Standing on the Verge of Getting It On
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"AS IT IS WRTTEN HENCEFORTH… On the Eighth Day, the Cosmic Strumpet of Mother Nature was spawned to envelope this Third Planet in FUNKADELICAL VIBRATIONS. And she birthed Apostles Ra, Hendrix, Stone, and CLINTON to preserve all funkiness of man unto eternity... But! Fraudulent forces of obnoxious JIVATION grew...only seedling GEORGE remained! As it came to be, he did indeed begat FUNKADELIC to restore Order Within the Universe. And nourished from the pamgrierian mammaristic melonpaps of Mother Nature, the followers of FUNKADELIA multiplied incessantly!" --Pedro Bell's liner notes of Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (1974) by Funkadelic |
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Standing on the Verge of Getting It On is the sixth studio album by Funkadelic, released on Westbound Records, released in 1974.
On this album, the lyrics generally take a backseat to the music and the jamming. It is one of the most popular Funkadelic albums among fans, and considered an essential album for fans of lead guitarist Eddie Hazel. Hazel co-wrote all of the album's songs, although the songwriting credits were mostly in the name of Grace Cook, Hazel's mother (a gambit by Hazel to avoid contractual difficulties with the publishing rights).
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Track listing
Side One
- "Red Hot Mama" (Bernie Worrell, George Clinton, Eddie Hazel) - 4:54 (released as a single-Westbound 5000)
- "Alice in My Fantasies" (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel) - 2:26
- "I'll Stay" (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel) - 7:16
- "Sexy Ways" (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel) - 3:05
Side Two
- "Standing on the Verge of Getting It On" (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel) - 5:07 (released as a single-Westbound 224)
- "Jimmy's Got a Little Bit of Bitch in Him" (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel) - 2:33 (released as the B-side of "Standing on the Verge of Getting It On")
- "Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts" (George Clinton, Eddie Hazel) - 12:30
Note: on songs 2-7, Eddie Hazel's songwriting credit was in the name of his mother, Grace Cook.
Personnel
(all the below is from the liner notes)
- Spaced Viking; Keyboards & Vocals: Bernie Worrell
- Tenor Vocals, Congas and Suave Personality: Calvin Simon
- A Prototype Werewolf; Berserker Octave Vocals: Fuzzy Haskins
- World's Only Black Leprechaun; Bass & Vocals: Boogie Mosson
- Maggoteer Lead/Solo Guitar & Vocals: Eddie 'Smedley Smorganoff' Hazel
- Rhythm/Lead Guitar, Doowop Vocals, Sinister Grin: Garry Shider
- Supreme Maggot Minister of Funkadelia; Vocals, Maniac Froth and Spit; Behaviour Illegal In Several States: George Clinton
- Percussion & Vocals; Equipped with stereo armpits: Tiki Fulwood
- Rhythm/Lead Guitar; polyester soul-powered token white devil: Ron Bykowski
- Registered and Licensed Genie; Vocals: 'Shady' Grady Thomas
- Subterranean Bass Vocals, Supercool and Stinky Fingers: Ray (Stingray) Davis
- Drums: Gary Bronson
- Bass: Jimmy Calhoun
- Piano: Leon Patillo
- Percussion: Ty Lampkin
Song information
"Red Hot Momma"
This song is a remake of a song by the Parliaments. The title of this song has been spelled in three different ways on various Parliaments, Funkadelic, and Parliament releases that have featured a version of the song, with the final word being spelled as "Mama," "Mamma," or "Momma."
The song begins with a spoken word intro that seems to be describing a woman who has the effect of rendering a person unFunky (see P Funk mythology). This intro first appeared in the Funkadelic song "America Eats Its Young", but in this song is played sped up, then slowed down. The second section is sung and includes the second quote above as the refrain. It is not clear whether the first woman is the same as the "Red Hot Mama" from the second section. It is said that Eddie Hazel was asked to play the solo like Jimi Hendrix.
The guitar solo and jam that conclude this song were continued in the studio, and ended up as a B-side titled "Vital Juices," featuring guitar work by Eddie Hazel and Ron Bykowski. That track is found on Westbound compilation CD Music For Your Mother: Funkadelic 45s as well as the recent CD reissue of the original album
"Alice in My Fantasies"
Birthed during Funkadelic concerts as far back as 1971, this song was originally an instrumental jam that was regularly improvised on stage. An early, much longer, and then-untitled instrumental version can be found on the 1996 live release Live: Meadowbrook, Rochester, Michigan – 12 September 1971. The version on Standing on the Verge of Getting It On features the same bassline and guitar riffs from Eddie Hazel (often borrowing from Jimi Hendrix's "Izabella"), plus new vocals by George Clinton, and minus the psychedelic keyboard section by Bernie Worrell.
A rare outtake version of the song (circulating around the internet under the album name "The Ultimate Turd") continues where the glaring fade-out occurs on the album; in the outtake version the band continues to jam for an extra 30 to 40 seconds before suddenly stopping.
Alice is apparently trying to seduce the singer, but he is apparently unwilling to sleep with her. No reason is explicitly given, but it can be inferred that he is unwilling because she will demand a commitment ("The freak said I would even owe her my devotion"). Therefore, the titular "Alice" who exists only "in (the singer's) fantasies" may be an Alice who does not demand the commitment.
On the Axis of Justice: Vol 1 concert CD the house band which consisted of Serj Tankian, Flea, Brad Wilk, Tom Morello, and Pete Yorn plays this song.
"I'll Stay"
The singer tells the listener that he will stay because one day she will love him like he once did. This song is a reworked version of a The Parliaments song, "I'll Wait"
"Standing on the Verge of Getting It On"
The singer exhorts the listener to get Funky with it. In contrast to several previous songs with a similar lyrical theme, the suggestion to "get funky" also explicitly includes a connection with social change and an awakening of the mind, and not just dancing. The definition of the Funk (as described in P Funk mythology) could be said to have started with this song.
