Vinyl LP!
Up for the Down Stroke is an album by the American funk band Parliament. It was the band's second album (following 1970's Osmium), and their first to be released on Casablanca Records. The album was released on July 3, 1974. Its title track was Parliament's first chart hit and remains one of the most well-known P-Funk songs. The album also contains a funk reworking of The Parliaments song "(I Wanna) Testify" under the title "Testify".
Up for the Down Stroke is notable in that it regenerated George Clinton's professional relationship with bassist Bootsy Collins, who had taken a two-year hiatus from the group. Collins would play a pivotal role in all of the Parliament albums released through Casablanca Records.
"With George Clinton, the majordomo of the Parliament-Funkadelic universe, on the road for his final go-round as a touring artist, the time has never been more right for a dip into the back catalog of the groups that he led to great acclaim in the '70s. The first stop that Universal and Mercury are making in that mining is with fresh vinyl pressings of the first two albums Parliament released for Casablanca Records (the first album by this project was out in 1970 on Invictus Records). While sister act Funkadelic maintained a harder edge thanks to the influence of guitarist Eddie Hazel, Parliament laid into tight funk grooves and rode them to the point of exhaustion. Thats the driving force behind 1975s Chocolate City, a near-perfect party album comprised of roaring dancefloor fillers ('Big Footin',' 'Ride On'), a nice sultry bedroom jam in 'I Misjudged You' and a playful riff on the Beatles with 'Let Me Be.' Down Stroke, released in '74, is more varied and textured. The funk cuts are there (if the title track doesn't get you moving, you may be paralyzed from the waist down) but the second side of the LP is spotted with a wavy take on pop and 'Whatever Makes Baby Feel Good,' a psychedelic blues that lets Hazel spill molten lava all over the damn place. To Universal's credit, these pressings sound great asif the insert for Chocolate is to be believedthey had the actual master tapes to work from. These aren't just necessities for your soul/funk/R&B collection, they are requirements." - Paste Magazine
Features:
• Vinyl LP
Selections:
Side A:
1. Up For The Down Stroke
2. Testify
3. The Goose
4. I Can Move You (If You Let Me)
Side B:
1. I Just Got Back
2. All Your Goodies Are Gone
3. Whatever Makes Baby Feel Good
4. Presence Of A Brain
Up for the Down Stroke is an album by the American funk band Parliament. It was the band's second album (following 1970's Osmium), and their first to be released on Casablanca Records. The album was released on July 3, 1974. Its title track was Parliament's first chart hit and remains one of the most well-known P-Funk songs. The album also contains a funk reworking of The Parliaments song "(I Wanna) Testify" under the title "Testify".
Up for the Down Stroke is notable in that it regenerated George Clinton's professional relationship with bassist Bootsy Collins, who had taken a two-year hiatus from the group. Collins would play a pivotal role in all of the Parliament albums released through Casablanca Records.
"With George Clinton, the majordomo of the Parliament-Funkadelic universe, on the road for his final go-round as a touring artist, the time has never been more right for a dip into the back catalog of the groups that he led to great acclaim in the '70s. The first stop that Universal and Mercury are making in that mining is with fresh vinyl pressings of the first two albums Parliament released for Casablanca Records (the first album by this project was out in 1970 on Invictus Records). While sister act Funkadelic maintained a harder edge thanks to the influence of guitarist Eddie Hazel, Parliament laid into tight funk grooves and rode them to the point of exhaustion. Thats the driving force behind 1975s Chocolate City, a near-perfect party album comprised of roaring dancefloor fillers ('Big Footin',' 'Ride On'), a nice sultry bedroom jam in 'I Misjudged You' and a playful riff on the Beatles with 'Let Me Be.' Down Stroke, released in '74, is more varied and textured. The funk cuts are there (if the title track doesn't get you moving, you may be paralyzed from the waist down) but the second side of the LP is spotted with a wavy take on pop and 'Whatever Makes Baby Feel Good,' a psychedelic blues that lets Hazel spill molten lava all over the damn place. To Universal's credit, these pressings sound great asif the insert for Chocolate is to be believedthey had the actual master tapes to work from. These aren't just necessities for your soul/funk/R&B collection, they are requirements." - Paste Magazine
Features:
• Vinyl LP
Selections:
Side A:
1. Up For The Down Stroke
2. Testify
3. The Goose
4. I Can Move You (If You Let Me)
Side B:
1. I Just Got Back
2. All Your Goodies Are Gone
3. Whatever Makes Baby Feel Good
4. Presence Of A Brain
