A column dedicated to great songs, old and new.
June 21, 2005
Written by George Clinton, Gary Shider, and Walter "Junie" Morrison
From One Nation Under a Groove, Warner Brothers Records, 1978
"With the groove our only guide, we shall all be moved."
- George Clinton
If you have a really keen ear, you'll notice it the first time. Some people don't notice it until the 2nd or 3rd listen, and still others---even lifetime funk fans---don't notice it for months, years, decades.
One Nation Under a Groove
Funkadelic
It may take awhile to notice, but this legendary funk song, famous for both its musical and philosophical implications, has a relatively quiet drum sound. Oh sure, the P-Funk heavy-clap is there, as are loads of percussion instruments, tasty rhythm guitar, and quirky-funk synth sounds. But the drumkit itself, specifically the kick drum and hi-hat, sort of floats low in the mix, leaving the hypnotic bass line and surrounding interlocking parts to lead us through the groove. The snare drum gets some prominent ear-time, but that's about it.
Now, certainly, plenty of hit songs have quiet drums on them. However, in funk and other forms of dance music, a thumpin' kickdrum is often pretty standard. For comparison, check out the hit song "Give Up the Funk" by this group's alter-ego, Parliament. Compared to "One Nation", the hi-hat and kick drum are right in your earhole on that track.
I wasn't hyperbolizing when I called the bassline to this song hypnotic. "One Nation" is 7 and a half minutes long, but it's so mesmerizing, I doubt if anyone has ever impatiently looked at their watch while listening to it. George's lead vocal, which has always been a mix of church, 60s soul, doo-wop, and streetcorner madman, is highly effective here, especially because it is clear that he is on a mission:
"Here's a chance to dance our way out of our constrictions... gonna be freakin' up and down hang-up alleyway."
George is offering us funk-as-freedom, funk-as-life-pathway. These are common themes in the P-Funk world, and I think "One Nation Under a Groove" is one of the most solid pieces of proof that there's substance behind the slogans and sayings Clinton has created. The structure of this song is itself astonishing, and indicative of freedom: it 'begins' in what is ostensibly the middle of a jam, adheres to no typical song structure, but somehow stays engaging the entire time. Vocals drop in and out, someone calls, others respond, the groove continues. Hooks are heard on guitar, percussion, synthesizer, and in the vocal melody, and the groove continues. Lyrical hooklines abound, as well.... and the groove continues, tight-but-loose. Meanwhile, the message in the song subtly sinks in:
"One nation under a groove, gettin' down just for the funk of it. One nation, we're on the move, nothing can stop us now..."
To newcomers and/or funk dilettantes, I suppose there is a temptation to write off George's funk-philosophies as dance-music nonsense. Clearly, this mistaken notion is the primary source of inspiration for the thousands of bands who seek to "get funky" by simply donning zany costumes, writing wacky lyrics, and hacking out some chicken-scratch guitar. In other words, they think the Funk is frivolous, and they seek to divine It through the most obvious set of copycat signifiers available. It doesn't work. There's always been something deeper in George Clinton's vision and execution, and his total commitment to funk can't be faked. Or learned by rote.
Though the CD version of this album is fine, and even contains the tracks which appear on a bonus 45 in the LP version, I do recommend copping this thing on vinyl, in order to get the full effect of the artwork by longtime P-Funk artist Pedro Bell. Enjoying Pedro's eye-popping marker magic is a key part of the Funkadelic experience.
Trust me, you will be moved.
pcm
Purchase:
One Nation Under a Groove
at Amazon.com
at Tower
Records