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Best Funk Album Ever

In no particular order...
Rick James - Bustin Out of L Seven
Bootsy - Ah the name is Bootsy Baby
Herbie Hancock - Thrust / Feets Dont Fail Me Now
Maceo Parker - Life On Planet Groove
James Brown - Live at the Apollo
 
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Rejuvenation by The Meters is a personal favorite, but you can't go wrong with any early-mid 70's Funkadelic or Parliament. I go with Funkadelic Standing On the Verge..., but Maggot Brain, Free Your Mind.... and the vastly underrated Lets Take It To The Stage are incredible. +1 to the person who nominated Sly's "Riot". Fresh is also an incredible Sly's joint.
 
Rejuvenation by The Meters is a personal favorite, but you can't go wrong with any early-mid 70's Funkadelic or Parliament. I go with Funkadelic Standing On the Verge..., but Maggot Brain, Free Your Mind.... and the vastly underrated Lets Take It To The Stage are incredible. +1 to the person who nominated Sly's "Riot". Fresh is also an incredible Sly's joint.

+ 1 and I will add America Eats It's Young and do the Loose Booty :D
 
Rejuvenation by The Meters is a personal favorite, but you can't go wrong with any early-mid 70's Funkadelic or Parliament. I go with Funkadelic Standing On the Verge..., but Maggot Brain, Free Your Mind.... and the vastly underrated Lets Take It To The Stage are incredible. +1 to the person who nominated Sly's "Riot". Fresh is also an incredible Sly's joint.

Fresh is amazing too. If You Want Me To Stay is one of my all time favorites.
 
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Maybe this is a little OT, but IMO it’s something worth thinking about.

In 1970, James Brown and the JBs were in Lagos Nigeria. This is the lineup that created “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine,” “Super Bad,” “Soul Power,” and “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing.” Pretty funky stuff. Arguably some of Brown’s most intense funk recordings.

While in Lagos, many of the JBs spent several nights catching Fela Kuti’s show at his Shrine nightclub. Here’s a couple of quotes from Bootsy about the experience:

“ [Fela] had a club in Lagos, and we came to the club and they were treating us like kings. We were telling them they're the funkiest cats we ever heard in our life. I mean, this is the James Brown band, but we were totally wiped out! That was one trip I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.”

“Well actually I thought THEY were the greatest, period. Even before I got into James Brown’s band, the James Brown band was number one to me. But once I got there and saw Fela and them, then I had second thoughts about it. I mean, seriously. The James Brown band reminded me of that same non-stop groove, you know: you gotta move. And then when I heard these cats, it was like another dimension of that. A dimension that I had never experienced before. And it had a deeper feel to me. I couldn’t explain it, you know, but it was something I had been involved with but not as deep. When I heard them, that was the deepest level you could get. That’s the only way I can explain that. Not that I’m doggin’ myself along with the rest of the guys, but that’s the way I felt. When I heard that, it was like, ‘Man, this is IT. We gotta try to be like this!’ And I knew we couldn’t!”
 
Maybe this is a little OT, but IMO it’s something worth thinking about.

In 1970, James Brown and the JBs were in Lagos Nigeria. This is the lineup that created “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine,” “Super Bad,” “Soul Power,” and “Talkin’ Loud and Sayin’ Nothing.” Pretty funky stuff. Arguably some of Brown’s most intense funk recordings.

While in Lagos, many of the JBs spent several nights catching Fela Kuti’s show at his Shrine nightclub. Here’s a couple of quotes from Bootsy about the experience:

“ [Fela] had a club in Lagos, and we came to the club and they were treating us like kings. We were telling them they're the funkiest cats we ever heard in our life. I mean, this is the James Brown band, but we were totally wiped out! That was one trip I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.”

“Well actually I thought THEY were the greatest, period. Even before I got into James Brown’s band, the James Brown band was number one to me. But once I got there and saw Fela and them, then I had second thoughts about it. I mean, seriously. The James Brown band reminded me of that same non-stop groove, you know: you gotta move. And then when I heard these cats, it was like another dimension of that. A dimension that I had never experienced before. And it had a deeper feel to me. I couldn’t explain it, you know, but it was something I had been involved with but not as deep. When I heard them, that was the deepest level you could get. That’s the only way I can explain that. Not that I’m doggin’ myself along with the rest of the guys, but that’s the way I felt. When I heard that, it was like, ‘Man, this is IT. We gotta try to be like this!’ And I knew we couldn’t!”

Very cool.
There is a live Fela album from this period, featuring Ginger Baker (he sits in on a couple of songs, and sounds great). I bought this because of Ginger, way back when it was first released (1971?), but it really turned me onto Fela and his incredible band.

Amazon.com: Live With Ginger Baker: Fela Kuti: Music

My own personal favorite funk album might be the aforementioned "Rejuvenation" by the Meters.
 
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