Funkadelic – Maggot Brain (2026 Audiophile Reissue – Originally Released in 1971)

I am a long-time fan of George Clinton and his various bands (collectively known as P-Funk). One of the greatest live music experiences of my life was witnessing the P-Funk All-Stars at The Cabooze (Minneapolis) in the early 90s. I was even part of a conga line led by Bootsy Collins that night. I recently discovered there is a pretty good-quality soundboard recording of that show on YouTube:

Funkadelic was Clinton’s amalgamation of funk and psychedelic rock – thus a perfectly named band.

I knew there was a new reissue of the classic Funkadelic album Maggot Brain, but I didn’t realize there was an audiophile component: a two-LP 45 RPM edition and a SACD edition. The folks and ORG Music have taken deliberate care in making this the best possible recording. Per the reissue label, ORG Music:

For this definitive 2026 reissue, the album was mastered directly from analog tape, preserving the raw power, depth, and atmosphere of the original recordings with extraordinary detail. A longtime holy grail for collectors, Maggot Brain receives the treatment it has long deserved.

I just ordered the SACD, as I am a fan of DSD and appreciate the analog-sourced warmth it provides without dealing with the surface noise or physical flipping of the 2×45 RPM vinyl variant. Again, per ORG Music:

Hybrid Stereo SACD mastered by Dave Gardner, captured directly from the all analog processing during the cutting of the 2LP 45RPM edition.

Regarding the 2LP 45RPM edition:

• Mastering & Restoration: Dave Gardner, DSG MasteringLacquer cutting: Dave Gardner & Catherine VericolliOriginal
• Master Tape Archival & Restoration: Catherine Vericolli 
• Additional Engineering and Indispensable Assistance: Nick KingVisual Restoration: Henry H. Owings
• All vinyl variants are all analog, mastered direct from tape to lathe
• Pressed at Furnace Record Pressing
• Gatefold packaging featured on all vinyl editions
• 2xLP 45RPM Edition features a case-wrapped gatefold jacket from Stoughton Printing

In the meantime, I am enjoying the high-resolution 24-bit/96kHz FLAC via Tidal. It sounds fantastic. I won’t be able to audition the DSD version on the SACD until I am back in Phoenix, as I don’t have a DSD option in Minneapolis. I will update this post once I have experienced the SACD. But enough of the audiophile bullshshit. Let’s talk about the music.

First and foremost, Maggot Brain is an Eddie Hazel showcase. Hazel was a Jimi Hendrix-level guitar hero. If you have ever witnessed a Prince face-melting guitar solo, he is channeling the spirit of Eddie Hazel. Clinton’s genius was and is recruiting talent and putting that talent in the best situation to shine. And boy does Hazel shine on this album.

For the titular instrumental track, George Clinton is famously reported to have coached Hazel to play “as if your momma had just died, and then found out she was alive.” Clinton recalled that other band members on the session had drifted off or struggled to find the right groove, prompting him to isolate Hazel, surround him with amplifiers, and let him carry the entire track alone: “So I had to make a record out of whatever I got… I faded they ass right the fuck out and just let Eddie play by hisself the whole fuckin’ track.” The result is one of the all-time great guitar solos in history. The track starts with soul-crushing saddness and ends ten minutes later triumphant rejoicing.

“Can You Get to That” is acoustic folk-blues with gospel-infused backing vocals. The song appears to be about a womanizer who has played out his game:

When you base your life on credit and your loving days are done
The checks you signed with love and kisses, later come back signed, “Insufficient funds”
Y’all get to that

“Hit It and Quit It” is classic funk-rock. It has a funky organ riff by Bernie Worrell and ends with a smoking Hazel guitar solo. It appears to be a song about casual sex.

“You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks” has an amazing bass and drum riff and an urgent, soulful vocal from Billy “Bass” Nelson. It is a call for exploited people to come together so they can work together to get to a better place.

“Super Stupid” is Hazel on guitar and vocals doing his Hendrix thing. It is evidently a true story. According to Harvey McGee, a close friend of the band, Funkadelic was performing in Boston. Hazel was in the mood for cocaine. He went out looking for coke, and came back with what he thought was cocaine. He sniffed it in two lines and, according to McGee, “his eyes got wide, and his nose started running.” It was not cocaine but actually heroin, which “scag” is a nickname for.

Super stupid bought a five cent bag
Thought it was coke but it was scag
Super stupid took a one and one
Then his eyes begin to bug, his nose begin to run
Oh, stupid with your ups and downs
Your maggot brain, your grins and frowns
Super stupid you’re here today
You’ve lost the fight and the winner is fear

“Back In Our Minds ” has an amazing bass line, some great Worrell keys and slinky horns. After loosing their minds the group has come to their senses: “We are back in our minds again.”

The album ends with “Wars of Armageddon,” featuring drummer Tiki Fulwood. Around his incredible drum performance is a collage of sound effects capturing the social and political anxieties of the early 1970s. And of course, some P-Funk locker-room humor:

More power to the people
More power to the people
More pussy to the power
More pussy to the people
More power to the pussy
More pussy to the power
Pussy to the people
Power to the pussy

More peter to the eater
More power to the pussy
More pussy to the power
Right on, right on
More power to the pussy
More pussy to the power
More power to the peter
More peter to the pussy
Right on

Maggot Brain is a masterpiece in the P- Funk catalog and a must-listen for fans of funk and soul.

Note: Spotify lists this album as Lossless, which means the streaming resolution is 24-bit / 44.1 kHz FLAC (CD quality).