Keyboardist extraordinaire Bernie Worrell went from classical child prodigy to Funkadelic, and has followed his own idiosyncratic course
ever since, doing sessions for everyone under the sun and releasing a stream of solo albums. Some of his appearances on this site (not counting
Funkadelic, Parliament, George Clinton and Bootsy Collins):
Nowadays Bernie is selling his releases through his own web site.
If you didn't come here from our main P-Funk
page, you should probably go take a look.
Funk of Ages (1991)
Bernie's next solo album came after thirteen years of session playing, and he called in all his
favors, getting a long list of guest stars.
There's a surprising amount of solid rock and roll, including "Beware Of Dog" (with Vernon Reid
on guitar), "Sing" (written with Mike Hampton and David Byrne) and best of all, "Don't Piss Me Off,"
with a stomping riff and energetic duet vocals from Phoebe Snow and Gary "Mudbone Cooper (one of three tracks featuring Keith Richards on rhythm guitar). And of course there's funk (the swirling "Y-Spy"):
Bootsy drops by for a bizarre cover of "Ain't She Sweet" and the pleasant but
ordinary "Funk-A-Hall Licks" - Herbie Hancock adds keyboards to both tracks.
I've barely started listing the performers: Sly and Robbie turn up on "Real Life Dreams," Jimmy Rip adds guitar throughout, Maceo Parker
adds sax, Steve Jordan, Jerry Harrison, percussionist Aiyb Dieng, the Uptown Horns, etc.
In fact, there are so many guests you may forget it's Bernie's record, and it pulls in so many directions it ends up sounding
paradoxically conventional.
Produced by Joe Blaney and Bernie, except for two jazz organ features ("Volunteered Slavery/Bern's Blues/Outer Spaceways" and "At'Mos'Spheres")
produced by Bill Laswell.
(DBW)
Blacktronic Science (1994)
Produced by Bernie and Bill Laswell, whose strengths and weaknesses dominate the proceedings. Weaknesses: his only idea of a drum
track is a Sly Dunbar loop supplemented by Aiyb Dieng's percussion (I wish someone would tell his talking drum to shut up), and he
sprinkles samples, the Material Strings, and sound effects over everything, so his attempts at funk sound mechanical ("Time Was (Events
In The Elsewhere)") and his attempts at hip-hop sound crowded ("Flex"). As a result, the best tracks are those Laswell left alone: two
entended jazz improvisations featuring Maceo Parker and Tony Williams ("Blood Secrets" and "X-Factor").
Laswell's main strength is his ability to recognize and blend talent, which results in spellbinding
raps from James Sumbi and Mike G. on "The Vision." He even reunited Bernie, Bootsy and George on several tracks (the best is
"Dissinfordollars"),
sometimes with Maceo and Fred Wesley for good measure. The P-Funk-fest fueled speculation that a full-blown Mothership
reunion was around the corner - that came (sort of) with 1996's T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M.
(DBW)
The Other Side (1994)
Instrumentals, apparently left over from other Bill Laswell projects - the arrangements and tunes are interesting, but the
musicians tend to wander, ending up sounding more like a jam session than recordings made for public consumption.
Most interesting are the two tracks ("Witness For The Defense" and "Moon Over Brixton") featuring Fred Wesley (trombone), Vincent Chancey (French horn), Marty
Ehrlich (bass clarinet), Janet Grice (bassoon) and Patience Higgins (clarinet).
Amina Claudine Myers appears on two incredibly overextended Hammond organ duets, "Set The Tone/Victory" and "Judie's Passion Purple."
Buckethead adds some noisy guitar to "The Mask," but it's still a Bernie organatron.
Two reasonably funky tracks feature just Bernie and Laswell on his usual "loops, beats and samples": "Gladiator Skull" and "Fields Of
Play."
(DBW)
Free Agent (1997)
Worrell has a discursive atmospheric side, and a punchy funk side.
His best work usually comes when he integrates both sides, but this
self-produced offering is so heavy on the atmosphere you may lose interest. Most of the tracks are
instrumentals starting off with a limping, canned groove and then
degenerating into themeless chaos with some brilliant
moments ("AfroFuturism (Phazed One)") but more dull ones. It's Bernie's
show all the way - he's the only musician on "Hope Is Here," guitarist
Buckethead is the only guest on
"Woo Awakens" and "Warriors Off To Woo."
Only "AfroFuturism" and the township jive "In Pursuit" feature a full band:
Laswell on bass, Hamid Drake and Aiyb Dieng on percussion, and Dominic
Kanza on guitar ("In Pursuit" only).
Jean Pierre Sluys adds a number of instruments to "Re-Enter Black Light (Entersection)."
Not available in stores; see Bernie's web site for ordering information. (DBW)
Live (Bernie Worrell & The Woo Warriors: 1999)
The Woo Warriors are Gregg Fitz (keyboards), Donna McPherson (bass), BJ Nelson (lead vocals), Michael "Moon" Reuben (guitar) and
Van Romaine (drums). The set list contains a few Bernie solo tunes ("Re-Enter Black Light," "Y-Spy") and a sampling of offbeat P-Funk
material: "Smokey," "Comin' Around The Mountain," "Thumpasaurus."
The band mostly stays in the background and grooves, which is fine as far as that goes. But combined with the fact that the P-Funk material doesn't spotlight Bernie much ("Red Hot Mama"), the performances sound a bit hollow.
Worrell's solo material comes across better: he does his extended improv thing on "Black Light," and Reuben fills Buckethead's role on the relatively obscure "The Mask." A harmless curio; to hear a better example of Bernie's idiosyncratic live sound, check out his 2004 tour with Col. Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains: live MP3s available at www.c2b3live.com.
(DBW)
Improvisczario (2007)
An improvisational jazz disc with Bernie on a panoply of acoustic keyboards, backed by drummer Will Calhoun and the aptly named Brett Bass. Five of the seven tracks have a guest musician: Warren Haynes ("Dirty") and saxophonist Darryl Dixon ("Ok, You Can Leave Now") appear on two cuts each, and Mike Gordon plays banjo on "Up In The Hills" (based on a riff from "Lunchmeataphobia").
Calhoun is creative and sensitive ("New Boss"), Bass indulges in Bootsyisms ("Bass On The Line"), and the leader is characteristically brilliant but frustrating: he creates many moments of unexpected wonder, but buries them in rambling, patience-trying jams ("Celeste"; "Killer Mosquito").
The same year, Worrell worked on a project called Baby Elephant with Prince Paul.
(DBW)
All The Woo In The World (1978)
