Osmium

Osmium (1970, Invictus Records)

Lets Face it. Any project that George Clinton is involved with is going to have some of the strangest, funniest lyrical matter that anyone has ever come across. Lyrics alone don't make an album great though, and on Osmium (my favorite Parliament album), they are secondary. Even though the lyrical matter is seriously funny( "My Automobile", "Funky Woman", "Nothing before me but thang"), the music on this is a force to be reckoned with.

Starting with the inimitable "I Call my baby Pussycat", the band goes off on a notably heavy, Hendrixesque journey, that, for a Parliament album, is remarkably structured. Vocals all round are excellent, and the guitar intro from "Hardcore Jollies" doesn't hurt either.



The Ruth Copeland penned "Little ole Country Boy"(best known as a sample from De La Soul's "Potholes in My Lawn" ) is a funky and at times psychedelic, humorous lament that uses just the right amount of twang, while "The Silent Boatman" and "Moonshine Heather" are beautiful songs that , though out of place, add a stranger, more interesting dimension to the album.



Parliament does rock music better than most rock bands. They infuse into it an underlying groove that is undeniable, and that is why the rockier tracks on this album ("Nothing Before Me But Thang", "Funky Woman" and "Living the Life") excell. There is something on these tracks that the listener would not get with a conventional rock n roll band. The Afro Alien funky mythos runs wild on these tunes.

The real treat on this album however, is the bonus tracks. "Red Hot Mama" is an interesting example of this song before it transformed into the version we know on "Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On." "Come in out of the Rain" is the single most poignant song on the album and sounds like the theme song to a political march.



If you are looking for an early Parliament album but are unsure of which one to get, buy this album. While "Up For the Down Stroke" is a great record. This album has ten times more soul and musical spirit and expresses the great fun and carefree mentality that Parlia-Funkadelic still had in their early days.

And if you ask me....it is the best album that Hendrix never made. R.I.P Eddie Hazel.

Tracks

1. I Call My Baby Pussycat
2. Put Love On Your Life
3. Little Ole Country Boy
4. Moonshine Heather
5. Oh Lord, Why Lord
6. My Automobile
7. Nothing Before Me But Thang
8. Funky Woman
9. Livin The Life
10. The Silent Boatman
11. Breakdown (Mono version)
12. Red Hot Mama
13. Come In Out Of The Rain
14. Loose Booty
15. Fantasy Is Reality
16. Unfinished Instrumental
17. Breakdown (stereo unedited version)