has a few simple missions on its second full-length CD: To make a modern album steeped in the funk tradition; to show the strengths of its new lineup (with drummer and sometime-singer Nikki Glaspie) and high-profile friends; and, oh yeah, to change the world. Other than that it’s a pretty modest record. From the opening “Dancing to the Truth,” it’s clear that this is a message album—but fear not, the message is mostly the same communal one that George Clinton offered on One Nation Under a Groove (and Clinton’s influence doesn’t end there: The addition of strong female voices—Glaspie and on one track, Ani DiFranco—allows for layered vocals out of P-Funk’s trickbag). While live Dumpstaphunk is all about groove, this disc gives equal weight to Ivan Neville’s songwriting: “Take Time”, “They Don’t Care” and “Water” all return to the message of self-reliance and personal responsibility that he’s put forward in the past. The lyrics reference his cleaned-up lifestyle, but stay positive enough to (usually) avoid slipping into preachiness. In that sense it’s a close cousin to the last Neville Brothers album, Walking in the Shadow of Life, on which Ivan played a major part.
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