Intergalactic Funk Cowboy – Funk Forever [LP]
by Jeanie Straub
Recorded and produced in Steamboat Springs, Funk Forever is the third installment in a “Funk opera trilogy” that fuses Funk and science fiction – or that is the plan, at least. The story goes like this: There is the “Intergalactic Funk Cowboy” and his arch nemesis, the “Pirate of Unfunk.” The two have met previously in the first two discs, Octopus Plus (2002) and Operation Kaoss (2008). (The entire trilogy can be downloaded for free from FunCowboy.com.) Intergalactic Funk Cowboy gets the opera out using keyboards, synthesizers, sequencers, samplers, and “special guests,” and his point, if there is one in 10 acts, or 15 tracks, is to draw attention to “what’s happening in our world,” all while keeping a sense of humor about it. The artist says his influences range from Parliament Funk, James Brown, Prince, and Frank Zappa. However, my biggest criticism here is that this isn’t really Funk. This is more like a would-be Frank Zappa – not that Zappa didn’t have some funky stuff. “George Clinton would not call this Funk,” as my Funk aficionado office-mate put it. “This is more like a space opera.” This is more like, well, we’re not sure that this fits neatly into any genre, but we will give it points for originality and heart.
Category: A-Sides
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