''Osmium'' is the debut album of American

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

band

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, led by George Clinton. The album has a

psychedelic soul Psychedelic soul (originally called black rock or conflated with psychedelic funk) is a music genre that emerged in the late 1960s and saw Black soul musicians embrace elements of psychedelic rock, including its production techniques, instrumenta ...

sound with a spirit of experimentation that is more similar to early

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

than the later R&B-inspired Parliament albums. It was originally released in July 1970 on

Invictus Records Invictus Records was an American record label based in Detroit, Michigan. It was created by former top Motown producers Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland, Jr. (known collectively as Holland–Dozier–Holland). It was the sister l ...

.Rudland, Dean. "'' Free Your Mind...And Your Ass Will Follow'' reissue liner notes".

Westbound Records Westbound Records was a Detroit-based record label founded by Armen Boladian in 1968. It had a distribution deal with Janus Records from 1970 to 1975, but then it switched distribution to 20th Century Records during 1975 and 1976, but again switc ...

: 3. 2005. The original vinyl release contained a glossy lyric sheet. Since its re-release in 1990, ''Osmium'' has been distributed numerous times by various labels in the U.S., Europe and Japan, sometimes under alternate titles that have included ''Rhenium'' and ''First Thangs''. A number of these reissues have featured material that was not included on the original album, such as unreleased tracks and singles that were recorded around the same time as ''Osmium''. The personnel for this album included the five Parliaments singers and the five backing musicians known as Funkadelic. The same personnel also recorded as Funkadelic, releasing that act's self-titled debut album also in 1970. After the release of ''Osmium'', contractual difficulties prevented further recording under the name Parliament until 1974, when Clinton signed that act to

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label currently f ...

and positioned it as an R&B-inspired counterpoint to the more rock-oriented Funkadelic. The

yodeling Yodeling (also jodeling) is a form of singing which involves repeated and rapid changes of pitch between the low-pitch chest register (or "chest voice") and the high-pitch head register or falsetto. The English word ''yodel'' is derived from the ...

that arguably uniquely identifies one of

De La Soul De La Soul () is an American hip hop trio formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative ...

's early hits, "

Potholes in My Lawn "Potholes in My Lawn" is the second single by hip hop group De La Soul, released in 1988 from their album ''3 Feet High and Rising''. The songs were mastered by record mixer and engineer Herb Powers Jr. The song samples "Magic Mountain" by E ...

" (which eventually appeared on De La Soul's ''

3 Feet High and Rising ''3 Feet High and Rising'' is the debut studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul, released on March 3, 1989 by Tommy Boy Records. It is the first of three collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and ...

''), comes from ''Osmiums "Little Ole Country Boy". This is the only Parliament album that Ruth Copeland worked on.

Track listing

Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...

– ST-7302

Track listing for ''First Thangs''

#"Red Hot Mama" #"Come In Out of the Rain" #"Fantasy Is Reality" #"Breakdown" #"Loose Booty" #"Unfinished Instrumental" #"I Call My Baby Pussycat" #"Put Love in Your Life" #"Little Old Country Boy" #"Moonshine Heather (Takin' Care of Business)" #"Oh Lord, Why Lord/Prayer" #"My Automobile" #"There Is Nothing Before Me But Thang" #"Funky Woman" #"Livin' the Life" #"The Silent Boatmen"

Track listing for ''Rhenium''

#"Breakdown" #"I Call My Baby Pussycat" #"Put Love in Your Life" #"Little Ole Country Boy" #"Moonshine Heather" #"Oh Lord, Why Lord/Prayer" #"Red Hot Mama" #"My Automobile" #"Nothing Before Me But Thang" #"Funky Woman" #"Livin' the Life" #"Come in Out of the Rain" #"The Silent Boatman"

Personnel

* George Clinton - lead vocals in "Loose Booty", "Moonshine Heather", "Red Hot Mama", "My Automobile", "Funky Woman" *

Fuzzy Haskins Clarence Eugene "Fuzzy" Haskins (born June 8, 1941) is a former singer with 1950s and 1960s doo-wop group, The Parliaments. He is a founding member of the groundbreaking and influential 1970s funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, also known as ...

- lead vocals in "Fantasy Is Reality", "I Call My Baby Pussycat", "Little Old Country Boy", "My Automobile" *

Calvin Simon Calvin Eugene Simon (May 22, 1942 – January 6, 2022) was an American singer who was a member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 along with fifteen other members of Parliame ...

- lead vocals in "I Call My Baby Pussycat", "Oh Lord Why Lord", "Livin' the Life" * Ray Davis - lead vocals in "I Call My Baby Pussycat", "Put Love in Your Life" *

Grady Thomas Grady Thomas (born January 5, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey, United States) is a former member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funk ...

- lead vocals in "I Call My Baby Pussycat" *Clyde Darnell Wilson - lead vocals in "Come in Out of the Rain", "Breakdown" *

Ruth Copeland Ruth Copeland (born ) is an English-born former singer, based in the United States since the 1960s and known for her collaborations with George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic. Biography Early life Copeland was born in Consett, County Durha ...

- vocals *

Eddie Hazel Edward Earl Hazel (April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992) was an American guitarist and singer in early funk music who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. Hazel was a posthumous inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in ...

- guitar *

Tawl Ross Lucius "Tawl" Ross (born October 5, 1948, in Wagram, North Carolina) is an American musician. He was the rhythm guitarist for Funkadelic from 1968 to 1971, and played on their first three albums. He left the band in 1971 soon after a debilitating ...

- guitar *

Billy Bass Nelson William "Billy Bass" Nelson (born January 28, 1951) is a U.S. musician, who was the original bassist for Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Career ...

- bass guitar *

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll ...

- Hammond organ, piano *

Tiki Fulwood Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood (May 23, 1944 – October 29, 1979) was an American musician. He was the drummer for the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, as well as a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other membe ...

- drums ''Note'': Personnel as listed in the album credits. Note that some songs also featured session personnel.

Garry Shider Garry Marshall Shider (July 24, 1953 – June 16, 2010) was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen ...

(guitar),

(keyboards), and

Tyrone Lampkin Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

(drums) also appeared on some non-album tracks that were included in later CD reissues of the album.

References

External links

The Motherpage
*
Osmium
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

*
Rhenium
' at Discogs {{Authority control 1970 debut albums Parliament (band) albums Invictus Records albums