With technology having taken over R&B in a major way by the mid-'80s,
George Clinton made a point of "updating" his P-Funk by being much more high tech and using keyboards, drum machines, and sequencers extensively. On his third "solo album,"
Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends,
Clinton even recruits Britain's very technology-oriented new waver
Thomas Dolby to help with the production on a few cuts.
Jokes is far from his best effort, and sometimes comes across as forced and unnatural. But the CD definitely has its strong points, including the addictive "Bodyguard," the eerie "Bangladesh," and the antiwar protest songs "Bullet Proof" and "Thrashin'." With
Parliament and
Funkadelic,
Clinton often had fun making strong social and political statements in a subliminal fashion -- this time, however, he's much more direct. Despite its strengths,
Jokes is an album that only
Clinton's most devoted followers should invest in -- those exploring his innovations for the first time would do much better to purchase one of his classic
Parliament or
Funkadelic albums of the '70s (or, for that matter, his first "solo album"
Computer Games). ~ Alex Henderson