Bernie Worrell - All the WOO in the World
Bernie Worrell
All the Woo in the World
1978
When I was a little boy, I would go to the library and borrow records and tapes to listen. One record I was fascinated by was this one, but mostly because of the risque cover (you are young, impressionable, and have no idea what to make of anything on a P-Funk or related album sleeve), and the use of the word WOO the same way my younger brother approximated the word "Smurf." Too weird for a mind just getting into ELO and Rush.
So I missed out back in the mid 80s, and by the time I had fully wrapped my mind around the connection to the P-Funk mothership and the brilliance of Bernie Worrell, I could not find the album, as it was then long out of print. However, sometimes in your most unfunky moments, a gem will appear in the record store to save you.
For those that are truly living under a rock (be it a punk, hard or emo one), Bernie is an American institution. A child prodigy who was composing complete classical and jazz style works before adolescence, and whose technical proficiency puts him well beyond almost anyone else in modern popular music (and yes, I include folks like Stevie Wonder and Keith Emerson in that class). Following his genre-bending trajectory will take you from all of George Clinton's best efforts, through extended stints with the Talking Heads, Les Claypool, and Bill Laswell. His session resume also includes Fela Kuti, Keith Richards, Mike Watt, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Mos Def.
All the Woo in the World was Bernie's debut solo release, and was clearly an extension of his efforts as a core of the Parliament-Funkadelic core offensive line. It is uneven in that is seems to have no real common theme or style (which seems to be a regular criticism of this album), but all the cuts are completely listenable, fun, and often make it impossible to not want to have a party. Numerous P-Funk colleagues make appearances, and the P-Funk tendency towards head-knodding mayhem is very much in attendance; many tracks move with a kind of casual jam-riot given the big lineups. Of special note is the dual guitar onslaught of Funkateers Michael Hampton and the woofully underappreciated Eddie Hazel. They lay down slinky grooves and burning leads, with a gold star to Hazel on the 12 minute thumping opus, Insurance Man for the Funk.
I'd by a policy.
All the Woo in the World
1978
When I was a little boy, I would go to the library and borrow records and tapes to listen. One record I was fascinated by was this one, but mostly because of the risque cover (you are young, impressionable, and have no idea what to make of anything on a P-Funk or related album sleeve), and the use of the word WOO the same way my younger brother approximated the word "Smurf." Too weird for a mind just getting into ELO and Rush.
So I missed out back in the mid 80s, and by the time I had fully wrapped my mind around the connection to the P-Funk mothership and the brilliance of Bernie Worrell, I could not find the album, as it was then long out of print. However, sometimes in your most unfunky moments, a gem will appear in the record store to save you.
For those that are truly living under a rock (be it a punk, hard or emo one), Bernie is an American institution. A child prodigy who was composing complete classical and jazz style works before adolescence, and whose technical proficiency puts him well beyond almost anyone else in modern popular music (and yes, I include folks like Stevie Wonder and Keith Emerson in that class). Following his genre-bending trajectory will take you from all of George Clinton's best efforts, through extended stints with the Talking Heads, Les Claypool, and Bill Laswell. His session resume also includes Fela Kuti, Keith Richards, Mike Watt, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Mos Def.
All the Woo in the World was Bernie's debut solo release, and was clearly an extension of his efforts as a core of the Parliament-Funkadelic core offensive line. It is uneven in that is seems to have no real common theme or style (which seems to be a regular criticism of this album), but all the cuts are completely listenable, fun, and often make it impossible to not want to have a party. Numerous P-Funk colleagues make appearances, and the P-Funk tendency towards head-knodding mayhem is very much in attendance; many tracks move with a kind of casual jam-riot given the big lineups. Of special note is the dual guitar onslaught of Funkateers Michael Hampton and the woofully underappreciated Eddie Hazel. They lay down slinky grooves and burning leads, with a gold star to Hazel on the 12 minute thumping opus, Insurance Man for the Funk.
I'd by a policy.
posted by theloniusfunk at 4:51 AM
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