Funk: The Music, the People, and the Rhythm of the One

Rating:
Summary: Dr. Funkenstein or: How I Learned to Love THA BOMB!
Review: I wrote a paper in university on the social relevance of funk lyrics (focused on James Brown, George Clinton, and Sly Stone). When treading through the ethnomusicology section of our library, I was dismayed that there was not one funk treatise to be found. Thankfully, someone as versed in the funk as Mr. Vincent has taken a great first step down that path.

The great thing about the book to me is that Vincent manages to display both an academic's need for historical reason, and a funk-lover's passion for the music. It kills me every time he spends a page in the academic's voice, delineating the foundations of the music -- such as James Brown's emphasis on rhythm over melody -- only to wrap things up with a down-home phrase like "...fonk that created a breathless, animated, nasty hype-dog feel." It's a fine mix of reason and passion, in that one sentence. And notice the spelling of "fonk". He also throws in fonque, fonkey, FUNK, FONK (capitalization is his). It makes for a great conversational feel (you can just hear the guttural tone in his voice when he calls Stevie Wonder "fonkey").

He does a fine job displaying funk's lineage, although it is understandably ragged and all over the map. It can get confusing when a discussion of Parliament segues into a discussion of Rick James and Prince, back to James Brown and then onto Funkadelic. But that's the nature of any music's evolution: it bobs and weaves all over the place, taking notes from soul, jazz, gospel, blues, etc. Vincent does yeomen's work keeping the line as simple as possible, showing how we got from funk's beginnings to the various incarnations of the funk today (Dr. Dre and Red Hot Chili Peppers to list two examples Vincent positions under the contemporary funk umbrella).

I guess my original intention when I bought this book was to expand my funk palette. Vincent's range of knowledge is so vast, that anyone with the teeniest of funk leanings will learn of something new to pick up, and most likely, JAM to. The appendix listing his essential funk albums is worth the price of admission in and of itself.

Rating:
Summary: Dr. Funkenstein or: How I Learned to Love THA BOMB!
Review: I wrote a paper in university on the social relevance of funk lyrics (focused on James Brown, George Clinton, and Sly Stone). When treading through the ethnomusicology section of our library, I was dismayed that there was not one funk treatise to be found. Thankfully, someone as versed in the funk as Mr. Vincent has taken a great first step down that path.

The great thing about the book to me is that Vincent manages to display both an academic's need for historical reason, and a funk-lover's passion for the music. It kills me every time he spends a page in the academic's voice, delineating the foundations of the music -- such as James Brown's emphasis on rhythm over melody -- only to wrap things up with a down-home phrase like "...fonk that created a breathless, animated, nasty hype-dog feel." It's a fine mix of reason and passion, in that one sentence. And notice the spelling of "fonk". He also throws in fonque, fonkey, FUNK, FONK (capitalization is his). It makes for a great conversational feel (you can just hear the guttural tone in his voice when he calls Stevie Wonder "fonkey").

He does a fine job displaying funk's lineage, although it is understandably ragged and all over the map. It can get confusing when a discussion of Parliament segues into a discussion of Rick James and Prince, back to James Brown and then onto Funkadelic. But that's the nature of any music's evolution: it bobs and weaves all over the place, taking notes from soul, jazz, gospel, blues, etc. Vincent does yeomen's work keeping the line as simple as possible, showing how we got from funk's beginnings to the various incarnations of the funk today (Dr. Dre and Red Hot Chili Peppers to list two examples Vincent positions under the contemporary funk umbrella).

I guess my original intention when I bought this book was to expand my funk palette. Vincent's range of knowledge is so vast, that anyone with the teeniest of funk leanings will learn of something new to pick up, and most likely, JAM to. The appendix listing his essential funk albums is worth the price of admission in and of itself.

Rating:
Summary: Uncut... The Bomb
Review: If you love funk, you MUST purchase this book. Vincent writes in an academic, yet fonkay style and emphasizes the roles of JB, Sly, and the P-Funk mob. The discography will drain your pocketbook.

Rating:
Summary: Pioneering, yet one-sided
Review: Mr. Vincent knows his history well and tells the history of funk in great detail. However as he is obviously not a musician himself he seems to put more emphasis on the sociological aspects of funk and african-american culture in general. Such musically superior groups as the Brecker Brothers and the Tower of power are only briefly mentioned whereas whole chapters are dedicated to acts in which the music only plays a part in the whole picture. Looking at the history of the music, this viewpoint seems justified - still I had wished that more emphasis was put to music. (Curiously mr Vincent also thinks all musicians capable of improvising some come from a jazz background. Perhaps jazz should be his next field of study).

Rating:
Summary: 2FUNKY in hea!!!
Review: My name is Tyrone( The ShowStopper)Triggs, Singer/Entertainer/Musician. Right out the Bay Area. My man Rick, threw down on this hea book. He knows what the hell he's talking about. He covered the Funk to the T. I been around the world twice and spoke to everyone at least one time. I must say, damn good job Rick. Foverever Funkin on baby baba!!! You brought the FUNK right chea!!!

Rating:
Summary: This book just won the prestigious ASCAP Deems Taylor Award.
Review: St. Martin's Press is proud to announce that FUNK: THE MUSIC, THE PEOPLE, AND THE RHYTHM OF THE ONE by Rickey Vincent just received the prestigious ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for Best Book on Popular Music for 1997. This is more evidence that this unique, insightful, first-ever history of funk music is a must-read.

Rating:
Summary: Too positive?
Review: The idea of a whole book about Funk is a thrill. But somehow, Vincent just seems to like EVERYTHING a little too much. He's so enthusiastic about everything that it's hard to get a good idea of which music I really need to hear and what I can do without. Still, you can't dock someone too hard for being positive...

Rating:
Summary: glad to see a brother give up the funk
Review: This book is all of that. It is more than just a walk dowm memory lane, it breaks down just where it all started from and connects it to what's going on today. I come from a funk background, two parents who were musicaians in the Dayton, Ohio area funk scene and they have confirmed that this author did his homework. You may be into funk, but this book will make you understand funk. Your appreciation for funk will grow beyond belief. This is not a book that I have read and it stays on my bookshelf, I find myself going to it often. There are so many facts about this music in this book that a one time reading isn't enough. Bottom line get this book.

Rating:
Summary: Complete, informative, incredible
Review: This book is all of that. It is more than just a walk dowm memory lane, it breaks down just where it all started from and connects it to what's going on today. I come from a funk background, two parents who were musicaians in the Dayton, Ohio area funk scene and they have confirmed that this author did his homework. You may be into funk, but this book will make you understand funk. Your appreciation for funk will grow beyond belief. This is not a book that I have read and it stays on my bookshelf, I find myself going to it often. There are so many facts about this music in this book that a one time reading isn't enough. Bottom line get this book.

Rating:
Summary: Info-packed and engaging
Review: This excellent work is extensive in scope, covering the music, the songs and the artists in informative detail. The author obviously loves the music and his enthusiasm is tangible throughout. He loses me a bit when he dips into the socio-political mumbo jumbo, but is great when he describes funk's relation to other types of music. The section on James Brown is especially captivating, as is the author's exploration of the evolution of the style through Sly Stone, War, The Isley Brothers, The Meters, Kool And The Gang, The Ohio Players, the Average White Band and many others. Vincent is at his best and most authoritative when he talks about funk's impact on styles like jazz and soul. The chapter on P-Funk and George Clinton is especially interesting, particularly its influence on hip hop. This book is essential for all those interested in the history and evolution of black music. I also recommend Nowhere To Run: The Story Of Soul Music, by Gerri Hirshey.