George Clinton is 67. And he’s still recording music.

The funk legend is back with a (mostly) covers album called George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love. Ten of the 11 tracks
are interpretations of songs by artists including Marvin Gaye, Johnny Ace and
Barry White.

The “covers album” in general is a risky endeavor few
artists can actually pull off. And, as it stands, George Clinton really isn’t
one of them.

For the most part, Clinton doesn’t do anything too radical
with the original arrangements. That is to say, if the original song wasn’t
funk-based, Clinton tries to add funk to the song without making them funky — if
that makes any sense. Johnny Ace’s “Pledging My Love” has the same slow-burning
feel of the original, but Clinton’s version adds computerized drums and various
sound effects in the background, perhaps to distract from his dated rasp.

The main problem with this album is simply that the majority
of songs that Clinton chose to cover are performed by artists who can actually
sing. He can’t. Of course, that was never a problem when he performed with
Parliament, Parliament-Funkadelic or the P-Funk All Stars. But here, when Clinton
attempts Barry White’s classic “Never, Never Gonna Give You Up,” he falls flat
both from his voice and the arrangement itself. The music itself has a cold, pro tools-like feel to it, and the use of vocoder on the background vocals is just irritating. Performing a Barry
White song without an actual singer is like performing a Jimi Hendrix song
without a guitar.

Problems also arise for Clinton’s take on “Our Day Will
Come” by Ruby & the Romantics, which is perhaps the most removed from its
original in its execution. Over music that can only be described as The Prodigy
trying jazz, Clinton sounds like he’s auditioning for the next Massive Attack
album. His voice slinks here and there in the shadows of the track, but it
doesn’t fit a doo-wop record. He sounds more out of place than Cannibal Corpse
covering Nick Drake.

Clinton fares better with “Let the Good Times Roll” by
Shirley & Lee, but not by much. Featuring the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the
song is a fun, bouncy take on the original ’50s R&B track. Actually, it’s
rather odd to call this a George Clinton cover, as he barely makes an
appearance anywhere on it. Anthony Kiedis pulls lead vocal duties while Clinton
phones in a background vocal of some sort. If Clinton was trying a duet, he
failed miserably. Also of note is John Frusciante’s guitar, which dominates the
song throughout, including an unfortunately misplaced melody solo that only
succeeds in puzzling the listener.

The one new song, “Mathematics of Love,” is a beautiful
jazz-piano ballad, featuring noted gospel singer Kim Burrell. Her voice is one
of the best in recent years, and here it is utilized to its full potential with
help from the sparse production. Clinton’s attempt to match her talent is
pathetic at best, which is probably why he stops singing halfway through and
talk-sings his responses to Burrell until the end.

It’s interesting to note that the record ends with The
Heartbeat’s “A Thousand Miles Away,” as Clinton was probably that far from
reality when he thought this up.

1 1/2 stars out of 5