Funkadelics Greatest Hits

The small Detroit-based Westbound label released this best-of collection in 1975, when Funkadelic made the jump to Warner. It never saw a CD release and only exists on vinyl, so it's a bit hard to track down. If you do stumble upon it though, you'll find that it's a suitable sampler of early Funkadelic singles, compiling many of the group's more up-tempo anthems from the early '70s such as "Hit It and Quit It" and "Loose Booty." Since it's from the pre-CD era, the album's track listing is rather brief at ten songs, but you really can't complain about any dull moments -- everything here is top-notch Funkadelic. In addition to this reason, you may want to consider picking this up because there are only a few best-ofs that feature Funkadelic's Westbound material. A small number were released on CD -- the excellent Finest single-disc collection being the preferred option -- but they're often difficult to find. If you can happen to find Music for Your Mother, don't think twice, not even if you have all the LPs or even if you have Finest -- get it for not only the edited singles but also for the B-sides and the extensive liner notes. As mentioned though, both Ace and Music for Your Mother aren't as widely available as they probably should be, so a dusty copy of Funkadelic's Greatest Hits just may have to suffice in the meantime, even if it doesn't include "Maggot Brain." ~ Jason Birchmeier