{"title":"The Brides Of Funkenstein","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"funk-or-walk-2","title":"Funk or Walk","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGeorge Clinton's\u003c\/strong\u003e imagination knew no bounds and, defying normal music industry convention, by 1978 had five bands signed to three different record labels. One of these comprised of three \u003cem\u003eParliament \/ Funkadelic\u003c\/em\u003e female backing singers working under the name of \u003cem\u003eParlet\u003c\/em\u003e, whose debut single, \"\u003cem\u003ePleasure Principle\u003c\/em\u003e\" was released on \u003cem\u003eCasablanca Records\u003c\/em\u003e in March 1978.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was Clinton's idea that two other backing singers, \u003cstrong\u003eLynn Mabry\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eDawn Silva\u003c\/strong\u003e, become the \u003cem\u003eBrides Of Funkenstein\u003c\/em\u003e, a character he invented for the 1976 Parliament LP, \"\u003cem\u003eThe Clones Of Dr Funkenstein\u003c\/em\u003e\". \"I have to be honest - at first, I hated the name and I thought George was kidding,\" Mabry told \u003cem\u003eBlues and Soul\u003c\/em\u003e, \"But I have gotten to like it - especially just the Brides.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eClinton got the Brides signed to \u003cem\u003eAtlantic Records\u003c\/em\u003e and their first single was \"\u003cem\u003eDisco To Go\u003c\/em\u003e\" \/ \"\u003cem\u003eWhen You're Gone\u003c\/em\u003e\". The A-side was written and produced by Clinton and \u003cstrong\u003eBootsy Collins\u003c\/strong\u003e and had originally featured in live shows by Collins' live band.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClinton\u003c\/strong\u003e was asked by \u003cem\u003eBlack Echoes\u003c\/em\u003e why the song was recorded by the Brides rather than Bootsy. \"He could, and it would have been a smash too,\" he replied. \"But we thought it sounded too much like \u003cstrong\u003eJames Brown\u003c\/strong\u003e, so we gave it to the girls. Now it don't sound like \u003cstrong\u003eJames Brown\u003c\/strong\u003e.\" \"\u003cem\u003eDisco To Go\u003c\/em\u003e\" went gold in America selling over 500,000 copies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was the perfect springboard for the Brides debut LP, \u003cem\u003eFunk Or Walk\u003c\/em\u003e which quickly climbed into the upper reaches of the R\u0026amp;B chart and even saw the duo embark upon a signing tour of record stores. All of the songs on \"\u003cem\u003eFunk Or Walk\u003c\/em\u003e\" were written by legends of \u003cstrong\u003eP-Funk\u003c\/strong\u003e, such as \u003cstrong\u003eBootsy Collins\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eRodney Curtis\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eBernie Worrell\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eGary Shider\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eClinton\u003c\/strong\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGeorge\u003c\/strong\u003e has got thousands of tracks,\" Mabry told \u003cem\u003eBlack Echoes\u003c\/em\u003e. \"When we go into the studio he says, 'Like this track?' And we go 'Aaaaaahh naa.' 'Like this one?' 'Well, yeah.' He's got thousands of tracks. He's got a whole cupboard full of them. He's got enough tracks to keep him in albums for two years.\" \u003cstrong\u003eClinton\u003c\/strong\u003e himself told \u003cem\u003eBlues \u0026amp; Soul\u003c\/em\u003e how his busy production line worked, \"How do we do it? Real simple: we lay down rhythm tracks all the time and just decide who should have what.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFunk Or Walk\u003c\/em\u003e kicked off with the dancefloor filler \"\u003cem\u003eDisco To Go\u003c\/em\u003e\" while elsewhere the nine-minute ballad \"\u003cem\u003eJust Like You\u003c\/em\u003e\" showed another musical side of the group. \"\u003cem\u003eBirdie\u003c\/em\u003e\" was a prime slice of word-playful danceable horn-powered funk arranged by \u003cstrong\u003eFred Wesley\u003c\/strong\u003e. \"\u003cem\u003eAmorous\u003c\/em\u003e\" and the ethereal intergalactic \"\u003cem\u003eWar Ship Touchante\u003c\/em\u003e\" splattered with electronic and vocal effects - a close encounter of the \u003cstrong\u003eP-Funk\u003c\/strong\u003e kind - were released as the Brides' second single and peaked at #76 on the Hot Soul Singles chart in February 1979.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"I especially like '\u003cem\u003eAmorous\u003c\/em\u003e' and '\u003cem\u003eWar Ship Touchante\u003c\/em\u003e'\", \u003cstrong\u003eSilva\u003c\/strong\u003e told \u003cem\u003eBlues \u0026amp; Soul\u003c\/em\u003e, \"because they convey a real message and I like that. And that message is happy and it is important to us that people get happiness from us. We really get upset when we don't win over an audience.\" \u003cem\u003eFunk Or Walk\u003c\/em\u003e peaked at #17 on the Billboard R\u0026amp;B album chart and #70 on the Hot 100.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt was also released in the UK and Germany to tie in with UK and European dates at the end of 1978 and early in 1979. \u003cem\u003eBlues \u0026amp; Soul\u003c\/em\u003e gave it a positive review, \"If you like \u003cem\u003eParliament \/ Funkadelic\u003c\/em\u003e, then it's easy - you'll lap this up.\"\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BGP","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50982918160715,"sku":"2236427","price":23.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50982917898571,"sku":"2236426","price":7.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/CDBGPM_318_THE_BRIDES_OF_FUNKENSTEIN_34318f57_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1734373325"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/the-brides-of-funkenstein.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}