Broke out of the Haze

Woke up this morning with a hankering for some Haze. Flipped on Games, Dames, & Guitar Thangs from 1977. I was groovin' ta da FUNK!!! before I even realized I was over my affliction. My Pink Dots mania had subsided to a manageable level. Eddie Hazel, maestro of "Maggot Brain", a sad-life artiste of rock excess, but a six-string GAWD nonetheless. Original lead guitarist for George Clinton's Funkadelic. Left the band in 1974 amid a flurry of drug use. After splitting, The Haze played for The Temptations, contributing to "Standin' On (Shakey Ground)". Did some time in prison on a drug-related charge. Reunited with Clinton & P-Funk Mob to create this, his only album.

(There are three posthumous releases:1994s Rest in P album that was released by P-Vine Records in Japan, comprised of previously unreleased tracks recorded by Eddie Hazel around 1975 & 1976, which features musical support from various members of the P-Funk stable [Despite being heavily sought after by collectors, Rest In P has never been released outside of Japan.]; four tracks on the Jams from the Heart EP, included as bonus tracks on Rhino Records' 2004 limited-edition reissue of Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs; & 2006s At Home (with Family) which is an uneven collection of home studio recordings & living-room jams.)

Released in 1977, Games, Dames & Guitar Thangs is a full-tilt, jam-filled showcase for Hazel's far-out virtuosity. He cuts loose on fiery extended versions of The Mamas & The Papas' "California Dreamin'" as well as The Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)." Elsewhere he taps the Parliament/Funkadelic tradition with "Frantic Moment," "So Goes The Story," & "Physical Love", all co-written by Clinton & Bootsy Collins. The P-Funk Brides Of Funkenstein handle the majority of vocal duties.

Hazel's hard living eventually caught up with him. The Haze died in 1992 of liver & kidney failure.

Eddie Hazel - Games, Dames, & Guitar Thangs, Warner Bros. Records BSK 3058,1977.

Side A:
California Dreamin'
Frantic Moment
So Goes the Story

Side B:
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
Physical Love
What About It?
California Dreamin' (Reprise)

Eddie Hazel - Rest in P, P-Vine Records PCD-2884,1994.

Until it Rains
Beyond Word and Measure
Relic 'Delic (Purple Hazel)
Straighten Up
Juicy Fingers
We Three
Why Cry
We Are One
No, It's Not!
Until it Rains (reprise)

Eddie Hazel - Jams from the Heart EP, J.D.C. Records INC.
JDC 3452-2,1994.

Smedley Smorganoff
Lampoc Boogie
Unkut Funk
From the Bottom of My Heart

Eddie Hazel - At Home (with Family), CD Baby (Brenda Hazel), 2006.

Home
Eddie's Jam
You Had It All
I See You
Turn Me Loose
Handy-Man
Paradise
Who Said Love is Fair
California Dreaming
Outro-Eddie With Family

Enjoy, I sure have...
NØ