Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow
| Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 1970 | |||
| Recorded | 1970 | |||
| Studio | Audio Graphic Services, United Sound Studios, G-M Recording Studios, East Detroit, Michigan | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 30:52 | |||
| Label | Westbound | |||
| Producer | George Clinton | |||
| Funkadelic chronology | ||||
| ||||
Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow is the second studio album by American funk band Funkadelic, released in July 1970 by Westbound Records.[5]
Background[edit]
The album was recorded at United Sound Studios, Audio Graphic Services, and G-M Recording Studios in Detroit.[6] The inspiration for this album was, according to George Clinton, an attempt to "see if we can cut a whole album while we're all tripping on acid."[5]
The album's gatefold cover forms something of a visual pun, echoing the sentiments of the album title. The woman holding her arms towards heaven in an ecstatic pose is found to be nude upon opening the sleeve.
The original 1970 issue's artwork featured the woman facing downward, and the "Free Your Mind..." title in brown. Reissues beginning in 1990 reversed the woman's direction (substituting an alternate photograph where her head is more inclined and her fingers are more widely fanned), and have varied the placement and color of text elements.
Music and lyrics[edit]
The album and its title track, a feedback-drenched number taking a third of the album's length, introduces the subversion of Christian themes explored on later songs, describing a mystical approach to salvation in which "the Kingdom of Heaven is within" and achievable through freeing one's mind, after which one's ass will follow. Many of the songs (such as the title track and "Eulogy and Light") subvert Christian themes, including the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm.[5]
Reception[edit]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| Blender |  [8] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B–[9] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [10] |
| Pitchfork | 8.8/10[11] |
| Record Collector | [1] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
On the Billboard Music Charts (North America), Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow peaked at #11 on the Black Albums Chart and #92 on the Pop Albums chart.[5] The album and eponymous song influenced the band En Vogue, leading to the title of their hit song "Free Your Mind". [13]
In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau said this promising but ultimately confusing album has contradictory messages that might either promote "escapist idealism or psychic liberation", and a disorienting aesthetic that is most successful on "Funky Dollar Bill".[9] He later wrote that it is not surprising that the album became "a cult fave in slackerland. Not only is the shit weird, the weirdness signifies."[14] In a retrospective review for Blender, Christgau said that the album's uninhibited guitar exercises were expanded by spoken-word elements and Worrell's classically trained keyboards, which he felt did not live up to the title credo.[8]
In a positive review, AllMusic's Ned Raggett felt that both the album and title track are worthy of the credo and that the other songs range from "the good to astoundingly great."[7] Record Collector magazine's Paul Rigby observed clearly written lyrics and interesting space rock-like funk on what he called a "superb" album.[1]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow" | George Clinton, Edward Hazel, Raymond Davis | 10:04 |
| 2. | "Friday Night, August 14th" | George Clinton, Willam Nelson, Edward Nelson | 5:21 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3. | "Funky Dollar Bill" (released as a single b side - Westbound 175) | George Clinton, Edward Hazel, Raymond Davis | 3:15 |
| 4. | "I Wanna Know If It's Good to You?" (edited version released as a single - Westbound 167) | George Clinton, William Nelson, Clarence Haskins, Raymond Davis | 5:59 |
| 5. | "Some More" | George Clinton | 2:56 |
| 6. | "Eulogy and Light" | Eugene Harris | 3:31 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Fish, Chips and Sweat" (single b side Westbound W 158) | George Clinton, William Nelson, Edward Hazel | 3:22 |
| 8. | "Free Your Mind Radio Advert" | 0:55 | |
| 9. | "I Wanna Know If It's Good to You" (single a side Westbound W 167) | George Clinton, Clarence Haskins, Edward Hazel, William Nelson | 2:50 |
| 10. | "I Wanna Know If It's Good to You" (single b side instrumental - Westbound W 167) | George Clinton, William Nelson, Clarence Haskins, Raymond Davis | 3:12 |
- Notes
- Track 9 is a mono recording.
Personnel[edit]
Credits are adapted from Muze.[6]
- Funkadelic
- George Clinton – lead vocals (tracks 1, 5, 6)
- Ray Davis – vocals
- Fuzzy Haskins – vocals, lead vocals (track 7)
- Calvin Simon – vocals
- Grady Thomas – vocals
- Eddie Hazel – guitar, lead vocals (tracks 2, 4, 5, 7), backward vocal (track 6)
- Tawl Ross – guitar, lead vocals (tracks 3)
- Bernie Worrell – Hammond organ, Vox organ, piano
- Billy Nelson – bass guitar, lead vocals (tracks 2, 4)
- Tiki Fulwood – drums
Martha Reeves appeared on this project but wasn't credited. Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent, the singers to be known as Dawn, appear on "Friday Night, August 14th."
- Production
- Produced by George Clinton
- Engineering by Ed Wolfrum, Milan Bogdan
- Art direction by David Krieger
- Photography by Joel Brodsky
- Album design – The Graffiteria, Stanley Hochstadt
- Album co-ordination – Dorothy Schwartz
- Production supervision – Bob Scerbo
- Executive producer – Armen Boladian
- Orga Dorga Services – Bernie Mendelson
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Rigby, Paul (June 2009). "Free Your Mind...And Your Ass Will Follow". Record Collector (363): 101. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- ^ "Album Reviews". Billboard: 60. October 24, 1970. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
Funkadelic is back again, this time bidding to 'free your mind' with more psychedelic-soul that's bound to separate from the sense.
- ^ Smith, Chris (2006). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: From Arenas to the Underground, 1974-1980. Greenwood Press. p. 9. ISBN 0-313-32937-0.
- ^ Needs, Kris (2014). George Clinton & The Cosmic Odyssey of the P-Funk Empire. Omnibus Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-78323-037-2.
- ^ a b c d Rudland, Dean. "Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow reissue liner notes". Westbound Records: 3. 2005.
- ^ a b "Funkadelic - Free Your Mind...And Your Ass Will Follow CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- ^ a b Raggett, Ned. "Free Your Mind...And Your Ass Will Follow - Funkadelic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (August 2008). "The Guide: Back Catalogue: Funkadelic". Blender. New York. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1981). Rock Albums of the '70s: A Critical Guide. Da Capo Press. p. 144. ISBN 0306804093. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Funkadelic". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
- ^ "Pitchfork Media review". Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- ^ Rolling Stone Album Guide review. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
- ^ G. Brown (2004). Colorado Rocks!: A Half-century of Music in Colorado. Pruett Publishing. pp. 85–. ISBN 978-0-87108-930-4.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (November 2, 1993). "Loose Canon". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
External links[edit]
- Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow at Discogs (list of releases)
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