Motor Booty Affair is the seventh album by funk band Parliament, released in 1978.[1] It contains two of the group's most popular tracks, "Rumpofsteelskin" and "Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)", which went to number one on the Billboard Soul Singles chart.
| Motor Booty Affair | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1978 | |||
| Recorded | August 1977–July 1978 | |||
| Genre | Funk | |||
| Length | 46:24 | |||
| Label | Casablanca | |||
| Producer | George Clinton | |||
| Parliament chronology | ||||
| ||||
Artist Overton Loyd created the art for Motor Booty Affair.[2] The main release consisted of a gate-fold album cover featuring a pop-up rendition of the city of Atlantis, with Loyd's artwork on the front and back covers. His illustrations included cartoon portraits of some of the "characters" mentioned in the songs on the album, including "Mr. Wiggles". It also included cardboard cutout figures featuring Loyd's cartoon illustrations of most of the characters mentioned in the songs. There was a picture disk, with Loyd's illustration printed directly on the vinyl LP.[3] The album was Parliament's fifth consecutive gold album (500,000 copies sold).
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A−[5] |
| (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul | |
The Bay State Banner wrote that the album "had bop and free jazz, bass playing of remarkable range and liberty, courageous and engaging piano, wisecracking but unpredictable vocals, lyrics that said it all in slang so right you felt you'd been using it all your life instead of hearing it for the first time."[8]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mr. Wiggles" | 6:46 | |
| 2. | "Rumpofsteelskin" (released as a single-Casablanca NB 976) |
| 5:37 |
| 3. | "(You're a Fish & I'm a) Water Sign" (released as the B-side to "Aqua Boogie") |
| 4:42 |
| 4. | "Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)" (released as a single-Casablanca NB 950 and as a 12" single-Casablanca NBD 20147) |
| 6:43 |
| 5. | "One of Those Funky Thangs" |
| 3:46 |
| 6. | "Liquid Sunshine" (released as the B-side to "Rumpofsteelskin") |
| 4:25 |
| 7. | "The Motor-Booty Affair" |
| 5:16 |
| 8. | "Deep" |
| 9:09 |
Personnel
editSnorkel Singing Air Tank Harmonics:
- Jaws: George Clinton, Garry Shider, J.S. Theracon, Gary "Bone" Cooper, Ron Ford, Ray Davis, Bernie Worrell
- The Choral Reef (er, Bubbly Vocalizations): Debbie Wright, Jeanette Washington, Mallia Franklin, Shirley Hayden, Cheryl James, Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva, Linda Brown, Richard "Kush" Griffith, Raymond Spruell, Mike "Clip" Payne, Joey Zalabok, Robert "P-Nut" Johnson, Larry Heckstall, Overton Loyd
Liquid Licks (Motor-Madness Musicians):
- Guitar: Michael Hampton, Garry Shider, J.S. Theracon, Phelps "Catfish" Collins, Bootsy Collins
- Bass: Cordell "Boogie" Mosson, Bootsy Collins, Rodney "Skeet" Curtis, J.S. Theracon
- Drums: Tyrone Lampkin, Bootsy Collins, Gary "Bone" Cooper, J.S. Theracon
- Percussion: Larry Fratangelo
- Horns: Fred Wesley, Richard "Kush" Griffith, Maceo Parker, Rick Gardner, Greg Boyer, Greg Thomas, Benny Cowan
- Keyboards/Synthesizers: Bernie Worrell, J.S. Theracon
References
edit- ^ The Rough Guide to Rock (2nd ed.). Rough Guides Ltd. 1999. p. 772.
- ^ Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures. Smithsonian Institution. 2023. p. 163.
- ^ Harvilla, Rob (October 31, 2007). "Delicious Vinyl". The Village Voice. No. 44. p. 78.
- ^ Motor Booty Affair at AllMusic
- ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: P". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (2004). (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. p. 619. ISBN 9780743201698.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of R&B and Soul. Virgin. p. 255.
- ^ Bellamy, Cynthia (December 28, 1978). "The major events of 1978: The year in review". Bay State Banner. No. 12. p. 1.