Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 28, 1977 | |||
Recorded | 1976–1977 | |||
Studio | United Sound Systems, Detroit, Michigan, and Hollywood Sound, Hollywood, California | |||
Genre | Funk, disco | |||
Length | 44:22 | |||
Label | Casablanca | |||
Producer | George Clinton | |||
Parliament chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome | ||||
|
Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome is the sixth studio album by the American funk band Parliament, released in 1977. [1] [2]
It is a loose concept album warning the listener of falling into the "Placebo Syndrome," which according to George Clinton is consumerism, and listening to disco music, which he saw as a simplification of funk music in attempt to gain commercial success. The album spawned the R&B number No. 1 single in " Flash Light", which features a funky synthesizer bass line played on a Minimoog by keyboardist Bernie Worrell. The album became Parliament's fourth consecutive gold album and second platinum album. The song "Sir Nose d'Voidoffunk (Pay Attention – B3M)" contains nursery rhymes " Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" and " Three Blind Mice"; the lyrics were changed to refer to drug use.
The original vinyl release contained a 22″×33″ poster of the character Sir Nose D'Voidoffunk, as well as an 8-page comic book that explains the concept behind the LP. Both the poster and the comic book were illustrated by Overton Loyd.
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Christgau's Record Guide | A [4] |
Rolling Stone | [5] |
(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10 [7] |
The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul | [1] |
The Globe and Mail praised the "superb" backing vocals of the Brides of Funkenstein. [8] The New York Times wrote that "the music is typical P-Funk bouncing disco, lively and toe-tapping, with gabbling spoken and sung vocals on top." [9]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | " Bop Gun (Endangered Species)" (released as a single, Casablanca NB 900) | George Clinton, Garry Shider, Bootsy Collins | 8:31 |
2. | "Sir Nose d'Voidoffunk (Pay Attention – B3M)" | Clinton, Collins, Bernie Worrell | 10:04 |
3. | "Wizard of Finance" | Clinton, Ronald Ford, Glenn Goins | 4:23 |
4. | " Funkentelechy" (released as a single-Casablanca NB 921) | Clinton, Collins | 10:56 |
5. | "Placebo Syndrome" | Clinton, Billy Nelson | 4:20 |
6. | " Flash Light" (released as a single, Casablanca NB 909, and as a promo-only 12″ single, Casablanca NB 20113 DJ) | Clinton, Collins, Worrell | 5:46 |
According to George Clinton, Mallia Franklin also sang on this album with other original Parlet members Debbie Wright and Jeanette Washington but she is not listed on the album's credits.[ citation needed]
Horn arrangement by Bernie Worrell and Fred Wesley
Chart (1977–1978) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ( Billboard) [10] | 2 |
US Billboard 200 [11] | 13 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States ( RIAA) [12] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |