Connections & Disconnections

Connections & Disconnections is not the 12th Funkadelic studio album, but is the first studio album recorded by original Parliaments members Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas, after the trio left Parliament-Funkadelic. With the history of financial disputes with Clinton behind them, and backing from Westbound Records founder Armen Boladian, this album (co-produced by former Sly and the Family Stone drummer Greg Errico, without the involvement of George Clinton) was released in Germany in 1980 entitled 42.9%, and in the United States in 1981 entitled Connections & Disconnections.[3] It was reissued by Rhino Records in 1992 with the title Who's a Funkadelic? The competing release challenged George Clinton's claim to ownership of the "Funkadelic" name, ultimately leading to a lawsuit between the trio and Clinton.

Connections & Disconnections
Studio album by
Funkadelic
Released1980
GenreFunk
LabelLAX Records
ProducerGreg Errico, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas
Funkadelic chronology
Uncle Jam Wants You
(1979)		 Connections & Disconnections
(1980)		 The Electric Spanking of War Babies
(1981)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Robert ChristgauC[2]

Significance

Due to the combination of several factors, by the end of the 1970s, the Parliament-Funkadelic enterprise was starting to crumble. Dissatisfaction with George Clinton's style of financial management led to the departure of additional key members Bernie Worrell, William "Billy Bass" Nelson, Glenn Goins and Jerome Brailey. Haskins, Simon, and Thomas (who with bass vocalist Ray Davis), performed with Clinton as The Parliaments since the late 1950s), felt increasingly marginalized by the influx of new P-Funk musicians, and in 1977, refused to sign a Backstage Management contract requiring them to relinquish all rights to the names Parliament and Funkadelic. Shortly after the trio left Parliament-Funkadelic, they formed their own band, which they also named "Funkadelic," and recorded Connections & Disconnections. Their use of the name Funkadelic resulted in an acrimonious legal dispute with Clinton's organization, and is rumored to have contributed to accelerating the disintegration of Parliament-Funkadelic.[1][4]

Track listing
  1. "Phunklords" (Haskins, Mims, Simon, Thomas, Powers) – 5:35
  2. "You'll Like It Too" (Haskins, Simon, Thomas, Williams, McEvoy) – 4:29
  3. "The Witch" (Haskins, Jackson, Simon, Thomas, Drake) – 9:31
  4. "Connections and Disconnections" (Geter, Haskins, Mims, Simon, Thomas) – 5:02 (released as a single LAX WS8 70055)
  5. "Come Back" (Haskins, Simon, Thomas, Mims, Powers) – 4:32
  6. "Call the Doctor" (Drake, Haskins, Mims, Simon, Thomas) – 5:14
  7. "Who's a Funkadelic" (Haskins, Mims, Simon, Thomas) – 5:47

Personnel
  • Fuzzy Haskins - vocals & percussion
  • Calvin Simon - vocals & percussion
  • Grady Thomas - vocals & percussion
  • Michael Williams - keyboards, guitar & vocals
  • Billy Mims - clavinet, guitar, vocals
  • Ben Powers Jr - drums, bass & vocals
  • John Quad Wiley - keyboards & vocals
  • Stan Thorn - keyboards
  • Ken Blackmon - bass
  • Thomas "Pae-dog" McEvoy - jazz horn
  • Dede Dickerson - background musician
  • Ngoh Spencer - background musician
  • Vicky Randal - background musician
  • Betty Jo Drake - background vocals

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. Robert Christgau review
  3. Release: Connections & Disconnections. Discogs. Retrieved on 2009-07-23.
  4. Mills, David; Alexander, Larry; Stanley, Thomas; Thomas, Aris (1998). George Clinton and P-Funk: An Oral History. New York: Avon Books. pp. 110–123. ISBN 0-380-79378-4.
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