Album Review: Bootsy Collins - World Wide Funk

With a resume strutting 50 years long and a recording history that reads like the funkiest walk of fame ever (James Brown, George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Deee-Lite), Bootsy Collins still sounds supafly.

World Wide Funk takes in the massively collaborative spirit that made for the most powerful of Parliament-Funkadelic experiences. The passenger list on this spaceship is humongous with some surprising guests (Buckethead, hip-hop pioneer Doug E Fresh and Snoop Dogg) all fitting in very comfortably, never focusing any songs on just one element or artist. A classic example is Hot Saucer, which delivers Big Daddy Kane's rhymes over a teasing Long Time Running sample. The irresistible groove that coagulates the funk together just flies the colours out in every direction on every damn song. Lines like, "Hey Vic, let it rip!" or, "Do you wanna get all funked up?" would sound childish and try-hard coming from anyone else, but Collins helped shape this genre decades ago and under his captaincy it's totally legit.

His World Wide Funk Drive band jam and flow with frequent echoes of New Power Generation, Come Back Bootsy in particular smoking like a direct tribute to Prince's Graffiti Bridge album. At 66, Bootsy still looks cool in star-shaped glasses and he's funkin' hard. Right on!