Bootsy's Rubber Band – Ahh...The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! 1977

Bootsy Collins' debut solo album, Stretchin' Out in Bootsy's Rubber Band, was an extremely tough act to follow, but thankfully, there are no signs of a sophomore slump (either creatively or commercially) on his second album, Ahh...The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! Most P-funk addicts consider this 1977 LP essential listening, and it isn't hard to see why they feel that way. Everything on the album is excellent; that is true of up-tempo smokers like "The Pinocchio Theory" and the title song as well as slow, moody, eerie offerings such as "What's a Telephone Bill?" and "Munchies for Your Love." The lyrics are consistently humorous and clever, the grooves are consistently infectious. You can think of Ahh...The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! as a meeting of the funk minds -- Collins produced this record with his mentor, George Clinton, who co-wrote all of the material. So Clinton has a lot of input and gives Ahh...The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! the distinctive P-funk sound that Parliament/Funkadelic was known for. But at the same time, he encourages Collins' originality -- Bootsy's Rubber Band sounds like a Parliament/Funkadelic spin-off (which is exactly what it was), but not a Parliament/Funkadelic clone. Without question, Ahh...The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! is essential listening for lovers of hard 1970s funk.