Bernie Worrell - Blacktronic Science (1993)

His status as a great team player (Parliament, Funkadelic, Talking Heads) is irrefutable, but as a solo artist, Worrell is strictly hit-or-miss. For all the moments that Blacktronic Science meshes and hits undeniable grooves, it's undone by bad ideas and a tendency to be too eclectic. Worrell has surrounded himself with a superb band (Bootsy, Mudbone Cooper, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, Tony Williams), but what they need is to follow a leader with a vision like George Clinton (who makes an appearance here) or James Brown. Worrell tries hard, but comes up with pseudo-soundtrack sludge like "Revelation In Black Light" or fake jazz like "Blood Secrets..." The P-funkin' of "Dissinfordollars" really takes off and gives you the impression that, had this been a Clinton project, it might have been meatier, more fun and more focused.