Released in 1983, George Clinton’s You Shouldn’t-Nuf Bit Fish was his second solo studio album. It was released the same week as Urban Dancefloor Guerillas by the P-Funk All-Stars, a collective of members of Parliament and Funkadelic after they were disbanded in 1981. Although You Shouldn’t-Nuf Bit Fish had George as the artist officially, it was in actuality a Parliament-Funkadelic album; it was the last recording featuring the full P-Funk lineup. It was critically well received, but a commercial dud.
This album is dance-driven, largely abandoning the nastier Funk; the lyrics are overwhelmingly silly, and don’t take themselves too seriously. Of note is George’s first attempt at rapping, with the opening track “Nubian Nut”, a downright silly (and operationally impressive) rap by Clinton. The album has some fairly catchy dance-Funk tunes, but no real standout hit. “Stingy” is one of the album highlights, as well as “Silly Millameter”. Blackbyrd McKnight really sounds like the best musician on the album; it’s of note that Bootsy plays the drums for this record in addition to his more familiar bass.
This album is a tight, thematically consistent dance-Funk record, that remains remarkably underwhelming at the end. The synthesizer, rhythm and guitar play are the highlights, but overall aren’t enough substance to make this a classic. This would become a theme for George’s solo works throughout the late 1980s through the present day.
We need the Funk... 