
Who Says a Funk Band Can’t Play Rock?! is the title of a song on Funkadelic’s One Nation Under a Groove, but it was also the band’s long-time statement of purpose. For years, George Clinton had been wheeling and dealing his musicians into different configurations, mostly as a way to outwit the record companies. Parliament was the dance band; Funkadelic was the home for guitar-frenzy acid-rock freak-outs. On One Nation, he brought the sides together for a crazy electro-jam dance party. The title track is an African-inflected booty-shaking philosophical anthem, and the slow jam “Into You” manages to be both romantic and patriotic. As for “Lunchmeataphobia,” its subtitle is more relevant now than ever — “Think! It Ain’t Illegal Yet!”