Funkadelic’s legendary Maggot Brain isn’t a song you quickly gulp, it’s an experience you must indulge and savor with each drop. The beauty of this creation lies in the dichotomy of the simple and complex. From its very inception, this creation cradles you in tearful melancholy with a tempered blend of sensuality due to its uninhibited release of raw passion from renowned guitarist and co-writer, Eddie Hazel. While it’s been said that the song was done in one take and co-writer, George Clinton, intended for Hazel to play with the pain of losing a mother then later with the realization of her life again, the arousing structure of Maggot Brain has an ironic cerebral undertone. It is first layered with a constant harp-like guitar line that sets the somber stage. Then the spotlight is brought by the cry of Hazel’s solo which is a mixture of a dirty distortion and a delayed effect. The creative use of both effects can subtly taunt the listener’s sensations. In one moment it can embody the pleasure of a lover’s tenderness and in the next, be the haunting remembrance of love gone away too soon.
So if you enjoy songs that awaken feelings of multiple pleasures and leave you intoxicated with untamed shivers, Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain will fulfill that desire.
Hope West is a music enthusiast and music photographer who has captured artists like B.B. King, Janet Jackson, Teddy Riley and many others. A life long lover of music, Hope is a graduate of Full Sail University where she studied music engineering. She’s also a proud “Florida Girl” born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. and currently resides in Atlanta, GA as a “Georgia Peach”. Hope is known for her creativity, sense of humor and quirky perfectionism. Artist(s) that make her freak out as a music fan: Sheila E., Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Quincy Jones.
