r/psychedelicrock • u/SabyRK • 2d ago

Funkadelic: "Heavier Than Black Sabbath"?

https://youtube.com/shorts/c0Hksce3vgg?is=kiIJWqu6Mu78ekxy

I've long argued that Funkadelic up to about 1972 were a powerhouse psychedelic/acid-rock band that got swallowed up and overshadowed by the larger P-Funk collective once the five-piece lineup started coming apart. Oddly enough, their legacy doesn't get its due precisely >because< P-Funk are still so relevant. It's cool to see that George Clinton's body of work continues to resonate so widely decades after the fact, but in this case I think it's a double-edged sword. Because when you say "P-Funk," it conjures all these outlandish images and sounds, but not so much the trailblazing psych rock aspect that defines that first handful of Funkadelic albums. Like so many artists who are so popular they become household names, there's an entire chapter of their history that's almost forgotten about even though so many people know who they are.

32 Upvotes

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11

u/MydniteSon 2d ago

A lot of bands evolve/change/grow.

Pink Floyd did not stay the same psychedelic band they started out as when Syd Barrett was at the helm. Once Barret was gone they evolved into one of the cornerstones and mainstays of prog rock.

Fleetwood Mac started as a blues-rock band. But with the exit of Peter Green and Buckingham/Nicks joining, they became a very different animal.

So with Funkadelic. They evolved. Grew. They obviously became one of the cornerstone and mainstays of Funk. I could not/would not call them "heavier than Sabbath" though.

3

u/eubulides 2d ago

Bee Gees prior to Saturday Night Fever. Totally different vibe (though not psych).

5

u/This_Total9748 2d ago

I like both sabbath and funkadelic but their sounds don’t compare.

1

u/Call_of_the_Cuntress 2d ago

Goofy comparison

1

u/Old-Fox-3749 21h ago

Apples and oranges if you ask me.

1

u/freondeath 2d ago

Idk about heavier than Sabbath...but vaguely remember reading something said by Bernie Worrell, that P-Funk's music mid-to-late 70s was not even close to their early output. Something along those lines.

-1

u/OkayRJ 19h ago

I’ll bet you off their first album is probably the only truly great psychrock rock song there is.