The P-Funk All Stars - Urban Dancefloor Guerillas (1983) [Reissue 2011]

This truly is an all-star affair. Parliament and Funkadelic alumni like Bootsy Collins, Eddie Hazel, Walter "Junie" Morrison, and Garry Shider, among others, resurface from various stages in the Mothership's time upon earth to contribute to this stylistically sprawling and urbanely funky session; adding to the impressive roll call are high-profile soul and funk guest stars such as Sly "Sylvester Stewart" Stone, Bobby Womack, Fred Wesley, and Maceo Parker. And leading the charge is the master himself, George Clinton. Amazingly, considering all the egos involved, Urban Dancefloor Guerillas comes off sounding of a piece. And while the expansive funk found on Uncle Jams Wants You and One Nation Under A Groove is, for the most part, bypassed here -- this album adheres more to the compact and streamlined sound heard on The Mothership Connection -- Urban Dancefloor Guerillas still impresses with sophisticated charts, top playing, and a wealth of rich harmonies. The funk gets nicely mixed up with relatively straightforward cuts like "Pumpin' It Up" and the prescient "Copy Cat" (P-Funk's output, of course, would become a veritable sampling library for the hip hop community), as well as more experimental numbers like "Catch a Keeper" (co-produced and arranged by Stone) and the Dadaist funk jam "Hydraulic Pump." And expanding the repertoire nicely, Clinton indulges in the updated doo wop of "One of Those Summers" and some breezy jazz and funk on "Acupuncture." The newer touches may not suit fans loyal to the group's groundbreaking ‘70s albums, but Urban Dancefloor Guerillas is certainly worth checking out for its own brand of inspired funk.