For those looking to find a crash course in "the funk" – a quick introduction to the fusion of R&B, soul, jazz, blues, good old rock & roll, and all-out outrageousness that creates the ultimate good groove – you can't do much better than the Funk Essentials compilations. Funky Stuff: The Best of Funk Essentials is the perfect portrait. With its contents drawn from the single-band Funk Essentials compilation albums, this clean, clear set provides incredible diversity while keeping the vibe connected. In other words, Funky Stuff is not only an introduction to the heaviest of hitters, but also a nifty, smooth ride for the already initiated.

Though Gloryhallastoopid boasts a couple great songs, "Big Bang Theory" and "Theme from the Black Hole," it's unfortunately one of the least essential Parliament-Funkadelic albums. In particular, the ten-minute "Party People" and the nine-minute "The Freeze (Sizzaleenmean)" plod on (and on, and on) for no good reason. Unlike other epic P-Funk songs, most notably "(Not Just) Knee Deep," these songs are terribly uneventful. Shorter songs like "May We Bang You?" are better, but "Big Bang Theory" and "Theme from the Black Hole" are far and away the chief draw to Gloryhallastoopid. Thankfully, the two songs are easily found on a number of best-of compilations, making this album – along with its similarly vacuous successor, Trombipulation (1980) – one best left to completists.~Jason Birchmeier.