All the elements of funk are present in tracks like “Didn’t I” or “Strawberry Letter 23” - rhythmic intricacy, fluid bass work and lush arrangements. But they’ve been slowed to a doleful crawl, more likely to toy with your heart than move your feet. All the musicians here tease and shape funk to their own ends - Sly Stone drains it of joy and warmth for the zombified “Just Like A Baby,” Herbie Hancock invents a whole new strain of jazz with it, and Pastor T.L. Barrett uses it as a delivery device for transcendence.