The Electric Spanking of War Babies

Infobox Album | Name = The Electric Spanking of War Babies
Type = Album
Artist = Funkadelic


Released = 1981
Recorded =
Genre = Funk
Length = 44:10
Label = Warner Bros. Records
Producer = George Clinton
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:6szsa9rgb23s link]
* Robert Christgau (A-) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Funkadelic link]
Last album = "Uncle Jam Wants You"
(1979)
This album = "The Electric Spanking of War Babies"
(1981)
Next album = "Connections & Disconnections"
(1981)

"The Electric Spanking of War Babies" is the final album of Funkadelic's golden era. The title is an allusion to the Vietnam War and baby boomers. It features many relative newcomers to the P-Funk mob, many of whom would remain employed by George Clinton on future releases under his own name or under the name George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars. Clinton originally planned on this being a double album, but the idea was quashed by Warner Brothers. Some of the deleted tracks would appear on future P-Funk releases, most notably the 1983 hit single "Atomic Dog" which appeared on the first George Clinton solo album.

Track listing

# "The Electric Spanking of War Babies" (Bob Bishop, George Clinton, Walter Morrison)
# "Electro-Cuties" (J. Ali, Clinton, Ron Ford)
# "Funk Gets Stronger" (Part I) (Clinton, Michael Hampton)
# "Brettino's Bounce" (Larry Fratangelo)
# "Funk Gets Stronger" (Killer Millimeter Longer Version) (Clinton, Sylvester Stewart)
# "She Loves You" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
# "Shockwave" (Ron Dunbar, DeWayne McKnight)
# "Oh, I" (Clinton, Rodney Curtis, Garry Shider)
# "Icka Prick" (Clinton, Shider)

Critical response

*"Electric Spanking is an above-average party album"
** [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A28520r8ac48x All Music]

External links

* [http://www.duke.edu/~tmc/motherpage/albums_funkadelic/alb-espank.html the Motherpage]

Memorable Lyrics

*"I, at the early age of seventeen/Was adopted by aliens"
*"They have long since programmed me/To return with this message/When you learn to dance/You won't forget it"
*"It's a bummer to find/That your mind/And your behind/Gets exploded in time"
*"You've seen the bomb (electric)/Vietnam (spanking of) /LSD (war babies) /You've seen the ?/You've seen DNA/Watch them go to the moon/Live on TV"

Complete lyrics at [http://www.duke.edu/~tmc/motherpage/lyrics_funkadelic/lyr-espank.html#lyr-s-espank the Motherpage]

The title track begins with a silly, spoken intro where the speaker claims to have been adopted by aliens. The aliens gave him a message, which is apparently an urgent need to get Funky. The song then turns obliquely political, and the song's titular reference to the Vietnam War is referred to again.

"Icka Prick" may have been a response to the flak that Funkadelic and LP cover artist Pedro Bell were getting from Warner Bros. and certain women's groups concerning the album cover art, hence the lyric: "You ain't seen obscene yet/We gonna be nasty this year". The lyrics are intentionally filthy.

Personnel

"The Electric Spanking of War Babies"

*Vocals: George Clinton
*Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Drums: Walter Morrison
*Lead Guitar: Michael Hampton

"Electro-Cuties"

*Vocals: George Clinton
*Bass: Jimmie Ali
*Lead Guitar: Michael Hampton, Jerome Ali
*Rhythm Guitar: Gordon Carlton
*Drums: Kenny Colton

"Funk Gets Stronger (Part I)"

*Lead Vocals: George Clinton
*Vocals: Bootsy Collins
*Bass: Lige Curry
*Lead Guitar: Michael Hampton
*Rhythm G, Bass & Moog: Roger Troutman
*Drums: Tyrone Lampkin
*Percussion: Larry Fratangelo
*Trumpet: Cynthia Robinson
*Saxophone: Pat Rizzo

"Brettino's Bounce"

*Drums, Percussion: Larry Fratangelo

"Funk Gets Stronger (Killer Millimeter Longer Version)"

*Lead Vocals: George Clinton, Sly Stone
*Lead Guitar: Eddie Hazel
*Rhythm Gtr, Keyboards, Synth: Sly Stone
*Trumpet: Cynthia Robinson
*Sax: Pat Rizzo
*Drums: Sly Stone

"Shockwaves"

*Lead Vocals: Donnie Sterling
*Bass: Lige Curry
*Guitar: DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight
*Drums: Kenny Colton
*Percussion: Larry Fratangelo

"Oh, I"

*Lead Vocals: Garry Shider
*Bass: Rodney "Skeet" Curtis
*Lead Guitar: Michael Hampton, Jerome Ali
*Keyboards: Marion Saulsby
*Rhythm Gtr: Gordon Carlton, Garry Shider
*Drums: Tyrone Lampkin
*Sax: Michael Brecker

"Icka Prick"

*Lead Vocals: George Clinton
*Bass: Lige Curry
*Lead Guitar: Michael Hampton
*Rhythm Guitar: Garry Shider
*Moog & Keyboards: David Lee Chong