Aftershock 2005

by Rick Anderson Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey's comeback project is something of a disappointment. Brailey is a disaffected Parliament/Funkadelic alumnus, and living proof that you can leave P-Funk but you can't leave it alone; Brailey's band stands solidly on the foundation that George Clinton built. That's not a criticism, by any means, just an observation -- after all, what funkster doesn't stand on that same foundation? But no matter how impeccable his pedigree, Brailey's work on this album is definitely hit-and-miss. Hits include the album's opening track, an instrumental funk workout called "The Growl" that features brain-searing turntable work by DXT, and the relentless "No Choice," which kicks serious groovacious booty but features obnoxious and stupid gangbanger lyrics. (Lyrics are consistently weak on this album -- "Passion is the stuff that dreams are made of," he informs us on one track. "If you want it bad enough/You just have to get real tough.") Misses include the relentlessly pedestrian "It's All Good" and the portentous but threadbare apocalypse of the title track ("Will we be alive/In 2005?"). Overall, this album is good for three or four solid entries on a party tape, but that's about it.