW&F or the Average White Band. But the nasty groove, propelled by a solid bass and drums foundation with a layered stew of blues and jazz licks over top, is perhaps the most important sound in the music of the last 30 years, influencing artists as diverse as the Talking Heads, Dr. Dre, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and even arguably jam bands like Phish. And of course there was no bass player as important in the music as Bootsy Collins, who was responsible even more than any drummer for the "bomb" that characterized funk.

As a member of P-Funk, Bootsy was a major player in the development of late 70s funk...psychedelic funk if you will, which mixed elements of James Brown, jazz and acid rock to create a potent music for dancing and social statement. But on his own, Bootsy was perhaps less interested in creating a black mythology and was more of a down home groove merchant. This anthology is filled with some of the Rubber Band's funkiest work from the mid 70s until about 1982. Bootsy's jams are potent and fun. Tracks like Stretchin' Out, Psychoticbumpschool, Freak to Freak or Countracula are as funky as anything that came out of the P-Funk Universe and will both get your booty moving and will have enough musical content to move your mind.

But Bootsy's real strength to me is his ballad work. His love songs are slow, sexy, and very very nasty. The Rubber Band was blessed with a few wonderful singers such as Mudbone Cooper, who's falsetto dripped sex and gospel at the same time. But what makes the tracks work is the slow hypnotic grooves set up by Bootsy and drummer Kash Waddy, which build slowly but inevitably to orgasmic conclusions. Stand out tracks include Vanish In Our Sleep, which is soooo smooth that it should be X rated, What's a Telephone Bill featuring amazing vocal work from Mudbone and other singers, Can't Stay Away, in which some great nasty funk work is hidden behind what could be mistaken for a top forty hit. But the masterpiece of the anthology is Munchies for your Love. The ten minute track is deeply hypnotic, based on a long two chord jam. As the track builds Bootsy launches a bass solo that quite literally explodes with passion, and by the end the bass and drums sound as if they are making love to each other. It's the most amazing recreation of the erotic experience I've ever heard musically outside of Wagner's Liebestod.

This is a very well done double compilation. The artwork captures the visual aesthetic of the P-Funk family very well, with shots of Bootsy and his wild glasses, and other cartoon shots of the band. The pressings are excellent and selection is also top knotch. However, this should be thought of as a way to sample the Rubber Band. Once you are hooked it's important to hear the albums AS albums. Funk music is album-oriented music. Often the albums are unified by themes and concepts which are really best experienced as a whole and not in bleeding chunks. Still...if you are new to Bootsy, or just want much of the best music on two convenient CDs this is a great way to go. This CD will rock a party, or a party of just two...just what the Funk is supposed to do!