Ahh…The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!

Released

Bootsy Collins’ second solo album, released in 1976, was recorded with the same collection of Parliament and Funkadelic members as its predecessor. The songs have the same goofy spirit as those on Stretchin’ Out In Bootsy’s Rubber Band, with the first side all hardcore funk jams (the title track, “The Pinocchio Theory” and “Rubber Duckie”) and the second a set of psychedelic soul ballads (“What’s A Telephone Bill?”, the nearly ten-minute “Munchies For Your Love,” “Can’t Stay Away”). Many of the riffs and hooks bear strong similarities to hits from the P-Funk catalog, but Collins’ impossibly deep lead bass and genial vocals give them their own identity, and “Munchies For Your Love,” despite its silly title, gives the band a lot of room to stretch out into mind-warping dubby funk fusion.

Phil Freeman

The follow up to his successful solo debut album sees Collins pursue a similar path with his unique fusion of cosmic R’n’B and sci-fi funk. Perhaps his best solo album, ‘Ah The Name…’ codified his particular, multi-faceted take on the Parliament / Funkadelic cosmic groove: playful, full of hooks, experimental and equally full of quality playing and cutting edge studio trickery.

Harold Heath