The guitar legend returned with a vengeance. The album not only showcased his phenomenal guitar skills but also his considerable abilities as a songwriter. Hazel co-wrote all the tracks on the album. He used his mother’s name, Grace Cook, as a pseudonym for six of his seven songwriting credits on the album. He did this to avoid potential contractual difficulties with publishing rights in the wake of his legal and financial troubles.
The album kicks off with a badass remake of Parliament’s “Red Hot Mama.” George Clinton opens the song with a freaky double soliloquy featuring his signature off-center humor and clever wordplay. He sounds like a funky mystical prophet delivering a wigged-out sermon from another dimension. This high-powered track features some brilliant guitar work from Hazel and Ron Bykowski. And Hazel and Clinton pack tons of soulful fury into their co-lead vocals. Bernie Worrell's percolating clavinet keeps the funk at maximum level.
The blistering “Alice in My Fantasies” features more fretboard fireworks from Hazel, who’s joined by Bykowski and Garry Shider in a furious unified guitar assault. This is straight balls-to-the-wall psychedelic rock, as only Funkadelic could do it. The song goes full throttle and doesn’t let up. Clinton delivers a frenzied vocal performance, sounding like he's right on the edge of a full-on breakdown. The song is about a brazen, self-described “freak” who’s willing to perform all sorts of wild sexual acts for Clinton’s benefit.
“I’ll Stay” is an inspired reworking of the Parliaments’ “I’ll Wait.” The somber, finely crafted soul ballad features a strong vocal performance from Shider. And the mesmerizing background harmonies evoke the band’s early doo-wop days. The track also boasts exquisite guitar work from Bykowski and Hazel.
The title track, “Standing On The Verge of Getting It On,” is an electrifying fusion of funk and rock. If someone were looking for a quintessential example of funk-rock, this song would be it. There is an urgency about this rousing groove anthem, and the energy is palpable. The band is on fire, bringing equal shares of high-voltage rock and uncut funk to the mix. The song boasts a powerful call-and-response chorus that's elevated by Shider’s soul-stirring lead vocals. It explores themes of freedom and identity, and urges the listener to keep an open mind when it comes to the band’s dynamic, unique sound.
George Clinton’s wicked sense of humor surfaces on the Frank Zappa-esque “Jimmy’s Got a Little Bit of Bitch in Him.” It’s a humorous song about a gay friend. The song has a surprisingly empathetic gay-friendly sentiment, albeit delivered in Clinton’s typical ribald fashion. This track openly acknowledges the LGBTQ+ community, a subject that most music artists avoided at the time. Musically, the song has a unique arrangement with some rockin' piano and sweet guitar licks.
The meditative “Good Thoughts, Bad Thoughts” takes listeners on a deep, intoxicating sonic journey. Hazel’s playing is simply sublime. He makes his guitar shimmer on this majestic track. At the song's midpoint, Clinton delivers a philosophical and inspirational soliloquy. It’s about how the power of thought can significantly shape one’s reality and influence their life experiences; it suggests that negative thoughts can bring about negative outcomes, and positive thoughts can lead to positive outcomes. The song is reminiscent of “Maggot Brain” in structure and tone.
“Sexy Ways” is an irresistible funk groove. The track features some great bass work from Cordell “Boogie” Mosson, and Shider delivers a smooth, soulful vocal performance. Hazel adds additional flavor to the track with his superb guitar playing.
Standing On the Verge Of Getting It On is a highly impressive effort. The album showed the band members' continued growth as musicians. And it provided a great showcase for Hazel’s much-awaited return to the Funkadelic fold. He displayed the full range of his talents on this album as a songwriter, musician, and vocalist.
The album was produced by Clinton and released on the Westbound Records label. Music critics gave the album high marks, and Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #4 on its recent 25 Greatest Parliament-Funkadelic Albums list.
The collection performed well on Billboard’s R&B album chart, peaking at #13. However, it only managed to reach #163 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The title track, “Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On,” had a solid performance on Billboard’s R&B singles chart, peaking at #27. And “Red Hot Mama” climbed to #73 on that chart.
The full personnel for Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On was Bernie Worrell (keyboards, vocals), Eddie Hazel (lead guitar, vocals), George Clinton (vocals, production), Cordell “Boogie” Mosson (bass, vocals), Garry Shider (rhythm and lead guitar, vocals), Ramon “Tiki” Fulwood (percussion and vocals), Ron Bykowski (lead and rhythm guitar), Fuzzy Haskins (vocals), Gary Bronson (drums), Calvin Simon (tenor vocals, congas), Tyrone Lampkin (percussion), Leon Patillo (piano), “Shady” Grady Thomas (vocals), Ray “Stingray” Davis (bass vocals), and Jimi Calhoun (bass). Clinton and Hazel contributed to the writing of all seven of the album's tracks. Bernie Worrell has a single songwriting credit for "Red Hot Mama."
The album’s incredible cover art was created by the late, great Pedro Bell.
