As a teenager, Bootsy Collins was a bass playing prodigy in James Brown's band, and later as a co-founder, with George Clinton, of Parliament-Funkadelic.
Long considered one of the most innovative bass players ever, it's no surprise that so many other bassists - all of them stars in their own right - would want to guest on this album, Bootsy's first in over six years.
World Wide Funk was recorded at Collins' own Re-Hab Studio in his hometown of Cincinnati, although many of the musicians who participated in this project recorded their contributions elsewhere and mailed them in. But it's not like you can tell. It definitely sounds like there's a party going on, and there really is - it's just that it's a "world wide" party with people spread out everywhere, which might possibly be how the record's title came about.
The title track features beat boxer Doug E. Fresh, former Guns n' Roses axeman Buckethead and Alissia Benveniste, a real badass funk bassist. It's a real workout, and you'll be hooked on the very first listen. Snoop Dogg shows up on Hi-On-Heels, a seductive R&B tune that also features October London, smooth lush tones in tow.
Bass-Rigged-System - probably my favourite track - is a super-summit of bass-playing talent starring Collins, Benveniste, Victor Wooten, Manou Gallo and Stanley Clarke. Make sure your speakers can handle this one, with it's fully loaded bottom end and fuzzed-out licks n' grooves. I played this track for my musician son-in-law, who had never heard of Bootsy Collins but knew a few of the LP's younger guest contributors. He loved it! Call it a generational-gap-filler thing or whatever, but this album is now a permanent fixture on may son-in-law's iPod playlist. It really is music that bridges generations.
P-Funker Dennis Chambers and guitar wizard Eric Gales help Collins keep things interesting on the raucous Come Back Bootsy, and the late keyboard genius, Bernie Worrell - who died in 2016 - is both the subject of and stars on the poignant tribute to him called A Salute To Bernie, featuring synthesizer parts Worrell himself recorded in the early 2000s when he was still on this side of the grass but had been, until assembled by Collins here, left unused.
Collins role on this record is that of ringleader, standing in the middle of the funk storm that spins around him like a supercool tornado of rhythm and colour. World Wide Funk is an unexpected delight. It's refreshing to see, and hear, that such a ferociously gifted funkster can age so gracefully.
World Wide Funk is certain to please Collins' fans. It will also win him new ones, like my son-in-law. It contains all the elements Collins is known for: funky grooves, catchy melodies, excellent musicianship and humor.
The impact Collins has had on generations of musicians can not be overstated. His work with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as on his many solo recordings, has been influential on so many levels and inspired so many other musicians, something that is evidenced on World Wide Funk by the calibre of remarkable talent that so enthusiastically participated in the project.
This album is essential listening not just for music lovers and people who like to get up and move to the music. It's also a lesson for musicians who want to learn how to really groove. Because nobody grooves like Bootsy Collins, and the sheer wealth of assembled talent on this recording makes it a masterclass in funk.
It’s also great party music. It is no accident that Collins’ bass lines are the most sampled in all of hip hop and dance music, and this album will no doubt provide a new batch of infectious riffs for songs that have yet to be written. Collins has been the funkiest bassist on the planet since the 1960s and that isn't going to change. The older he gets, it seems, the funkier he becomes. If you like funk - and who doesn't? - you need to add this record to your collection. My copy is the 2017 "splatter vinyl" pressing on Mascot records. It sounds amazing, even though it's absolutely a digital recording. It is also …
As a teenager, Bootsy Collins was a bass playing prodigy in James Brown's band, and later as a co-founder, with George Clinton, of Parliament-Funkadelic.
Long considered one of the most innovative bass players ever, it's no surprise that so many other bassists - all of them stars in their own right - would want to guest on this album, Bootsy's first in over six years.
World Wide Funk was recorded at Collins' own Re-Hab Studio in his hometown of Cincinnati, although many of the musicians who participated in this project recorded their contributions elsewhere and mailed them in. But it's not like you can tell. It definitely sounds like there's a party going on, and there really is - it's just that it's a "world wide" party with people spread out everywhere, which might possibly be how the record's title came about.
The title track features beat boxer Doug E. Fresh, former Guns n' Roses axeman Buckethead and Alissia Benveniste, a real badass funk bassist. It's a real workout, and you'll be hooked on the very first listen. Snoop Dogg shows up on Hi-On-Heels, a seductive R&B tune that also features October London, smooth lush tones in tow.
Bass-Rigged-System - probably my favourite track - is a super-summit of bass-playing talent starring Collins, Benveniste, Victor Wooten, Manou Gallo and Stanley Clarke. Make sure your speakers can handle this one, with it's fully loaded bottom end and fuzzed-out licks n' grooves. I played this track for my musician son-in-law, who had never heard of Bootsy Collins but knew a few of the LP's younger guest contributors. He loved it! Call it a generational-gap-filler thing or whatever, but this album is now a permanent fixture on may son-in-law's iPod playlist. It really is music that bridges generations.
P-Funker Dennis Chambers and guitar wizard Eric Gales help Collins keep things interesting on the raucous Come Back Bootsy, and the late keyboard genius, Bernie Worrell - who died in 2016 - is both the subject of and stars on the poignant tribute to him called A Salute To Bernie, featuring synthesizer parts Worrell himself recorded in the early 2000s when he was still on this side of the grass but had been, until assembled by Collins here, left unused.
Collins role on this record is that of ringleader, standing in the middle of the funk storm that spins around him like a supercool tornado of rhythm and colour. World Wide Funk is an unexpected delight. It's refreshing to see, and hear, that such a ferociously gifted funkster can age so gracefully.
World Wide Funk is certain to please Collins' fans. It will also win him new ones, like my son-in-law. It contains all the elements Collins is known for: funky grooves, catchy melodies, excellent musicianship and humor.
The impact Collins has had on generations of musicians can not be overstated. His work with James Brown and Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as on his many solo recordings, has been influential on so many levels and inspired so many other musicians, something that is evidenced on World Wide Funk by the calibre of remarkable talent that so enthusiastically participated in the project.
This album is essential listening not just for music lovers and people who like to get up and move to the music. It's also a lesson for musicians who want to learn how to really groove. Because nobody grooves like Bootsy Collins, and the sheer wealth of assembled talent on this recording makes it a masterclass in funk.
It’s also great party music. It is no accident that Collins’ bass lines are the most sampled in all of hip hop and dance music, and this album will no doubt provide a new batch of infectious riffs for songs that have yet to be written. Collins has been the funkiest bassist on the planet since the 1960s and that isn't going to change. The older he gets, it seems, the funkier he becomes. If you like funk - and who doesn't? - you need to add this record to your collection. My copy is the 2017 "splatter vinyl" pressing on Mascot records. It sounds amazing, even though it's absolutely a digital recording. It is also …
BONUS TRACK
William Earl Collins was born in Cincinnati, in 1951. He claims his mother named him Bootsy because he just "looked like a Bootsy."
With his older brother, Phelps, Collins formed the funk band The Pacemakers, in 1968. In 1970, after most of the members of James Brown's band quit over a pay dispute, The Pacemakers were hired as Brown's backing band and became known as The J.B.'s, playing on some of Brown's most intense funk recordings. Collins later stated that Brown was a father figure to him.
After parting ways with Brown, Collins returned to Cincinnati and formed House Guests, again with his brother Phelps. The brothers then moved to Detroit where they were introduced to George Clinton, which resulted in Collins playing bass on most of the Funkadelic and Parliament albums through the early 1980s.
Two Collins albums appeared in 1980, and in 1984 Bootsy collaborated with Jerry Harrison, of Talking Heads, to produce Five Minutes, a dance record sampled and edited from Ronald Reagan's infamous "We begin bombing in five minutes" speech.
A nearly five-year hiatus followed, after which Collins had something of a comeback with What's Bootsy Doin'? in 1988. In 1990, he collaborated with Deee-Lite on Groove Is In The Heart, and Bootsy's Rubber Band became the backing musicians for Deee-Lite during the world tour that followed.
Bootsy kept busy with different projects, including singing the lead vocal on Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice.
In 2019, Collins announced on Facebook that he would be retiring from live performances for health reasons, stating that the "time has come for me to tell all our funkateers that I will not be playing bass in concerts anymore. I have decided to become a coach for up & coming musicians. I know u r disappointed, just think for a moment how I feel. Doc said too much pressure on my inner ear & right hand."
In 2010 Collins launched Funk University (Funk U), an online-only bass guitar school in which he also serves as curator and head professor.
In a 2011 interview with The Guardian, Collins stated that at one point in his life he took LSD every day for over two years. I don't know if that explains anything, but it's probably worth noting.
William Earl Collins was born in Cincinnati, in 1951. He claims his mother named him Bootsy because he just "looked like a Bootsy."
With his older brother, Phelps, Collins formed the funk band The Pacemakers, in 1968. In 1970, after most of the members of James Brown's band quit over a pay dispute, The Pacemakers were hired as Brown's backing band and became known as The J.B.'s, playing on some of Brown's most intense funk recordings. Collins later stated that Brown was a father figure to him.
After parting ways with Brown, Collins returned to Cincinnati and formed House Guests, again with his brother Phelps. The brothers then moved to Detroit where they were introduced to George Clinton, which resulted in Collins playing bass on most of the Funkadelic and Parliament albums through the early 1980s.
Two Collins albums appeared in 1980, and in 1984 Bootsy collaborated with Jerry Harrison, of Talking Heads, to produce Five Minutes, a dance record sampled and edited from Ronald Reagan's infamous "We begin bombing in five minutes" speech.
A nearly five-year hiatus followed, after which Collins had something of a comeback with What's Bootsy Doin'? in 1988. In 1990, he collaborated with Deee-Lite on Groove Is In The Heart, and Bootsy's Rubber Band became the backing musicians for Deee-Lite during the world tour that followed.
Bootsy kept busy with different projects, including singing the lead vocal on Fatboy Slim's Weapon of Choice.
In 2019, Collins announced on Facebook that he would be retiring from live performances for health reasons, stating that the "time has come for me to tell all our funkateers that I will not be playing bass in concerts anymore. I have decided to become a coach for up & coming musicians. I know u r disappointed, just think for a moment how I feel. Doc said too much pressure on my inner ear & right hand."
In 2010 Collins launched Funk University (Funk U), an online-only bass guitar school in which he also serves as curator and head professor.
In a 2011 interview with The Guardian, Collins stated that at one point in his life he took LSD every day for over two years. I don't know if that explains anything, but it's probably worth noting.
