Sample Some of Disc, Sample Some of D.A.T., Vol. 1

AMG Review of Sample Some of Disc, Sample Some of D.A.T., Vol. 1

Steven McDonald
All Music Guide

Concerned about the huge strides being made in the development of samplers, and the ways in which artists were being sampled by everyone from rappers to plunderphonic collage artists, George Clinton hit on the idea of creating legal, low-cost sample discs based on excerpts from his vast archives. The catch here is that if you use one or more samples from this disc, then you sign over a portion of your royalties to Clinton and company. A good idea, on the surface, but the actual royalty schedule involved was close to heinous, leaving samplers preferring to shell out a hundred dollars or more for license-free discs. This initial disc has some interesting flaws, too, in that the track listing on the inner sleeve has no reference whatsoever to the actual tracks, an error that causes quite a bit of confusion. Finally, the samples (full mixes to solo instrument tracks) represent a more or less ho-hum selection from the vaults.