Never Buy Texas From a Cowboy

George Clinton guided and directed a new Brides of Funkenstein lineup on the group's second and final album, Never Buy Texas From a Cowboy. This time, the Brides were a trio instead of a duo. Dawn Silva was still on board, but Lynn Mabry was gone, and Silva's new allies were Sheila Horne and Jeannette McGruder. With the new Silva/Horne/McGruder lineup in place, the Brides delivered a sophomore effort that is as unpredictable as their first album, Funk or Walk. "Smoke Signals" (which Clinton wrote and produced with Bootsy Collins) and "Party Up in Here" are very Parliament-like, which is to be expected. But "I'm Holding You Responsible" and the 15-minute title song find the Brides delivering an unlikely mixture of Chic and P-Funk, and "Didn't Mean to Fall in Love" isn't P-Funk at all. The only tune on the LP that Clinton didn't produce or co-produce, "Didn't Mean to Fall in Love" is a romantic northern soul item along the lines of First Choice, the Three Degrees, or Honey Cone. Like Funk or Walk, Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy contains its share of surprises, and it demonstrates that the Brides of Funkenstein did the right thing by being unpredictable. ~ Alex Henderson