Play With Bootsy: A Tribute To The Funk

As the venerated elder statesman of funk, legendary bassist and weapon of choice in the musical armoury of folks like James Brown, George Clinton, and latterly the likes of Dee-lite and Fatboy Slim, Bootsy Collins’ familiar spaced-out voice and distinctive bass technique have long been in style.

Respected as one of the stalwarts of P-funk in his Parliament and Funkadelic days, Bootsy’s still keen to come up with fresh sounds and this collaborative effort sees him teaming up with a host of guests with fairly mixed results.

The title track, a cheesy cosmic disco stomper, is pretty good, although ‘Love Gangsta’ featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg, as an unimaginative standard gangsta-rap track, sorely lacking in funk. Far better the slow groove of ‘Don’t Let Me’ with Rosie Gaines sly vocalising, and the old-skool floor filler ‘Dance To The Music.’

‘I’m Tired Of Good, I’m Trying Bad’ with Lady Miss Kier and Macy Gray sadly doesn’t quite live up to it’s promising title, but it’s an interesting little number nonetheless, while ‘Funky And You Know It’ and Fatboy Slim’s take on ‘The Bomb’ work the P-funk sound through an experiment of shadowy lowdown beats. Play With Bootsy is less a tribute to funk, more an playful journey through several musical styles, thoroughly branded by Bootsy’s theatrical sense of humour and it’s worth checking out whether you’re a funk fan or not.