Before Uncle Jam wanted to enlist you in his army, all George Clinton and the Funkadelics wanted to do was “lick your funky emotions.”

Originally stigmatized as “Parliament’s back up band,” Funkadelic sought to gather the recognition and respect it deserved with the 1970 self-titled debut release.

The kaleidoscope-faced cover and candy-coated group picture on the back invite the listener into the funkadelically inclined world before the record even spins.

Allow me to advise the reader that this is not the same Funkadelic that put out such tunes as “One Nation Under a Groove” or “Knee Deep” from the later albums One Nation Under a Groove and Uncle Jam Wants You!

The Funkadelic that put out Funkadelic, Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow and Maggot Brain had a completely different sound and style.

A mixture of funk, gospel, soul, psyche, blues and precise guitar pickings await your hungry little ears.

With a careful drop of the needle and a slight crackly tinge, the listener is locked into a surreal conversation with George Clinton on the opening track “Mommy, What’s a Funkadelic?” Clinton does his best to pull the shroud off of the Funkadelic mystique on this cut.

The music builds and builds, then finally drips from the speakers as Clinton kindly explains, “If you will suck my soul, I will lick your funky emotions.”

Complete with giggles and yelps, Clinton continues to engage the listener throughout the cut as he asks over a steady rhythm, “Can you feel that?” pauses for a brief moment allowing the listener to gather thoughts, and then proceeds to let out a slight chuckle and then responds “Yeah, you got it now.”

The track is carried out with a mellow grove and ends with a round of applause from those in the studio as it flows into “I Bet You.”

The rest of side one is quite the listen.

“I Bet You” opens with steady drumming from Tiki Fulwood as Tawl Ross keeps the rhythm on his guitar and Eddie Hazel lays down some nice Hendrix-like guitar licks. The members of Funkadelic interchange vocals on this track from line to line.

“Music For My Mother” and “I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody’s Got a Thing” round out the rest of the side.

“Music For My Mother” has an eerie southern bluesy funk feel to it as the soulful howls in the background have enough power to touch a somber soul.

The bass and guitar picking top this song off. “I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody’s Got a Thing” is a funkier tune with socially conscious lyrics that can halt a question from those seeking an answer-“Learn to Help Your Brother.”

As the side is flipped, the listener is allowed three more tracks: “Good Old Music,” “Qualify & Satisfy,” and the ending track “What is Soul?”

“Good Old Music” is pretty much a showcase of the skills that each member of Funkadelic possesses. In this jam each member takes a turn soloing and the concentration is more on the instrumentation opposed to the lyrics.

Definitely listen for organist Bernie Worrell on this track. Although he is not on the credit as playing organ, Worrell played on all tracks as well as his picture being alongside the rest of the group on the back cover.

“Qualify & Satisfy” is a tongue-in-cheek blues number with a very thick walking bass line provided by Billy “Bass” Nelson.

You can take this song into any direction, not just the faáade of what the words appear to be saying.

The album rounds out with yet another conversation with Clinton titled “What is Soul?”, although this time he is not talking directly to the listener or maybe he is. It has yet again just a steady background groove to accompany his speech.

“What is Soul?” asks someone to Clinton.

“Huh? I don’t know, a ham hock in your cornflakes?” he replies.

“What is Soul?” “Soul, I don’t know the ring around your bathtub?”

“What is Soul?” “I don’t know, a joint rolled with toilet paper?”

“What is Soul?” is asked one last time later on in the track.

And Clinton gives his last answer, “Soul is You.”