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| | Chocolate City | | | Music Artist : | | Parliament | | Music Style : | | General | | Record Label : | | Island / Mercury | | Release Date : | | 2003-04-08 | | Store Price : | | $11.98 | | Artistopia's Price: $11.98 | | Usually ships in 24 hours | | |
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CD Tracks/Songs
Disc 11. Chocolate City
2. Ride On
3. Together
4. Side Effects
5. What Comes Funky
6. Let Me Be
7. If It Don't Fit (Don't Force It)
8. I Misjudged You
9. Big Footin'
10. If It Don't Fit (Don't Force It) (Alternate Mix) (Bonus Track)
11. I Misjudged You (Alternate Mix) (Bonus Track)
12. Common-Law Wife (Bonus Track)
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Other Artist Albums
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Customer Reviews of This Album/CD |
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 Still getting warmed up
Submitted on: 2007-11-17 |
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Like Up for the Down Stroke, Chocolate City is a perfectly adequate album that nonetheless fails to scale the heights that later Parliament discs would. It's a really rough album, featuring, for your entertainment, the worst song Parliament ever attempted: "I Misjudged You", a pained attempt at an orchestrated ballad. Ballads were never P-Funk's strong suit in the first place, but even by those standards it's a bad song. It honestly sounds like someone mashed up the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" (the lyrics), Pink Floyd's "Echoes" (the string arrangements sound a LOT like that classic riff), and some random doo-wap ballad from the '50s (Melody; vocals; the overabundance of strings), and decided to have the whole thing go on for five minutes. Not good. The keyboard-and-vocals "Let Me Be" isn't a heck of a lot better, either, but it is a slight improvement over "Misjudged". However, both are comperable to stinkers like Funkadelic's "Baby I Owe You Something Good" (funky power ballads should never exist).
Onto the rest! Basically, other than those two ballads this is divided into good funk and mediocre funk. On the good side you've got your black-power title track (though it's not racist - when people talk about the "God bless Chocolate City" refrain, they forget the "And its vanilla suburbs" part), with fascinatingly weird trumpet solos and a great interlocking keyboard/bass part. Great lyrics, too, packed with humorous off-the-cuff pop culture references. "Ride On" is even better, booty-shakin' funk-rock like Funkadelic's "Red Hot Mama". The lyrics need a bit of work, though. Compare "Don't worry 'bout bein' right, just be for real" to "You don't have to worry that it's wrong" from Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" released two years previous. It probably isn't a direct rip-off, but it's not a very original chorus. Actually, it pretty much recasts "Let's Get it On" and any other funk baby-makin' song. But it's got a groove, and that's all that counts. The stomping, hilarious "Big Footin'" is one of Parliament's most udnerrated cuts. The last of the "great funk" songs is the Sly & the Family Stone-like "Together", with wonderful group vocals and an unbelievably catchy refrain. The remaining three songs ("If It Don't Fit (Don't Force It)"; "What Becomes Funky"; "Side Effects") aren't bad at all, but they're mediocre and essentially interchangeable. This was actually my first Parliament studio album (I bought it because I liked the group and it was cheap), and while I'm glad I own it, Mothership Connection and its ilk are much better. |
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 Music That Is Right On Time
Submitted on: 2007-02-26 |
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Catch the rap on the song, Chocolate City, and - if you didn't know it was from 1975 - you would be thinking it's 2007 real.
From the classic album cover, to the band getting into its funkiest mood to date, Parliament was setting the foundation to a classic run of releases. And all that needs to be said is George Clinton, Bernie Worrell, Eddie Hazel and Bootsy Collins being joined by Prakash John, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley and the Brecker Brothers (Randy & Michael).
The groove is too irresistible on What Comes Funky & Bigfootin', with I Misjudged You a tribute to Washington, D.C., R&B group, The Unifics. The most ambitious track is Let Me Be, as a twist of gospel and a touch of jazz is melted into the R&B mix.
There are alternative mixes of If It Don't Fit (Don't Force It) and I Misjudged You. A track that didn't make the cut for the album, Common Law Wife, is included. Sometimes, though, there is a reason why songs should stay in the vault.
And please remember, CC, this started the countdown to the Mothership Connection that was released later in the year. |
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And They Still Call It The White House
Submitted on: 2006-09-14 |
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| Can you dig it CC? to each his reach and if I don't cop it ain't mine to have...Love that line from Chocolate city, love the horns and that Bass guitar sound of Bootsy's Mu-Tron! I especially loved "I Misjudged You". This song is indeed "The Parliaments" the sound of the harmonies and the musicianship sound "Funkadelish" but then again so are they! I loved the album when they came in on "I know what you can do, let us lay some funk on you" I laughed and danced on the one with these strange critters and then it all made sense on the next album, "Mothership Connection". The guys were different from the Moments, The Tavares, Dells and all the other bands and singers comming up--Playful but man, could these guys play and sing! A tight album with some good tracks---a keeper. Parliament got you going with "Up for the Downstoke" and set the stage with "Chocolate City" to let you know that "there is a new sheriff in town" and he's coming a spaceship! Not riding in on a horse like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, This dude came in on a freakin' spaceship and took over the airwaves and let you know that if you didn't like "Up Fo the Down Stroke" or "Chocolate City", you were dancin' to "Standing on the Verge of Getting It On"---that was them too--(That Fuss was us--remember?)If you did attempt to adjust your radio, they were on all stations and slapped some "Cosmic Slop" on you! A very tight album, setting the stage for the funk to come...... |
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If God was made of sound this album would be His heart
Submitted on: 2006-04-14 |
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| Wonderful album. Better than Mothership Connection. If you can't punch through walls yet, this is what you're missing. |
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Fine remastering of a fantastic funky recording...
Submitted on: 2006-01-22 |
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I dont really feel like giving a detailed review, I just feel that this is a 5 star album and it deserves credit. I just played it again after a three year hiatus and I was blown away, just like the first time I heard it, over 20 years ago. Funk is not supposed to be perfect....its about what moves you or provokes you, it's as simple as that.
I'm not one to buy reissues, remasters, and such. I have found that sometimes a remaster can be worse than the original! This is one remaster you're going to want to get, though.
If you want great funk, this is it and you really can`t go wrong with this great disc. |
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