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Evan Taylor Pays Homage to Parliament/Funkadelic on “Soldiers of the Stars” from Bernie Worrell: Wave from the WOOniverse

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@bernie-worrell
Musical Director and Producer Evan Taylor
Pays Homage to Parliament/Funkadelic
On “Soldiers of the Stars”
From Bernie Worrell: Wave from the WOOniverse 
 
Taylor Finds Inspiration
From the Smithsonian’s Afrofuturism Exhibit
 
 Taylor Dives Into the Story Behind the Song
On “Soldiers of the Stars,”
From the Parliament/Funkadelic and Talking Head Funk Legend’s
Posthumous Double-Album
   
album cover: Bernie Worrell: Wave from the WOOniverse art by Raeghan Buchanan
LOS ANGELES — If “Soldiers of the Stars” from Bernie Worrell’s posthumous double album, Bernie Worrell: Wave from the WOOniverse, is the most Parliament/Funkadelic-sounding track on the album, it might be because it features the trademark sounds of P-Funk All Stars alum Eric McFadden’s guitar.


However, the P-Funk vibes might also be highly present because producer Evan Taylor found inspiration in a surprising way. “‘Soldiers of the Stars’ was originally an instrumental jam that had the potential to have a Funkadelic vibe. I decided to recut some of the rhythm tracks ‘because it was a little too sleek, so I got **Daru Jones [a two-time GRAMMY Award-Winning drummer for his work on Jack White’s Lazaretto (2014) and Gloria Gaynor’s Testimony (2019)] on drums and Scott Hogan on bass. But, I had to structure the vocals and solos around to complete for this album,” explains producer Taylor, who took dozens of Worrell’s unfinished compositions and turned them into finished songs for the ambitious project.
 
 
Bernie Worrell
Photographer – Brian Diescher
What helped Taylor put the track together was an invite from Worrell’s widow. “Judie Worrell invited me to join her and a few others to get a sneak peek of the Smithsonian’s ‘Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures’, which featured some of Bernie’s items — a cape, a stage costume, and an ARP Pro Soloist keyboard courtesy of Nick Montoya were included in the music section along with live performance photos. On the flight home, I reflected on what I had learned in the exhibit and wrote ‘Soldiers of the Stars’ on the plane. What I learned was a deeper and more well-rounded understanding of what Afrofuturism really is and I poured that into the song,” he says.
 
Taylor came back to his Los Angeles studio, Loantaka Sound, and cut the track with three singers (Nick Jackson, TJ Wilkins, and Leonard Clark). “I asked Eric McFadden to solo on the song and play some mandolin. (Fun fact: The first time I saw P-Funk, Eric was playing mandolin.) When I heard the solo, my mind was blown. We also added some disembodied voices and more chants, handclaps, and stomping, apropos of the song’s title,” says Taylor, who says the song is “about the oppressed on Earth leaving for life in space.”


Evan Taylor
Photographer – John Nyboer
Out of all the songs on this record, this track felt the most complete when Taylor found it. “ If you listen closely you can hear Bernie calling out the transitions from his talk-back mic. I left that in at certain points. This one seemed like an afterthought until going to the exhibit. Then I had a vision for it. We knew we got the song right when I heard Eric’s solo at the end and the voice acting at the end too. I hope we made Bernie proud up there… Wherever he is,” adds Taylor.


Bernie Worrell: Wave from the WOOniverse was released on Org Music initially on vinyl on Record Store Day (April 20, 2024) and then digitally and on CD in August 2024 at all DSPs (linktr.ee/bernieworrell). The lineup includes Bootsy Collins (James Brown, P-Funk), Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads), Fred Schneider (the B-52s), Mike Watt (The Minutemen, The Stooges), Leo Nocentelli (The Meters) and Sean Ono-Lennon, Leo Nocentelli, Miho Hatori, Steve Scales, Marc Ribot, Fred Wesley, Marco Benevento, Stanton Moore, Steven Bernstein, Daru Jones, Will Calhoun, Buckethead, Norwood Fisher, Eric McFadden (P-Funk All Stars) and many more.
 
“Soldiers of the Stars” Production Credits:
 
Bernie Worrell: Keyboards
Daru Jones: Drums
Eric McFadden: Guitar, Mandolin
Michael Moon Reuben: Guitar
Scott Hogan: Bass
Davey Chegwidden: Percussion
Nick Jackson: Vocals
T.J. Wilkins: Vocals
Leonard Clark: Vocals
Chant: Dorian Duffy, Ricky Martinez, Evan Taylor
Astonished man: Ace Woe
Bewildered woman: Rhiannon Bahree
Sigh: Bianca G. Gregory, Rhiannon Bahree
Claps: Jonathan Wald, Ricky Martinez, Evan Taylor
Engineered by Spencer Guerra, Tony Maimone
Daru was recorded by Ben Sanders at Barfire Studio, Nashville, TN
Eric McFadden was recorded at Funhead Studio in New York, NY
Mixed by Spencer Guerra
Produced by Evan Taylor
Mastered by Steven Berson at Total Sonic Media, Cedar Park, Texas (digital tracks) and Dave Gardner (vinyl tracks)
 
Bernie Worrell: Wave from the WOOniverse track listing:
1. Intro (Reflections on a Bird) – Feat. Nick Montoya
2. Distant Star – Feat. Jerry Harrison, Paul Dooley, Alecia Chakour, Invisible Familiars
3. What Have They Done To My Funk – Feat. Bootsy Collins, Michael Moon Reuben, Ouiwey Collins, Buckethead
4. Heapin’; Bowl Of Gumbo – Feat. Leo Nocentelli, Fred Wesley, Stanton Moore, Lonnie Marshall
5. Re-Enter Black Light (Phase II) – Feat. Sean Ono Lennon
6. The Big WOO – Feat. Fred Schneider, Binky Griptite, Marco Benevento, Jaleel Bunton, Kyp Malone, Ana Becker
7. Greenpoint – Feat. Steve Bernstein, Mauro Refosco, Smokey Hormel, Scott Hogan, Michael Jerome Moore
8. Soldiers Of The Stars – Feat. Daru Jones, Eric McFadden
9. When The Rain Subsides – Feat. Will Calhoun
10. Pedro WOO – Feat. Mike Watt
11. Contusion – Funkadelic
12. Transcendence – Feat. Marc Ribot, Norwood Fisher
13. Wave From The WOOniverse – Feat. Miho Hatori, Sarah La Puerta, Invisible Familiars
 
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