‘World Wide Funk’ by Bootsy Collins (Album)

Bootsy Collins: he’s still got a party going on

A true icon of his genre is back with his star-shaped bass, a heap of famous guests and ‘the funk’

For some people these are straitened and challenging times but from the first bass slaps of the title track it’s clear that Bootsy Collins has still got a party going on and we’d all be better off for joining him.

On his first studio outing since 2011, Bootsy has roped in a plethora of collaborators including a spoken word intro by Iggy Pop and assistance from past contributors Chuck D and Musiq Soulchild. The fact that they largely recorded remotely from each other doesn’t seemed to have affected the funkiness of the album and the stand outs are probably the Blvck Seeds collective who feature prominently on Pusherman and Ladies Nite.

At times it even sounds like Bootsy is making a play for more commercial recognition. Hot Saucer is a radio-friendly slice of disco R&B with a dash of guitar shredding, with a nod to The Doobie Brothers thrown in for good measure. If there was any justice in the music world, this album would be staking its territory at the high end of the charts.

Occasionally the songs are a little more worthy and on Salute To Bernie, Bootsy pays tribute to his former Parliament-Funkadelic band-mate Bernie Worrell who passed away in 2016.

At nearly seventy five minutes the album is a touch overlong, and Bootsy could do with occasionally tuning in his filler radar, but for the most part World Wide Funk is an unashamed hands-in-the-air funk-fest and it’s all the better for it.

Verdict: Feel the funk

Daniel Haskell

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