Osmium [Import] - Parliament

The first Parliament album, OSMIUM, was a mixed-up mess of an affair, but would anyone expect anything less? The overall sound is much more Funkadelic than later Parliament, if with a somewhat more accessible feel. Things get going with an appropriately leering start, thanks to "I Call My Baby Pussycat," which makes something like "What's New, Pussycat?" seem like innocent, chaste conversation. After a stripped-down start, things explode into a full-on funk strut with heavy-duty guitar and slamming drums setting the way. The singers sound like they're tripping without losing the soul-sudden music dropouts, vocal cut-ins, volume level tweaks, and more add to the off-kilter feeling. OSMIUM's sound progresses from there--it's funk's fire combined with a studio freedom that feels like a blueprint for the future. Bernie Worrell's keyboard abilities are already clear, whether he's trying for hotel lounge jams or full freakiness; similarly, Eddie Hazel is clearly finding his own epic stoned z