Eddie Hazel - Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs

Man, the road is just littered with the bodies of dead guitarists. It seems they all turned themselves inside out to make something stunning and in the process destroyed themselves. Eddie Hazel was one of them.

Considered the rightful heir to Hendrix's legacy, Eddie Hazel added funk to the shred. The man responsible for Funkadelic's classic Maggot Brain and its searing guitar solo played his heart out for George Clinton through the early catalog. Sadly, the title Maggot Brain was actually a reference to Hazel's hardcore habit. Clinton eventually grew tired of it and eased Eddie out of the band, but in 1977, in an act of kindness to an old friend, he gave Hazel a solo album. Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs is killer. Funky, fuzzy, shred that has few peers. Of note, the most soulicious cover of California Dreamin you've ever heard and a blistering version of the Beatles's, I Want You (She's So Heavy).

Out of print for years until Rhino re-released it in 2004 and appended it with the entirety of Hazel's earlier recorded, but later released (and absolutely, wicked showcase), Jams From the Heart EP, this is a document testifying to genius wasted. The guitar work is so funky, so fierce, so... good, you are left lamenting what might have been.


Hazel died in '92 from internal bleeding and liver failure, a forgotten figure. A damned shame, and the only shame larger would be to miss this one.

allmusic:

Eddie Hazel's Games, Dames and Guitar Thangs has long been a holy grail of sorts for real funkateers, as it was the only thing released under Hazel's name while he was still alive, and it's been out of print for years. Enter Rhino Handmade to remedy the situation, not only re-releasing Games, Dames and Guitar Thangs for the first time on compact disc, but nearly doubling the amount of music by including the Jams From the Heart EP. Truth be told, the album itself is a bit light. Barely over 30 minutes long, about half of the album consists of two covers (and a reprise), and the remainder of the tracks are little more than slightly fleshed-out jam sessions. But what the album lacks in songwriting and original material, Hazel more than makes up for with his guitar playing. The album starts with the most soulful version of "California Dreamin'" you've ever heard. Hazel totally makes the song his own by slowing it down and adding an even more pronounced sense of longing, then there's the wicked molten guitar leads that are worth the price of admission alone. "Frantic Moment" and "So Goes the Story" are little more than jams with some Brides of Funkenstein vocals added (and of course, great guitar), but the epic cover of the Beatles' "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is just fantastic. "Physical Love" and "What About It?" are solid instrumentals that just let Hazel strut his stuff ("Physical Love" also gives some spotlight to Bernie Worrell) before the reprise of "California Dreamin'" closes the set. Again, what this album lacks in substance it makes up for in performance, and there just isn't enough material that really features Hazel's guitar playing upfront like this. The Jams From the Heart material is of a piece, but slightly less polished. These recordings sound like your basic studio jamming, and were never intended for release in this form. That being said, there is some absolutely fantastic playing on display, especially on "Lampoc Boogie," which approaches "Maggot Brain" as an Eddie Hazel tour de force. Hazel was an undeniable guitar genius, but his troubled lifestyle led to a dearth of material that really showed his strengths. Rhino Handmade has done music fans a tremendous service by making this lost classic available again, and putting some spotlight back on a pioneering and undersung guitar great. Funkateers rejoice.

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