Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Up for the Down Stroke is an album by the American funk band Parliament. It was the bands second album (following 1970s Osmium), and their first to be released on Casablanca Records. The album was released on July 3, 1974. Its title track was Parliaments first chart hit and remains one of the most well-known P-Funk songs. The album also contains a funk reworking of The Parliaments song (I Wanna) Testify under the title Testify.