Casablanca/Universal
Given the vast multi-headedness of the George Clinton milieu, it's tough to recommend one LP as a starting point (you might be best off with a compilation). But for those graduating to individual discs, Mothership is a fine place to start. The operative vibe here is, of course, funk — loose and sloppy funk built around a thicket of hooks and chants and licks and lines, all laid over rolling grooves that manage to be somehow intense and laid-back. The hit is "Tear the Roof off the Sucker," but it's all good. A party, y'all.
This article appears in Sep 20-26, 2006.