Greatest Songs, #474: “One Nation Under a Groove” by Funkadelic

Album: One Nation Under a Groove (Warner Bros. Records)
Year: 1978
Written by: George Clinton, Garry Shider, & Walter Morrison
Billboard Hot 100: #28

 From Rolling Stone:

“To me, disco was like fucking with one stroke,” Clinton told ROLLING STONE. “All they did was take one funk beat and sanitize it to no end.” But in 1978, Clinton recruited keyboardist Junie Morrison, formerly of the Ohio Players, for this polyrhythmic manifesto. Clinton’s thesis: “Here’s a chance to dance our way out of our constrictions.”

From allmusic, reviewing the album:

One Nation Under a Groove was not only Funkadelic’s greatest moment, it was their most popular album, bringing them an unprecedented commercial breakthrough by going platinum and spawning a number one R&B smash in the title track. It was a landmark LP for the so-called “black rock” movement…; more than that, though, the whole album is full of fuzzed-out, Hendrix-style guitar licks, even when the music is clearly meant for the dancefloor. This may not have been a new concept for Funkadelic, but it’s executed here with the greatest clarity and accessibility in their catalog. Furthermore, out of George Clinton’s many conceptual albums (serious and otherwise), One Nation Under a Groove is the pinnacle of his political consciousness. It’s unified by a refusal to acknowledge boundaries — social, sexual, or musical — and, by extension, the uptight society that created them. The tone is positive, not militant — this funk is about community, freedom, and independence, and you can hear it in every cut…

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