Funk Rock Music

Well, I admit I was wrong to ignore this album for as long as I have, because I honestly thought by this point in the bands career there wasn't a whole lot more they could do that wasn't already mastered on the other Grand Funk albums. I was wrong, because there's some quality songwriting on Good Singin', Good Playin'.

"Just Couldn't Wait" should have been the BIGGEST pop hit of the year. That is one fantastic vocal melody, and I KNOW you'll love it the moment you hear it (and perhaps even recognize it from somewhere... hmmm, where have I heard the song before?)

"Pass it Around" has a catchy chorus, but the vocals sound a bit too loud and obnoxious. "1976" is most noticeable for the brilliant guitar soloing taking place behind the vocal melodies that NEVER seem to let up throughout the songs running time. Excellent guitar work.

"Miss My Baby" is probably the albums biggest flaw, because the song is just about 3 minutes too long for my liking and the chorus is a bit on the sappy side. "Goin' for the Pastor" has GREAT vocals and a nice guitar solo. In fact these are probably some of the best guitar solos I've ever heard on a Grand Funk album, and I'm familiar with most of their 70's albums. "Out to Get You" is the ultimate example of a guitar jam that just cooks, burns, and smears. Yup, all three of those things at once. AMAZING song that one is.

I'm glad Frank Zappa found a way to get the band members back into the studio to make another album, because this is just a terrific album to me. The only strange thing is that, it doesn't sound much like a garage rock album to me, and I thought that's the main reason Zappa was so interested in Grand Funk in the first place.

Frank Zappa had all of the best intentions with this album, and it stands as one of Grand Funk's finest. Sandwiched in between the ham-fisted political rants ("Don't Let 'Em Take Your Gun," "1976") and wince-worthy love song lyrics ("Said I miss my baby, I think I'm goin crazy. Well, I miss my baby, I think I'll join the navy...yeah, yeah"), you get a couple of pristine, tight, rocking tracks like "Pass It Around" (perhaps Don Brewer's finest vocal of all time, period), "Crossfire," and "Goin' For The Pastor."

Much has been written about Frank's solo on "Out To Get You," but that was part of the joke, and the band was in on it. If you ever have the opportunity to watch VH1's "Behind The Music" on the band, do so, and reconsider this album in light of what they were going through at the time. They went out on a much stronger note than if they'd simply exited stage left with Born to Die.

It is what it is, and it's good.

AS FAR AS REVIEWING & RATING THIS ALBUM, THIS IS MY FAVORITE FROM MY GRAND FUNK RAILROAD VINYL-LP COLLECTION FROM THE 70'S-80'S. I BOUGHT THIS CD COZ IT'S GREAT TIMELESS QUALITY MATERIAL GRAND FUNK HAD MADE OUT OF THEIR CREATIVITY DURING THEIR GLORY-DAYS! IT'S OUT TO GET YOU!!!

This is a very good album, very unlike their earlier recordings, but still alot to like here. I read how the band enjoyed having Zappa as their producer for this project and it shows ... sounds like they're havin' a ball.

If my eyes had ears they would be deaf after your review! This Grand Funk Railroad CD is a "GREAT" piece of music. One that I have been seaching for on CD for well over 20 years now! Thanks to the Music Label for "FINALLY" releasing it and to "Amazon" for offering it to us for sale, but that's no reason to leave the "Caps Lock" key on!

Primus produces some great music. This is also a pretty cool album of 5 songs they had remade from other Artists. They did a great job on all of them but, overall I especially like Have a Cigar. Great EP but, many of there other albums are more worth getting. Les Claypool is a amazing, plays the bass like no other.

Primus Sucks!

i love primus. i reccommend this because of interesting covers of some songs that i had never heard except for have a cigar. i really really like 3/5 songs on here and i dont mind listening to the other 2. the songs i like are: intruder, making plans for nigel, and have a cigar.

I've been a huge Primus fan for years now. I own, and have played to death all of their original albums. I never had any interest in this EP or 'Rhinoplasty' because I knew that they were cover albums, and did not contain any original Primus material. After I went and saw Primus' last (kick @$$) show of the 'Tour De Fromage' at the Roseland Ballroom back in '03, there was a period where I was listening to almost nothing but Primus until I went to see them again in Toronto Canada for the 'Hallucino-genetics' tour back in '04. And then I saw them yet again at the 'Vegoose' festival in '05. So I've been a little Primus'd out for a while.

I decided recently that I may as well complete my Primus album collection and picked this up along with Rhinoplasty. This EP contains only 5 cover tunes, and I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed it. The only tune I was familiar with was 'Have a Cigar' by Pink Floyd. I also have a couple of Residents albums, but had never heard 'Sinister Exaggerator'. I loved all of the songs, and enjoyed their take on the one tune I knew. It was definitely a breath of fresh air, and it showcases some of the bands/artists that have influenced this great band. I think of it as a sort of autobiography of Primus. And that's just the reason I'm really glad I waited so long on this one, because it serves well as kind of an afterthought.

Les Claypool is not a great singer, not really even a good singer, but he has an offbeat and charismatic sound that you won't get anywhere else. When he writes songs for his own voice, the limitations rarely matter. But he cannot come close to capturing Peter Gabriel's sinister leer on "Intruder" or the quirkiness of XTC on "Making Plans for Nigel," nor does Primus reinterpret the tunes enough to compensate. "Sinister Exaggerator" gets better, because it doesn't ask as much vocally and because the ending allows Primus to settle into one of their trademark grooves. The real success of the EP, though, comes after a brief "Tippi Toes" interlude: Pink Floyd's "Have A Cigar." Claypool doesn't mimic Roy Harper here; his version of Floyd's record executive is demented rather than just shallow. And unlike the other covers, this one significantly reinterprets the music into the sort of hard-edged hippie funk that made Primus so important. In sum, unless you can buy the last track through an on-line service, this recording is really only for people who feel they have to own everything Primus did.

In between the masterpiece that is Sailing the Seas of Cheese and the bizarre twisted artwork of Pork Soda, Primus released Miscellaneous Debris; a 5 song covers EP to tide fans over until the next album. What do I say on it? It's interesting. Not the normal primus per say but still definitely Primus. I suggest that you listen to the originals beforehand because then you really see how much Primus "Prima-tized" them. Most noticeably are the first 2 songs which are significantly heavier than the originals.

1. Intruder (originally by Peter Gabriel) 10/10: definitely the best song on the album, a huge improvement on the original.
2. Making Plans for Nigel (originally by XTC) 8/10 another improvement over the original as XTC's version is VERY annoying.
3. Sinister Exaggerator (originally by the Residents) 7/10: a calm relaxing and yet disturbing song that is extremely weird. Of course it's weird, it's the Residents. Two other Residents covers can be found as the bonus track on Frizzle Fry.
4. Tippi Toes (originally by the Meters) 5/10: alright this is definitely the filler song. It's an instrumental but its kind of a waste to put it here on a five song album especially since its only 1:26.
5. Have a Cigar (originally by Pink Floyd) 9/10: yeah this is the second best song here. Primus doing Pink Floyd is cool. The reason it's not a 10/10 is because I have a habit of zoning out during this track.

So that's miscellaneous Debris. The only thing I don't really agree with is the price. Twelve bucks is a little high for a 5 song EP. 6 or 8 sounds more reasonable. So get this for a cheaper price and you have a good deal. Though I don't own all the Primus albums out there (I will eventually), they have never disappointed me. Enjoy.

I love this whole album! Hidden Stash 2 is my favorite album, but I might have to put the Green Album in first now! I love KMK because every one of their songs has meaning. It's not the mindless BS you hear on the radio! Also check out Koast to Koast, Cloud 9, and Kingspade Throw Your Spades Up! Hits the streets on March 10,2009...KMK AND KINGSPADE FOR LIFE!!!

While there are certainly stronger KM King albums out there, the Green Album is still very enjoyable. Tracks 2-9 are the nuggets of the album that you should really pay attention to.

When it comes to KM Kings, you may have heard better, but there isn't much to complain about when you go into the Green.

After a ten-year fast from buying albums/cds, I couldn't wait to buy this one. I've been a Kottonmouth Kings fan for about three years ... was disappointed they weren't at Cannabis Cup last year when I went ... didn't get to meet the Kings while I was down in Cali for the season ... but how many fifty-five year old grannies for ganja do you think bought this album?

On other KMK albums, there are always tracks that I skip, because they aren't very good. Those albums are still good, but they kinda feel like they have select tracks that are just there to fill space on the album. This album is great from start to finish. My favorite song would have to be "Pack Ur Bowls," which is guaranteed to become the stoner anthem for the next decade. My second favorite track would have to be "Sex Toy," which features a guest appearance from none other than the Tecca Nina himself. Obviously I'd recommend this album for anyone who is a fan of KMK. Also I'd recommend this album for anyone looking for something different when it comes to Hip-Hop and Punk Rock. This album mainly sticks to the Hip-Hop side of things, but there are also several tracks that are very mellow, that you can just listen to and vibe out for a little while. If anyone is interested, check out the music video for the single, "Where I'm Going," on Youtube, or any other major video network. You won't be disappointed with this album. Support Radical Habits.

I've listened through the album a couple times now and I have to say it's exactly what I expected. Pretty much every album since the self titled have sounded the same, with a few variations in each album. The Green Album is not an exception. While I still enjoy the Kings trademark sound, they need to go back to the lab and work on lyrics. D-Loc, I'm talking to you. Half the stuff he says doesn't even make sense. If you disagree, go back and listen to High Society and then put this in afterwards. It will become clear that their "timeless masterpiece", as the album description calls it, came out in 2000.

I still reccomend picking up the album. It's better than a majority of the music that has come out this year but when you know what the Kings are capable of you can't help but be a little disapointed. Pick up the album at best buy and you will get a bonus disc of all new material.....most of which is better than a lot of songs on the main album.

This is one of the best box sets EVER! From a decade that no one will miss. That is ofcousre if you have this

I liked that many of these songs fit into the "one hit wonder" category, it was fun to listen to them again after all this time. I agree with what many people said about the news snip-its randomly inserted through out - while I didn't completely hate them, it was annoying when I created an itunes play list with some of these songs for a party and all of a sudden the music stops and some weird recorded voice stated speaking about some news-worthy event. I thought they might show up as separate tracks on the CD, providing the ability to omit them from playlists, but that was not the case. Dispite this, I love the box set.

Do you remember watching "Chico and The Man"? Do you remember when the Colts were in Baltimore and the Orioles were famous for Brooks Robinson, Jim Palmer and Earl Weaver instead of Cal Ripken? How about Chevy Vans with Shag Carpets with murals painted along the side? If so YOU MUST PICK UP THIS BOX SET! Rhino has done a fantastic job compiling 7 CD's worth of memories from the "ME" decade. Journey back to a time when AM Radio (that's right...AM Radio) featured hits by Alice Cooper, Peter Frampton, mixed with hits from Motown artists like Stevie Wonder and James Brown...and throw in a dash of Disco for flavor. A time when music wasn't so fragmented, a time when there really was Top 40 radio. Sure some of the songs in this set are goofy, and will make you roll your eyes (Popcorn by Hot Butter) but you can't help but feel their nostalgic charm. There are going to be tons of songs in this set that you know by heart...but, there are also tunes found here that you probably haven't heard in 20+ years (well, except when today's American Idol winners and hip-hop artists steal certain portions of these songs to incorporate in today's "music") Maybe nothing on this set is ground-breaking, and the booklet included in this set even recognizes that the musical path we followed in the 1970's was nowhere near the path carved by music pioneers in the 1960's, but you will still have a great time listening to these tunes. The booklet by the way is fantastic. Great track by track listing of the songs and the artists who performed them. It's full of the useless trivia that I crave and which currently clogs up about 80% of my brain pan. I loved listening to a tune, and reading the paragraph or two about the artist or the song while it played out.
I see other reviewers here who disliked the "sound bites" or news clips that are wedged between some of the songs....I loved them, and only wish they had provided more per disk. (There is usually only 4 or 5 per CD). Sure I loved hearing "Convoy" and "The Streak" again, but I also enjoyed listening to Jimmy Carter denounce his "Playboy" interview, and nothing is so chilling as hearing Jim Jones urge his followers to "hurry" and drink the Kool-Aid before authorities arrive. Moments that really defined the 70's.
So jump into your favorite bell bottoms and peasant blouse or jam your butt into some sequined spandex and get your boogie on.

This seven disc compilation would have been perfect, if Rhino had left off the highly annoying soundbites that precede many of the tracks. I did not purchase this set to hear segments of ancient news stories that did not interest me then, nevermind today!

This is a pretty cool seven CD box set that covers hit songs of the 1970s. It features songs from many different styles of music; including pop, rock, country, folk, R&B, disco, novelty and others. A few of the songs are preceded by brief excerpts from news reports or press conferences. I know that some people didn't like this aspect of the collection, but it didn't bother me, because the sound bites usually relate to the following song in an amusing way. There are many great songs here, and there are also many not-so-great songs ("Feelings", anyone?). A lot of these songs are quite frankly on the "cheesy" side, but in a way that is part of their appeal. This collection does a fantastic job of covering the good, the bad and the ugly of 1970s popular music.

This CD is awesome!!!! I love old school. That's when they were really making music. This CD is very nice and I'm glad I purchased it. It took me back in the day and brought back alot of old memories and good times. VERY ENJOYABLE!!!!!

someone borrowed it and never gave it back so I have to purchase it again. Very hard to find. It is a must for any funky gathering. It makes you want to boogie...

This is a must for the library of any funk fan. You won't be dissappointed.

Prince con este album me sorprendio por el talento que manera de sonar y sobre todo se nota que todo los arreglos tiene su toque personal
para los fanaticos de prince deben tener este disco en su colección

Before I begin, I'd like to warn people that I make some fairly harsh accusations of Prince in this review. But I'm still a big fan of his, and I enjoy most of this album, despite the problems I have with the lyrics. I also do a bit of soapboxing, but that's because I have a deep-seated hatred of prejudice, and the aforementioned lyrics have their share of that. So, here I go... I wonder what would happen if Prince found this review...
A concept album about Jehovah's Witnesses. I'm sure you're waiting with bated breath for me to yell out, "Ha! You fell for it! Sucker!", but that's the honest truth. Prince is a Jehovah's Witness himself now, by the way. What a freakish coinkydink! And while I can't see anyone who's not a Jehovah's Witness relating to the lyrics on this album, I really like the music. Basically, it's Prince reclaiming his roots in funk, jazz, and R&B, which turns out to be a great combination. My advice is that, unless you are a Jehovah's Witness, you tune out to the lyrics entirely and focus on the music. Thankfully there are a lot of instrumental breaks on the title track - most of its length is given to extreme jamming, and let me tell you, those are some impressive solos. And the funk is far from stale - Prince put a lot of effort into making "The Work, pt. 1", "Digital Garden" (with a weird Eastern-tinged synthesizer part), "1+1+1 is 3", and "The Everlasting Now" as funky, danceable, and musically challenging as he possibly could. He also pulls out all the stops on the ballads, such as the jazz-tinged "Muse 2 the Pharaoh" and the melodic-to-the-max "Everywhere" and "Mellow". Even segues such as the quirky "Wedding Feast" are considerably more imaginative than the ones on Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, O)+>, or the Gold Experience. I'll grant that "She Loves Me 4 Me" is trite and treacly, but that's just one song out of fourteen. Now, the lyrics... not a fan of those. Sometimes they border on racist - on "Family Name", you'll note how Prince implies that every race but the white people can be considered "rainbow children" deserving of the highest blessing, or whatever. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for racial equality, but I'm also white, so this offends me. I mean, yeah, white people have caused a lot of problems in this world, but there have been some good ones - Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates (one of the greatest philanthropists in history, you know) and Winston Churchill certainly come to mind, and easily belong with heroes and heroines like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Nelson Mandela (not to mention Ghandi, Buddha, and yes, Jesus - I'm not very religious, but I won't deny the guy had an amazing message that I try my best to live by). I'm not trying to make excuses for the horrible things white people have done - and they have done horrible things - but you can't write all of them off as evil just because some of them are. The irony is that I'm totally down with the song's restless jazz-funk groove, and the guitar trickery Prince pulls out at the end is amazing as it always is. The most disgraceful part of the lyrics, though, is when, during the title track, he trivializes the Holocaust. May I go throw up now? Eleven million people died in the Holocaust, Prince. You wanna know why? Because that sick-minded freak who, far and away, is the nadir of humanity (I honestly don't think his name isn't even worthy of mention - I seriously treat it like a grave obscenity) was under the totally false impression that his twisted little beliefs were the only correct ones, and all of those who believed in anything else were to be put to death. I wonder if he put any thought at all into that lyric, or if he just spat it out to cause a bit of controversy. Let's take every lyric of that song out, because it's also an appallingly sexist creation, and let's focus on the instrumental soloing instead, because I love the soloing. I just hate the lyrics, that's all. Thankfully, lyrics are easy for me to block out. I won't completely overlook them - this would've gotten a much higher score if Prince had eschewed them entirely, in fact - but Prince has talent to burn, and he puts all of it into the music of this album. And there is one track that has solid music and lyrics: the moving ballad "Last December", with a shockingly forceful end that is even more extreme than the coda to "Purple Rain", and a guitar solo that rivals that classic. It helps that the lyrics are about uniting, rather than dividing. That's a good thing for people like me, who believe in equality for all people. So, here's what you've gotta do with this one. Forget the hideous lyrics ever existed, block out all of the racist and sexist undertones, and focus on the music. Because the arranging and performing on this one are fantastic. The lyrics, however, are not. I think Prince went a bit too far into making this the "controversial new album", as the sticker on the cover proclaims it. That's annoying, and it's also annoying that Prince goes out of his way to shock people just for the sake of being shocking, because as I've said before, he's got a lot of talent and I think it's a big waste of it. I have no objections to him getting his sex-god on, even though I don't think he's got any mojo (seriously, he weighs ten pounds and he's, like, two feet tall), but I've got a lot of objections to this, and Prince is one of my favorite artists. I honestly don't think Jesus is a fan of racism, sexism, homophobia, or religious intolerance. But hey, the music is through the roof. And I'm repeating myself. Okay, I'm done now.

Prince is my favorite artist, even hero, of all time. He has had mostly ingeniously excellent albums and a few (NPG era) mediocre ones full of uncomposed "boom boom" filler with one or two hits on them, but few were actually bad, as in throw-away bad. Now 'Graffiti Bridge' was pretty bad in a retro way (lyrics include: "there is joy in repetition"), and includes a hodgepodge of old and new stuff, all lame. *This* album, 'Rainbow Children', like Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' or 'Final Cut' and especially Bowie's 'Diamond Dogs' has an overall story/theme that is however the equivalent of tacky glitter snow falling around white unicorns, for which this is the soundtrack. It's his only truly strange album. I only went online to look it up was to see why he made it, assuming it was a forgivable paid soundtrack for a movie or something (yet one of his best booty shaking songs is 'Bat Dance' for a Batman movie). My current theory is that in protest he made a blatantly tacky and unprofitable album to technically fulfill an unfair contract? Sure, there's a couple normal instead of insipid songs, but none are hit quality, so are not keepers for my Prince playlist. He did a sort of mythical story per song in the double disk 'Sign of the Times' ("Starfish and Cofee..."). That was "good" weird, and happy as hell, in the way an adult can enjoy a cardboard page children's book, or an episode of the Simpsons. But what is the epic, mythical story that structures *this* album? It's similar to 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy': some bad guys build a "digital god" and then the "Rainbow Children" destroy it and dance around some magic tree. Even such a story could be profound, but like a joke, it needs good delivery. This flops so badly it made me cringe. He even uses a cheap sounding vocoder (voice changer box) to make his spoken narration of the story sound like a cartoon Dr. Evil. Only one song is actually sort of funny instead of tortured: 'Family Name'; so if you are a huge Prince collector/fan and want the only actually cool song on this disk, get this song from iTunes (or lately Amazon). It's funny since it has a Steven Hawkings sounding computer voice saying goofy stuff, then the song becomes classic Prince singing/jamming. Surgically extracted from this gum stuck to your shoe album, on its own it's a keeper, but still not of hit or even novelty quality.

'The Rainbow Children' is a CD that does an awful lot.Mainly it serves as the reintroduction recording of Prince after eight years as TAFKAP but it's also the birth of a new band,titled after the album featuring musicians such as jazz reedsman Najee and Larry Graham.It was also labeled as Prince most controversial recording-apparently one of many.What is the album?Basically 'The Rainbow Children' is a jazz-funk fusion styled spiritual epic designed to illustrate Prince's conversion to Jehovah's Witness.The story is told by the same basic deep voiced narrator who opened up "1999" twenty years earlier.This recording showcases Prince's musical rebirth with an entirely new direction,one that in a lot of ways picked up where recordings like 'Sign O The Times' and 'Lovesexy' left off.The opening title song features a chorus of sings along with Prince illustrating the CD's themes on a very old fashion,minimal jazzy-soul tune.The majority of the songs here are very stripped down to focus attention on the highly religious lyrics-namely the ballads "Muse To The Pharoh","Everywhere","She Loves Me For Me" and the unusually sexy "Mellow".As for some of the more uptempo numbers "Digital Garden","The Sensual Everafter" and "Last December" all feature a number of dynamic percussive arrangements and are highly dramatic in effect.What impress me most of course are the four funk tunes-all of which are more basic and stripped down as well,featuring a strong rhythm section and great tempos.Larry Graham permeates "The Work" while "1+1+1 Is 3" gets even deeper into the groove."Family Name" goes even deeper-a racially charged tune musically sharing some lineage with Stevie Wonder's "Black Man",but done more subversively and told by what sounds like a trio of robots.Then it launces into the celebratory "The Everlasting Now",one of the finest songs on the CD that keeps the rhythm flowing from end to end.Taken together "The Rainbow Children" is a very complicated and eccentric piece of music with a lot of unexpected twists and turns.It features a smaller group of musicians then Prince's other bands and it shares a lot more in common with jazz,gospel and psychedelic funk then any of Prince's previous music.None of the songs are particularly single worthy (same as with 'Lovesexy for the most part) but once you turn this music on it is so captivating you won't want to turn it off,even if your not a Jehovah's Witness.And for that this is another impressive triumph in a long line of them for Prince.

I will say that this is an awesome CD, A little funck, R&B, and jazz. I know some of the lyrics may be hard to understand especially if you're not a Jehovah's Witness, but overall it's a great CD for everybody. I'd like to mention that some people have misunderstood the lyrics as I've read in some of the reviews. Jehovah's Witnesses were holocaust victims and we take it very seriously. I don't get why come reviewers think he was minimizing it. (as a witness he wouldn't do that)He's just saying that slavery is just as bad and he has a right to his opinion. The music does not put women down. Also he doesn't mean to put whites down. That should be obvious because in one of the songs he says "white and black is a fallacy." (meaning we're all the same) And his CD IS NOT POLITICAL EITHER. He just means that God will replace human governments with his own government. It's called Rainbow Children because God wants people of all colors and races (thus the name rainbow colors of a rainbow)to live here on earth in peaceful conditions under his kingdom government. I'm not sure who he's referring to when speaking of the banished ones. (he made the term as he does with alot of the terminology) But as a Jehovah's Witness I can say he's probably talking about people that won't accept God's government (or perhaps the demons)And no he is not talking about Descendants of Satan and Eve (we don't believe in that) Anyway I just want to say that is a great although often misunderstood CD.

This is an interesting album, mainly because of all of TOP's 70's ventures, its probably one of their least popular... in fact, I can't really think of many TOP fans who would rattle this one off at the top of their "all time favorite" TOP album lists... Then again... consider IN THE SLOT... another great album that far too many die hard fans don't seemed enamored as (I feel) they should was.... That said, arguably there is a very good reason, because while albums like TOWER OF POWER, URBAN RENEWAL, BUMP CITY showcase their ridiculously self defined originality, this simply features the band HAVING FUN... and it strongly reflects the tends in the funk turning to disco vibe that was part of the era... for this reason, what you have is an album that many fans might right off, but in reality is FUN, FUN, FUN...

As for the raw facts: First, the year is 1976... it was their debut album for COLUMBIA (most of their biggies were with WB)... David Garibaldi is gone, and so too is Lenny Williams... however, Ron E. Beck carries the torch... not as "vigorously" original as Garibaldi, but still proves himself to be a mean studio drummer... and the vocalist Edward McGee who definitely carried the torch... and has a style so compatible with Williams you don't really find yourself crying, "What? No Lenny?" at any point during the album. (Some may disagree...)

As for the album... my all time faves are WHILE WE WENT TO THE MOON, YOU OUGHT TO BE HAVING FUN (a TOP perennial fave) and DEAL WITH IT. - - High points of the album include some really great back-up vocal work, a fired up Chester Thompson... the horn arrangements are a bit different... They remind me a bit of The Player's Association or The SNL Band with Lou Marini at times - - very slick...but a bit different.

All in all... I love this album to pieces... but I'd say this: If you're a TOWER OF POWER die hard, but not an overall 70's Soul Fan, you might not like it as much... however, if you're into the mid-late 70's NY style funk and soul "session band" sound... you'll really find this a treat from the GODS of Soul !

it's great to be able to get the cd's that are scarce.

This album provides a mixture of reactions. While some of the tunes have the fire this band is known for producing, others will leave you scratching your head, wondering, "What were they thinking?" The title track is one of those catchy tunes that never gets old, helped by a light-hearted yet drving bass line. "Doin' Alright" and "You ought to be Havin'Fun" are also gems that have to be listened to multiple times to be appreciated, from the soulful singing of Edward McGee to the bump in the horn section. Then there's "I Think the World of You", and "While We Went to the Moon" with goofy synthesizers and lame horn licks that will make you laugh at the absurdity of it. Overall, though, I recommend this record for everyone but especially those fans who have some knowledge of TOP's history so that you can play this after listening recordings made with Warner Bros. and proceed onto albums they produced with Epic. A neat little music history lesson of one of music's greatest underappreciated bands.

While this LP wasn't their best, it has to be rated high because of CT's exceptional sound on the organ, especially when he leads off on the title track. Doin Alright is a nice song that kinds of reminds one of old black southern gospel quartets. You Ought to be Having Fun is one of those tunes that back in the day you couldblast through your car stereo system and have everyone on the street that heard it jammin or at the park dancin

With Edward McGee's whiny vocal arrangements coupled with lyrics such as, "I can't stand to see the slaughter, but still I eats the meat", this album's "chops" are nothing but mindless butchery. The torture continues with sappy tracks like "You Ought to be Having Fun" and "Make Someone Happy". What would truly make me happy is throwing this album into a bonfire and roasting it to a crisp, golden brown. Eating this tainted "meat" will leave you with a bad taste in your mouth. Bon Appetite !

The feuding between Prince and Warner Bros. (sort of) ended with this 1996 release, the final album of new material for the company.

The 11 tracks were recorded between 1993-1996 and clock in at 39:13. A single was not released, though a music video was issued for Dinner with Delores. Prince billed the songs for private use, which is an obvious shot at the label and the tepid success on the album chart - reaching only #26 - shows that fans were leery of plunking down cash at the record shops.

But out of all the chaos is some solid guitar-work by Prince and a cohesive package of music that is not a throwaway to simply fulfill a record contract.

P E R I O D! ...but if youre a complete junkie who cant get enough PRE-ENCE..than this is one of those thrown-together ones, if you like raw rock & roll guitar etc (BUT THE GUITARS ARE "RAW"...NOT POWERFUL). We all know Prince rarely made outright bad music, but this should not be high on your list...

TAFKAP (The Artist Formerly Known As Prince) releases his 2nd album after the (fake) death of Prince (in 1993). He pulls out this effort quoted in the inner sleeve 'intented for private use' well damn Sir. If this was intended for private use, thanks for warning us fans to not take it seriously, but how can you not? Sir?

"Dig U Better Dead" & "I Rock Therefore I Am" are the only funky tunes here. Mostly rock driven, sort of demented lyrics but I guess if you wanna piss a company off you've been with (for most of your career, not giving you creative control, defuncting Paisley Park Records, etc.) for the last time, go out with a bang. BANG!

DIRTY MIND PART TWO? "I Like It There", "Had U", "Zannalee", well? Remember "Head", "Do It All Night" and "Dirty Mind" the song? 1980 redone in 1996? DIRTY MIND was a better album but CHAOS AND DISORDER is no CHAOS AND DISORDER. A very short album, a Prince throw away album, just don't take his throw away garbage at you seriously.

It wasn't long after Prince exited Warner Bros,changed his name to
O(-> and released The Gold Experience did he begin to collect some of his "private music vault" for this album in 1996.Considering how well the same idea worked 15 years earlier with Dirty Mind he didn't see how it wouldn't work on 'Chaos And Disorder' and musically it did. Both albums have the one similarity of being Prince's more rock oriented music. Prince's style on the rock guitar is showcased throughout the uptempo songs on this album.The title track,"I Like It There","Into The Light" and "I Will" are extrodinary rockers.For those who enjoy more pop/rock the easy going "Dinner With Delores",with it's 70's soft rock feel will fit the bill nicely and it is actually one of his best songs of the period. The loud blues rock of "Zannalee" is not exactly typical of Prince but it challanges him as a musician.Don't think that just because this is often hyped as Prince "rock" album (which in many ways it is) Prince is his always eclectic self on the zesty funk-rock hybrids of "Right The Wrong","I Rock Therefore I Am" and "Dig You Better Dead"-all three of which are also some of his strongest songs.'Chaos And Disorder' is Prince's final "official" Warner Bros. album and presents some his most direct songs;most of these tunes are less then 3 and 4 minutes and have a very refreshing directness.One thing that anyone considering purchasing this should know is this was released during a very trying time for Prince-he was fighting with Warners,had the "SLAVE" tattoo on his face and the lyrics here are filled with a lot of bitterness and edginess.As with many of Prince's mid 1990's music it will certainly get your attention.But even I found myself revisiting it after all these years of thinking of this as one of Prince's weakest albums and maybe more people should do that.

Just because Prince announces in the liner notes that this album is a collection of songs he merely gave WB to fulfill a contract doesn't mean they're not good. They may be outtakes, but Prince is/has always been a fantastic musician, so these aren't just some songs lying around after his latest albums.

Very much in the style of Emancipation and Gold Experience, this album is rich with various influences and styles. Not much too experimental, but you can tell when you listen to this album that Prince is making these songs without trying to please an audience.

When I learned of this album, I definitely wanted to check it out, as I'm a huge fan of Prince's 90's catalogue (and I'm probably one of few who prefer this period over Purple Rain; this period, to me, is when Prince starts doing just what he wants).

Songs like the title track and 'I like it there' surround and play off of heavy guitar work. We don't get to see this side of Prince often, so I think these few tracks are pinnacle pieces for any Prince fan.

Fused with hip hop beats and sparse guitar influence are tracks like 'I Rock...' and 'Dig U Better Dead', the latter one of my favorite Prince tracks. These songs are extremely catchy and may go further into a more trip hop-esque realm.

'Right The Wrong' and 'The Same December' are among the slower guitar-oriented folk tracks. It's obvious Prince had something to say with these tunes. I personally don't care for them, as they have somewhat of an annoying country western twang to them. I would have taken off one star for these few tracks, but their lyrics hold up for themselves.

Altogether, if you like 'Crystal Ball', or GE, you'll enjoy this album. It may not be very cohesive track by track, giving it a more compilation-like feel, but I still feel very strongly toward the whole piece. Just ignore what negative and positive things people have to say about this CD, and just get, because the only way you'll know if you like/understand it is to hear it all the way through.

i got this dvd on my 16th birthday im 19 now and im just glad i didnt buy it even though im a big time tupac fan. It just wasnt really meant to be on dvd their wasnt anything exiting about the concert im just saying how i feel about. Theres some music videos on the dvd that enhances it a little but thats it it would have been better if there was some behind the scenes footage but there wasnt. So i gave it 3 stars only because its tupac.

2PAC JUST WENT ALL IT IN HIS CONCERT. I LIKE THE WAY HE PERFORMED AND HOW HE WAS EXPRESSING HIMSELF. SNOOP DOGG ALSO PUT IT DOWN IN THE CONCERT. I WATCH THIS DVD EVERYDAY IN MY CAR, ON MY TO WORK FROM WORK TO SCHOOL, FROM SCHOOL AND ANY WHERE ELSE I GO. MY FAVORITE ONE ARE: TROUBLESOME 96, HIT'EM UP, 2 OF AMERIKAZ MOST WANTED, AMITIOUS AS A RIDAH AND SO MANY TEARS.

Pac was the man.Yes,he was not the greatest MC,but who can refute the fact that he is the greatest rapper. Here we get to see a rear glimpse of a pac live performance. Pac stalks the stage like a man possessed! his energy level is on full blast. This was at the height of his beef with BadBoy and others so he rolls on them with the heater "hit'em up", but my personal favorite performace was "How do you want ft. Jodeci" you must turn up your surround sound. Although I would see pac in Manhattan,and saw all his videos, I have never seen him in concert. This is must for any fan or budding artist take notes. He was a bad,bad man. We all miss him.

Tupac Amaru Shakur had many sides to him. There was the revolutionary that spoke on how powerful the streets would be if finally unified. He also was able to flip it to a much more poetic type who shined on "Brenda's Got A Baby" and "Dear Momma." What made him infamous though was his Thug Life persona. He was a rock star in his own brash and reckless way. In one of his last performances while on Death Row Records, Live At The House Blues (Death Row/Eagle Vision) captures Pac' in rare form in front of a Los Angeles crowd.

Tupac gets the crowd buck with "Ambitionz Az A Ridah." The Outlawz back him up on stage as he sets the mood with the hard hitting album cut. Pac does smooth it out with the "How Do You Want It." K-Ci & Jo-Jo make a brief cameo to help out on the hook. The Deathrow Records atmosphere is further established when Snoop rocks while Pac takes a breather. The two close the show appropriately with "2 Of Amerika's Most Wanted." Even though Pac' only performs a handful of tracks, the quality is exceptional. This should hold down any Tupac fan until the next posthumous release.

I am an intelligent man, when I speak my seniors both in age and status listen to me..I'm not a gang banger,I'm not a killer but I am a product of society AND SOMETIMES I wonder if Tupac Shakur knew how great he was...I wonder if he knew the level of his power.



With all my academic degrees and education I will put all that on the line and say that tupac was the greatest African American leader of all time..greater than Martin Luther King, Malcomn, Garvey all of them...and I know this comment will turn this review from a 'helpful' to a 'not helpful' but I dont mind that at all.


Only thing is that he was the poster child for paradoxy...unpredictable, a truly tortured soul who loved his people and never found out just how to adapt...he was an articulate intelligent and well spoken young man ( when he wanted to) who somehow couldn't handle the expectations of the hip hop scene compared to what he felt deep within.


This disc is recommended.

Were I to meet this man I wouldn't know what to do..just wouldn't...I think i'd break down in tears.

Not much going on here. The seventies weren't good years for instrumentals. Buy it if you are trying to round out a collection. Some of the selections even have words, and vocals. It's that sparse.

Hey Rhino compilation geniuses: What about including edited versions of Eumir Deodato's "Also Sprach Zharatustra", and MFSB's "The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP)"???... C'mon...!!!!

Sometimes ya need to have just MUSIC in the background -- no words. Fortunately these classics haven't lost their "touch," and this CD definitely fills the bill ! Found this CD the best when driving long distances & for getting through the drudgery of housecleaning.

This is a pretty cool compilation of instrumentals from the '70s. 12 of the 18 songs here were Top Ten hits, with the rest being minor hits. The title says "rock" instrumentals, but only a few of the songs are actually rock. There is more funk and disco than rock here. One of the odder trends of the '70s was dance/pop versions of classical instrumetals, and this CD has three examples of that. They are kind of cheesy, but fun. This is the weakest of the "Rock Instrumental Classics" CDs, but it's still very good, despite not including anything from later than 1976.

Get out your leisure suit, bell-bottom slacks, mood ring, and platform shoes and boogie to this collection of 1970's classic instrumentals!! If you are too young to have been part of this era, then just enjoy the funky sounds! This is a fun collection (one of a series). My other favorite is the "Surf' collection. Have fun and have a 1970's party....plug in your lava lamp....and have fun.