Remembering Eddie Hazel, born on this day in 1950. —Ed.
The late guitarist Eddie Hazel remains highly esteemed for his role in shaping the funk rock juggernaut that is Parliament-Funkadelic. With beaucoup assistance from the P-Funk All-Stars including George Clinton himself, Hazel released Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs, his solo debut, in 1977, an absolute fiesta of string bending that quickly fell out of print, grew to be highly sought after, and therefore became rather expensive.
I suppose it’s possible to review Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs without mentioning Hazel’s role in Parliament-Funkadelic, but I’m not sure what purpose that would serve, particularly as so many of his bandmates contribute to it, specifically bassists Bootsy Collins and William “Billy Bass” Nelson, drummer Tiki Fulwood, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, guitarists Michael Hampton, Gary Shider, Glenn Goins, and those Brides of Funkenstein, Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry. Additionally, George Clinton had a hand in writing all four of the record’s originals, with Hazel a co-writer on two of them.
It’s the original stuff, which is very much in the sonic ballpark of P-Funk, that made Hazel’s only non-posthumous solo album such a pricey item for such a long time. And even after being reissued on CD and vinyl on a handful of occasions in the 21st century, copies of the first pressing (in good condition, natch) still changed hands for roughly 200 smackers.
Lending Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs fresh ears on the occasion of Real Gone’s new vinyl edition (the label issued it on CD back in 2012 featuring notes by P-Funk Minister of Information Tom Vickers, with copies still available) reestablishes the most important factor in the record’s enduring stature, which is a baseline standard of quality. It is an eminently listenable record, providing that one is amenable to the P-Funk sensibility of course, and to Hazel’s playing in particular.
There are a few complicating factors, however. One is that the band gets into such deep sync so fast, with their music flowing with such seeming ease, that it can begin to register like they simply plugged in and flipped a switch, speaking metaphorically. But this shouldn’t really be construed as a fault, as the LP, if often billed as a Hazel solo effort, is also a variation on a signature sound, indeed a chapter in a saga (a success story), with the guitarist (who was apparently not in P-Funk proper at this point) placed in the spotlight. The playing is adept and certainly funky, but still, the LP is not exactly an urgent affair.
The skillfulness on display is only accentuated by the nature of the original material, none of it especially striking in song terms, even if Silva and Mabry do lend considerable panache to “Frantic Moments,” which is more of an assured groove glide than anything particularly wild (per the title). It also fades out too damned quickly. The Brides also enhance “So Goes the Story,” where the intensity gets ratcheted up and Hazel dishes out some of his strongest string fire on the record. It’s a highlight amongst all the consistency.
Over on side two, the pair of originals, “Physical Love” and “What About It?,” sequenced consecutively, are both instrumentals, the former a showcase for more soaring guitar atop a muscular mid-tempo, and the latter a speedy funk trucker, where Hazel is suitably dexterous (providing ample evidence as to why so many Deadheads have hopped aboard the Mothership over the years). Really, the only problem with either cut is that those fade outs come too damned early (the record’s total runtime is not quite 35 minutes).
Depending on one’s perspective, Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs will either feel a little slight, or it’ll register as finely calibrated for either consecutive spins or perhaps as one installment in an Eddie Hazel-George Clinton binge listen. And if it’s songs you demand (maybe not the most fair expectation regarding a record flush with four guitar aces), this set has versions of The Mamas & the Papas’ “California Dreamin’” and The Beatles’ “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” They open sides one and two respectively.
Neither track bypasses the sources in terms of quality, which shouldn’t be a surprise, but “California Dreamin’,” with Hazel’s lead singing not exactly mind-blowing but getting the job done (the Brides step into the spotlight for “I Want You”), is roughly as good as Bobby Womack’s reading of the tune from his own debut LP. Which means Hazel’s is pretty spiff. “California Dreamin’” also gets briefly reprised to close the record, which’ll probably only solidify some folk’s impressions of slightness. To my ear, it provides the disc with engaging circularity that’s nicely poised for a one-and-done listen.
If it seems I’ve been a little tough on Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs above, that’s only because I’ve heard it described in breathless tones as an unassailable masterwork. It’s not that, though it does hang around the border of classic status the whole time it plays. This is no small achievement. Vinyl lovers smitten with Hazel’s work in and out of P-Funk should buy it, though surely there won’t be enough copies to go around. And so, it’s reputation is likely to endure.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
