"Maggot Brain (Maribou State Edit)" - Funkadelic
This quarantine has given me a good opportunity to organize my music and dive back into some old favorites and I thought I’d finally get around to sharing this gem.
I was hesitant to choose the Maribou State edit, as the original song is an absolute work of genius on its own. That said, I find the Maribou State interpretation to be more accessible.
The original Funkadelic song, released in 1971, is an epic 10 minute album opener with an oozy and mind-bending guitar solo that speaks to the soul. Legend has it that during the recording session George Clinton, while on LSD, told Eddie Hazel to imagine that he had been told his mother had died but then discovered it wasn’t true. The result was this emotional guitar solo. The song was originally planned to have other musicians supporting it but Clinton, recognized the power in that solo and wisely faded them out to focus on the guitar solo.
I like to think about the emotions that Maribou State created on the dance floor by adding some drums to this classic. Beyond speeding up the original and laying a steady drum beat, they pay a nice homage to the original creator by adding in vocals from a George Clinton interview describing the creation of P-Funk. This is a song made to get an audience to think about something more powerful. I can’t help but feel a little envious of everyone who heard it on the dance floor after a night of giving it your all.