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heylook's review against another edition
3.0
Wish it had more about the actual recording of the music, but still a great read.
swingdingaling's review against another edition
4.0
This is a good read, at least at first. It's a lot of fun to hear about the genesis of P-Funk and the prime days for their music. Unfortunately, once Clinton's fortunes decline, it becomes equally (and then more) about the ins and outs of his legal issues. Even his surprisingly easy way out of crack addiction is given sorry shrift in the later chapters.
bredahl's review against another edition
4.0
Denna bok är inte bara en fängslande biografi om en inflytelserik man utan också en djupgående historia om en hel musikgenre. Beskrivningen av det musikaliska fenomen som är George Clinton är full av själ och humor. Även en läsare som inte innan har en fascination för P-funk, soul eller hiphop kommer utan tvekan slukas upp av boken.
zerosynt's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
kilcannon's review against another edition
3.0
If I were a more informed fan, some parts of this would have been gold to me. Album by album and even song by song breakdowns of influences and inspirations were a bit much for me, though.
Still, much of it is compelling and engaging, even if he turns into a bit of a Lenny Bruce with his legal troubles at the end.
Still, much of it is compelling and engaging, even if he turns into a bit of a Lenny Bruce with his legal troubles at the end.
wah38's review against another edition
4.0
George Clinton has an encyclopaedic knowledge of music from all genres: not only was he a part of music history, but he's as well-versed as anyone. But more impressive than his knowledge of music is his personal knowledge of so many of the musicians: the artists that he worked with (and not just in Parliament and Funkadelic) will surely surprise you, as will the artists who he knew personally growing up.
I saw him speak during his book tour; while the book was clearly ghost-written (George is spending his time fighting legal battles), the stories are told in his voice, his funky funky voice. Even if you aren't a fan of Parliament I'd recommend reading this book if you're a fan of music.
I saw him speak during his book tour; while the book was clearly ghost-written (George is spending his time fighting legal battles), the stories are told in his voice, his funky funky voice. Even if you aren't a fan of Parliament I'd recommend reading this book if you're a fan of music.
therewasnosound's review against another edition
4.0
Clinton is not the strongest writer, but he is a great storyteller, and it's those great stories from throughout his career that make this book a must-read for any P-Funk fan. it becomes a fascinating look at the ins-and-outs of sampling in the final quarter of the book, which is maybe the books most compelling part, as Clinton can see sampling's inherent cultural value even though he was exploited by various rightsholders who owned his back catalogue.
sethdmichaels's review
5.0
Highly highly recommend this book, which really shows how brilliant George Clinton's mind is and how influential he has been. A history of American music from doo-wop to the present, including the way that black musical pioneers were robbed of the lucrative rewards of their creativity. Clinton is really fascinating - he's done every job you can imagine in the music industry, and his ethos and the savvy way he built his scene are so classically American - he's a self-invented, well-staged character, unafraid to be ridiculous or too big, he's incredibly generous about sharing credit and making it about the community, and he pulls together funk and soul and rock and cartoons and sci-fi and musical theater and weird religious cults to create his own vast thing, which in turn has been mined by everyone that followed (there's a pages-long "sampleography" of hip-hop songs built around P-Funk riffs at the end of the book). Even if you only sort of know about Parliament/Funkadelic/etc, it's a great read.
rembrandt1881's review
3.0
Like a lot of memoirs by musicians, this book had both good parts and insights as to the process behind the scenes of some recordings, yet also rambled and felt slightly incoherent at times. One of the more enlightening things you will learn about George Clinton from this book is about his feelings about politics in music and his role in the change in music. Also, maybe due to his use of drugs and especially crack, it seems like a lot of detail is missing in a lot of areas. He bounces from discussion to discussion about recording sessions and attempts to make music but it's one sided and runs together at some point for the last few chapters. He also doesn't detail many of his run ins with the law and his feelings around those things which leaves me feeling like there could have been a slightly deeper dive into his life which would have made the book better.
brianrenaud's review
3.0
Many memories from the great George Clinton (Parliment/Funkadelic). Probably a great book if you're a huge fan, maybe a little overwhelming if you're just interested.
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