Bootsy Collins.....One of the greatest bass players of all time does an exceptional job on this rare import. The cuts were taken directly from the GMBC's Music Archives 0f 78'....Live and direct from the mixing board.

Most of the tracks were from Bootsy's 1978 album "Bootsy...Player Of The Year?" with the same band members...Bootsy,P-Nut,Maceo,Frankie Kash Waddy,Fred "JB" Wesley,Joel "Razor Sharp" Johnson,Rick Gardner,Richard "Kush" Griffith,Gary "Mudbone" Cooper & Bootsy's big brother Phelps "Catfish" Collins. The cuts "What's The Name Of This Town","Hollywood Squares","Roto-Rooter","Bootzilla" & "Very Yes" are all here! There are also a number of other hits that were equally satisfying.

Let me be honest about my rating.....I would have given this album a 3-4 star rating ONLY because I am NOT a big fan of live albums but I just had to give it a 5 after hearing how great Bootsy's Space Bass sounds live. If you have never heard anything else live by this band or seen a concert, This will definately satisfy your hunger for raw,live funk/soul.

I scoured the planet trying to locate this disc and once I listened I was hooked! Like I said I don't really care much for live albums but something about this one just magnetizes your senses.

I have loved Bootsy's playing ever since he was with The Godfather James Brown & The JB's on through to his Parliament/Funkadelic thang. Great player of that thing called a Bass. His playing ranks up there with the best of them....."Larry Graham,Mr.Mark from Slave (extremely under-rated) and a few other well known but underated bassists.

Cop this disc if you love funk, Player Of The Year or any of Bootsy's stuff. Well worth every penny.

Peace

It's an absolute shame this disc is not still in print. I agree with other reviewers that this shows a much groovier, funkier side of Bootsy in comparison with the clean, antiseptic, and occasionally slightly-too-mellow studio albums Bootsy put out. This recording just takes it over the top.

"What's the Name of this Town" gives us a hint of the bass tone to come with a huge, fuzzy, single note bass line that mutates into a great, off beat funky groove. Great guitar work by Catfish Collins. "Rubber Duckie" dishes out a great (albeit short) groove that leads right into "Psychoticbumpschool" which turns the studio recording on its head with a new bassline hitting heavily on the dominant 7th. Bootsy is the consummate showman and involves the crowd on "The Pinocchio Theory", duly dubbed "the world's funkiest singalong". "Hollywood Squares" follows from the Player of the Year album and the bass/guitar groove smolders to great effect. "Roto-Rooter" is a manic, wild incessant groove with fantastically rhythmic Bootsy vocals (it is a pleasant rarity when Bootsy actually does straight ahead singing, which he is actually quite good at). "Very Yes" is a mellow, funky classic, and a special highlight is Catfish soloing through an envelope filter. "Can't Stay Away" ditches most of the studio song to highlight Maceo Parker playing a wild, almost completely insane (in a good way) sax solo through an Echoplex. Then into the classic from the album of the same name, "Stretchin' Out", the highlight of which is the extended midsection with a huge, but simple groove. It gets into your head...trust me, after a few days you will have "we like to party!" stuck in your head. The album's emotional climax is at the next track "I'd Rather Be With You", which features some of the most ridiculously obscene spoken vocals from Bootsy, but the subtle interplay of the guitar and keys is fantastic in the softer sections, and Bootsy's fuzzy bass solo is awesome and tremendous. Then for the end, we hit a great (albeit short) version of "Aah, the Name is Bootsy, Baby", and then into the closer of "Bootzilla" that includes snippets of "America the Beautiful" (curious Hendrix reference I suppose).

All in all, every last one of these songs is rendered with more energy and vibrancy than the studio versions. This album is a must have for any student of funk, or heck, any musician or lover of music with a good groove.

Bootsy might have been the bad boy of the JB's (supposedly James Brown fired him because he dropped some acid one night and ran off the stage thinking his bass turned into snake...), but when it came to P-Funk, Bootsy sho'nuff had it together... There's a tightness in the Rubber Band that you're not going to find at a rockier more tripped out P-Funk show... The Horny Horns hit those high notes and the rhythm section is tight, poppin' and crackly - - musicianship aside the sound quality is fantastic (straight from the board and well mixed !) - - you really feel yourself gettin' bopped in the head when the bass, clav and horns hit on this recording... When you hear Bootsy's wacked out "space bass" you know there's a party going on - - He's great with the dance floor albums, but can deliver on slow jams just as funkily... and there are even some great solos on the CD too... (Check out Catfish's guitar solo on Very Yes, not to mention a screaming trumpet solo on Roto-Rooter - - and that's just the icing on the P - - oh yeah, and Maceo Blows !) - - Plain and simple, if you've haven't heard this recording, and like Bootsy you're missing Bootsy at his best...

The line up - - Gary "Mudbone" Cooper, Robert P-Nt, Catfish, Maceo, Richard Kush Griffith, Rick Gardner, Joel "Razor Sharp" Johnson, and Frankie "Kash" Waddy...

If you like this CD check out a bit of Chuck Brown (who's also been known to utilize the P-Funk horns) - - Check out THIS IS A JOURNEY and LIVE at the 9:30... Funk on bobbah...