Funkadelic Toys [Import]

Toys features about 50 minutes of previously unreleased Funkadelic tracks from the early '70s, about evenly divided between proper songs and jams. The availability of such a large chunk of recordings in excellent sound quality from their prime might seem like a huge blessing for their devoted fans, but while in general it is of considerable interest for Funkadelic fanatics, more casual funk listeners should be wary of this on several accounts. First, much of this material sounds on the unfinished side, even on some of the cuts with vocals. One track, "Wars of Armageddon" [Karaoke Version], is a little on the marginal side even for major P-Funk fans, as it's a "previously unissued under-dub." Overall, it's a little like getting a very high-quality bootleg of works in progress, though it can be fairly pointed out that even some actual Funkadelic albums had songs that sometimes sounded like works in progress. But if you are the sort of fan who likes to peek into the hidden underbelly of a