Notes

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Released in 1978 at the height of P-funk mania, Bootsy? Player of the Year finds Bootsy definitely not short on quality material, despite his affiliation with the numerous P-funk-affiliated projects being churned out at this time. In fact, this album finds Bootsy at his peak; his previous two albums may have their share of brilliant moments and were no doubt filled with great ideas, melodies, and funk, but here he seems to have finally perfected his songwriting — never again in his career would his songs sound so fully realized. There really isn't a song on the album that doesn't deserve accolades for one reason or another. The up-tempo songs — "Bootsy?," "Bootzilla," "Roto-Rooter" — rate as some of the most dance-worthy P-funk material ever released, each song clocking in over five minutes and chock full of elastic bass lines. And with only these three hard funk songs, this album isn't weighed down with over-exuberance. The abundance of down-tempo funk ballads — "May the Force Be With You," "Very Yes," and "As In (I Love You)" — helps maintain a healthy sense of balance, providing a breather from the sweaty dancefloor moments. And, even more importantly, these sappy love songs remain brilliant anomalies in the otherwise ballad-free P-funk canon. Then there is "Hollywood Squares," a song that teeters somewhere between a dance song and a ballad, sometimes picking up the pace and getting sweaty, other times slowing things down to a crooning pace. As mentioned, every song here deserves recognition; "Hollywood Squares" and "May the Force Be With You" really stand out among the rest, though; "Bootzilla" may have been the album's big hit, but, unlike these two songs, it's a fairly formulaic dance song for Bootsy, albeit infectiously formulaic with remarkable rhythm and an extra dose of kookiness.