40 Year Itch : Two White Horses

Funkadelic : Comin' Round the Mountain

[Purchase]

On October 29, 1976 Funkadelic released their major label debut, Hardcore Jollies. Dedicated to "the guitar players of the world", the album is one of Funkadelic's last to feature rocking psychedelic guitar solos in the spirit of Eddie "Maggot Brain" Hazel. In fact, Hazel makes some uncredited appearances on the album. "Comin' Round the Mountain" features acid rock pioneer Buddy Miles on drums.

Although Hardcore Jollies is usually not the first album anyone mentions when they list great Funkadelic albums, the dean of critics, Robert Christagu was a fan. In an A- rated review he writes :

A good sample of their surrealistic black vaudeville, this offers none of the great climaxes of their Westbound albums--no come shots, you might say--but an abundance of good old-fashioned raunch. As consistent as any album they've made, it's dense with ensemble funk and catchy riffsongs, post-heavy Mike Hampton guitar and post-backlash soul voicings. And it rescues from the public domain not only middle-period Jimmy Page but "Comin' 'Round the Mountain" and "They Don't Wear Pants on the Sunny Side of France."

The album is also noted for its live version of "Cosmic Slop", which may actually be better than the original. If you could hang out at any recording session, this must be near the top of the list.