Maggot Brain
Funkadelic, 1971. Solo by Eddie Hazel.
Ten minutes played in one take after George Clinton told Hazel to play like his mother had died.
Eddie Hazel's ten-minute solo was captured in one take, an improvisation in E minor pentatonic over a slow, mournful backing that was later mixed down almost to a whisper. Fuzz and wah give the tone its colour, with a clear debt to Hendrix, while George Clinton's multiple Echoplex passes at mixdown add the haunting trails. The solo unfolds in waves: long, anguished bends and sustained cries alternate with brief glimmers of hope. It shows how much emotion can live inside one simple scale when the player commits completely. Listen for how Hazel lets a phrase die away before starting the next; the pauses, with only faint echoes filling them, feel like someone gathering themselves.
Maggot Brain by Funkadelic is ranked #43 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Eddie Hazel and the song was released in 1971. It appears on 11 lists, placing as high as #5 (Digital Dream Door).
The story of Maggot Brain
"Maggot Brain" is the title track and opening piece of Funkadelic's third album, released on Westbound in 1971. It is essentially a ten-minute showcase for guitarist Eddie Hazel, preceded only by a brief spoken introduction from George Clinton. There are two stories behind the title: some sources, including Mojo, say it was Hazel's nickname, while others connect it to Clinton finding his brother's body in a Chicago apartment. Clinton himself has described it as a state of mind that transcends the body.
The recording grew out of a session at United Sound Systems in Detroit where, by Clinton's own account, he and Hazel were high on LSD but trying to focus their emotions. Clinton told Hazel to play as if he had just learned his mother had died, to picture that day and pour everything he felt into the guitar. Some tellings add that Clinton asked him to shift midway and play as though he had learned she was alive after all.
The whole band played on the take, including rhythm guitarist Tawl Ross, bassist Billy Bass Nelson, keyboardist Bernie Worrell and drummer Tiki Fulwood. Hazel's performance was captured in a single take, and Clinton then transformed it at the mixing desk, pulling the other musicians almost entirely out of the mix so that the guitar stands nearly alone. Clinton's decision to spotlight one player turned a band recording into what is essentially a solo guitar elegy.
Clinton also ran the guitar through an Echoplex, feeding it back on itself several times to create the ghostly, cavernous echoes that make the piece sound as though it is drifting through space. The album appeared in July 1971, and the title track quickly became Funkadelic's most revered recording and Hazel's defining statement. Hazel, who died in December 1992 at age 42, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Parliament-Funkadelic in 1997.
The solo
Eddie Hazel plays the entire lead, a ten-minute improvisation in E minor pentatonic over a slow, mournful backing that was later mixed down to a whisper. Fender says he typically played Stratocasters, including a late-1950s sunburst model, and Wikipedia lists a Marshall 100-watt amp with effects such as a Maestro fuzz, an MXR Phase 90 and a Cry Baby wah. On the recording, fuzz and wah carry much of the color, clearly drawing on Jimi Hendrix, while Clinton's multiple Echoplex passes during mixdown add the haunting trails. The solo unfolds in waves: long, anguished bends and sustained cries alternate with brief glimmers of hope, swelling, retreating and squalling as Hazel works through grief in real time. Remarkably, it was all captured in one take.
Legacy
Rolling Stone placed "Maggot Brain" ninth on its list of the 100 greatest guitar solos and 60th on its 2008 list of greatest guitar songs, while Guitar World included it among its top 100 solos and its greatest wah solos. Critic Greg Tate likened it to Coltrane's A Love Supreme, and Clinton calls it the best guitar work on any P-Funk record. It was played at Hazel's funeral in 1992, has aired weekly on Cleveland radio for decades, and has inspired players from Vernon Reid and Dean Ween to John Frusciante and Flea.
Top 10 facts about Maggot Brain
George Clinton told Eddie Hazel to play as if he had just learned his mother had died.
WikipediaClinton faded the rest of the band almost completely out of the final mix to spotlight Hazel's guitar.
WikipediaClinton said he ran the guitar back through an Echoplex three or four times during mixdown to give the track its eerie feel.
WikipediaThe track was recorded at United Sound Systems in Detroit and released by Westbound.
WikipediaRolling Stone ranked Hazel's playing ninth on its list of the 100 greatest guitar solos.
Rolling StoneGuitar World ranked it No. 21 on a 2015 list of the greatest wah solos.
SongfactsFrom 1976 to 1995, Cleveland DJ Bill "B.L.F. Bash" Freeman played the full track on WMMS every Sunday at 1:30 a.m., a tradition continued on other stations.
WikipediaThe piece was played at Eddie Hazel's funeral in 1992.
WikipediaThe solo is played largely in E minor pentatonic and alternates dark, exorcising passages with short hopeful moments.
FenderJohn Frusciante's nine-minute "Before the Beginning" on The Empyrean (2009) was inspired by "Maggot Brain".
Wikipedia
Live versions
- One Nation Under a Groove bonus EP (Michael Hampton) (1978) Live version led by Hazel's successor Michael Hampton, issued as a bonus EP and on most CD editions.
Notable covers
- J Mascis Cover cited by Fender as evidence of the solo's lasting influence.
- Ween Dean Ween's tribute piece "A Tear for Eddie" pays homage to Hazel.
- John Frusciante (2009) "Before the Beginning" on The Empyrean, a nine-minute homage.
- Flea (2026) Cover on his debut solo album Honora.
In our lists
- See Them Live — #11
- Deep Cuts — #13
- Genre Champions — #10
- The 25 Greatest Funk and Soul Guitar Solos — #1
- The 25 Greatest Guitar Instrumentals — #9
- The 25 Greatest Psychedelic Guitar Solos — #2
- The 1970s — #17
- Instrumentals — #6
- Epic-Length Solos — #11
- Played on a Stratocaster — #18
- Critics' Picks — #17
Sources
- Digital Dream Door: 250 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos — #5
- uDiscover Music: The Best Guitar Solos Of All Time: 108 Amazing Moments — #5
- SensCritique: Top 100 des meilleurs solos de guitare [Top 100 best guitar solos] — #7
- Rolling Stone: The 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — #9
- Rolling Stone en Español: Los mejores solos de guitarra de la historia — #9
- Society of Rock: 15 of the Greatest Guitar Solos You'll Agree With — #10
- Guitar World: The 50 greatest guitar solos of all time — #45
- Magazyn Gitarzysta: 100 solówek wszech czasów [100 solos of all time] — #55
- Guitar Tricks: 200 Best Guitar Solos of All Time — #66
- Bombay Lives (Substack): 100 Greatest Guitar Solos — #71
- Topito (now 10h26.com): Top 100 des plus grands solos de guitare de l'histoire (Benoit Floyd) — #71
- Wikipedia: Maggot Brain (instrumental)
- Wikipedia: Eddie Hazel
- Songfacts: Maggot Brain by Funkadelic
- Fender: One-Track Mind – Eddie Hazel and Maggot Brain
- Rolling Stone: 100 Greatest Guitar Solos
What guitar was used on the Maggot Brain solo?
A fender stratocaster, with fuzz, wah, according to widely reported accounts.
Where does Maggot Brain rank among the greatest guitar solos?
#43 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 11 of them.
Who played the guitar solo on "Maggot Brain"?
Eddie Hazel, Funkadelic's lead guitarist, played the entire ten-minute solo in one take.
What did George Clinton tell Eddie Hazel before "Maggot Brain"?
He told Hazel to play as if he had just been told his mother had died.
What does "Maggot Brain" mean?
Accounts differ: it may have been Hazel's nickname or refer to Clinton finding his brother's body; Clinton calls it a transcendent state of mind.
What guitar did Eddie Hazel use?
He typically played a Fender Stratocaster through a Marshall amp, with fuzz and wah effects.
Why does "Maggot Brain" sound so echoey?
Clinton fed the guitar through an Echoplex several times during mixing and faded out most of the band.