George Clinton - Computer Games (1991 reissue)

With Parliament and Funkadelic in disarray, crazed overlord Clinton signed a solo deal with Capitol and released this, the first of four albums for the label. Updating the organic P-Funk sound with Prince-like synths and drum machines, Clinton came up trumps with the hilarious R&B smash "Atomic Dog" and the electro-funk epic "Loopzilla" (featuring snippets of Motown classics by the Four Tops and Martha and the Vandellas). Computer Games also took a skewed look at the growing soul sickness of Reagan's America, not least in the haunting and oddly beautiful "Free Alterations." A vital and prescient release. --Barney Hoskyns