This one goes out to Jerome.
For a long time I’ve been really amazed by Eddie Hazel. I didn’t know much about him until I started to get into Funkadelic. I threw on Maggot Brain was instantly astounded by this dude, even if I was a little annoyed with Clinton’s preamble. I remember thinking, this is some music that my mother could listen to, even though she’s always been more into Cream and Janis than Parliament. Here was this whole other side of P-Funk that I had never really been introduced to, this whole psychedelic side to a band I thought I had loved since I learned who was behind all those West Coast samples. I’ve seen it written that Michael Hampton’s golden pass into Funkadelic when Eddie Hazel was on temporary leave was a note for note rendition of this track, and it was this track that they played at Eddie’s funeral after he passed in ’92.
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Have to say, though, the song that stays on my iPod isn’t Maggot Brain (damn that intro), but instead comes from Hazel’s solo effort, Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs. I’ve always had a soft spot for this song, and sometimes rock the José Feliciano version; this has been my favorite for awhile.
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It’s a trip to me to think that Hazel’s also on this Temptations track that made it to No. 1 on the soul charts in ’75, along with bassist Billy “Bass” Nelson also from Funkadelic.
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Bonus: Physical Love
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Wow. Nice to see appreciation for Eddie Hazel. Gone too soon and far too unappreciated. Amazing talent. Didn’t know until today he’d done a solo album. Found this site while checking him out. Thanks for that last track–Physical Love–that is truly timeless. Some guys sound like they literally bring their talent from another planet. Maybe there was something to that Mothership Connection concept. This dude is truly out of this world.