George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars - T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. (The Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership)

Anybody Gets Funked Up?

'The Awesome Power Of A Fully Operational Mothership' was one of only four George Clinton projects during the 1990's.This was during that period where Clinton was deeply emmersed in the alternative rock set of the day,appearing at places like the Lollapalooza Festival,in articles in MOJO magaize and being sampled (and paid heavy tribute to) by just about every rapper and hip hop artist under the sun.So T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M has a 32 member band of P-Funk all stars along for the ride;Clinton even goes as far as including a numbered list of each band member that has a small water color painting of each of them in the liner notes (the corrosponding name to number appears in the insert).That being said T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M seems like more of a presentation piece then Hey Man, Smell My Finger and in many ways it is.Musically "If Anybody Wants To Get Funked Up" sets the tone;this music is NOT built on samplers and sequencers but George Clinton certainly does his best to get the P-Funk all stars to sound as if it is.Most of the music is set up to make Clinton sound like he's "down" with the G-Funk style of Dr.Dre or what Ice Cube was doing at the time.So T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M is certainly very hip-hop orineted.Still this includes some clever songs such as "Mathematics",which uses clever wordplay to describe a love affair as a financial equasion,full of Clintons singular wit.And Charlie Wilson throws some strong and heavy funk flavors on the lively "New Spaceship".On "Rock The Party"","Get Your Funk On" and the title cut George and his band give it there all on songs that explore a vivic psychedelic landscape with hot horns and guitars before moving onto a reprise of the first song.Nontheless T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M suffers from the same problem Clinton's albums had since 1984-too many of the songs rely on jamming and random singing and chanting,as if that is what funk is in the first place.So much of it just goes on forever and after awhile all starts to sound somewhat alike.T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M is definately the product of the mid 1990's funk revival when the classic albums were being reissued and so many artists like George Clinton felt the need to contribute new material like this to the brew.If you are a P-Funk completist you'll need this;it is by no means terrible.If you are a little more finnicky about your funk and don't like it when it relys too much on the sound of contemporary hip-hop then T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M may not be the best place to go.Depends on which variety of THE BOMB you prefer-it's all up to you. May 3, 2007

Lame

I had purchased this album when it was first released. It is quite dissapointing, but a few songs were listenable *for the time*. October 2, 2006

He Could've Done Better!

This is not the typical George Clinton that I'm used to hearing!
The only standout songs are "If Anybody Gets Funked Up" and "Funky Kind". It sounds like George and the band were tired from all that Mothership touring from the 70's. February 25, 2006

Coming to resue me and take me underground

I'll have to give this a 5 star because it is an overall excellent album and did not get the props it deserves. I recommend it to all P-funk fans. The single "Anybody Get Funked Up" is a good dance number. Hip shaking music to be exact. I love Belita Woods voice. "Summer Swim" should be called "Aqua Boogie" part 2 since they are singing about Booty @ the beach. My favorite is "Underground Angel" it has that "FUNKADELIC" over/undertone. You won't be disappointed. January 18, 2006

More than a little Funky

If funk were made of strawberries and bananas I'd be drinking a lot of smoothies. This album is simply great. It's everything a 20-something college kid likes about Hip-Hop, Funk, and any kind of good music rolled into one album. It's really smart music too. Hard as Steel is brilliantly funny without being too corny, and Underground Angel is amazing. BUY THIS. February 8, 2005

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