"Motor Booty Affair" (06/05/1990) R&B Parliament, Casablanca/UniversalPersonnel includes: George Clinton, Ron Ford, Ray Davis (vocals); Garry Shider (vocals, guitar); J.S. Theracon (vocals, guitar, synthesizer, keyboards, bass, drums); Bernie Worrell (vocals, synthesizer, keyboards); Garry "Bone" Cooper (vocals, drums); Mike Hampton, Phelps "Catfish" Collins (guitar); Bootsy Collins (guitar, bass, drums); Fred Wesley, Richard "Kush" Griffith, Maceo Parker, Rick Gardner, Greg Black, Greg Thomas, Benny Cowan (horns); Cordell "Boogie" Mosson, Rodney "Skeet" Curtis (bass); Tyrone Lampkin (drums); Larry Fratangelo (percussion); Debbie Wright, Jeanette Washington, Maliia Franklin, Shirley Hayden, Cheryl James, Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva, Linda Brown, Raymond Spruell, Mike "Chip" Payne (background vocals). Engineers: Jim Vitti, Pete Bishop, Mike Iacopelli, Greg Riley. Recorded at United Sound Systems and Super Disc, Inc., Detroit, Michigan. By this point Parliament was one of the most accomplished and intelligent bands in music. With albums like Mothership Connection and The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein, George Clinton's druggy and patently eccentric humor often obscured the enviable musicianship throughout. Motor Booty Affair is no doubt another classic album and the perfect follow-up to 1977's Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome. On Motor Booty Affair, Clinton decides to yuck it up more with a great underwater concept and a few of his stronger alter egos, including the rhythmically challenged Sir Nose D' Void of Funk and his friend Rumpofsteelskin. The deft and airy "Mr. Wiggles" has Clinton taking on the persona of Wiggles, the "DJ of the affair" as he says: "Mr. Wiggles here on roller skates and a yo-yo/Acting a fool." The hypnotic "Rumpofsteelskin" has a great bassline and inventive and infectious background vocals. The closest thing to a ballad here is the astrologically savvy "(You're a Fish and I'm A) Water Sign." The well-produced "Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)" with its handclaps and high-pitched basslines basically set the standards for the sound of R&B in the coming decade. The sleeper of the album, "One of Those Funky Things," is filled with timbales, congas, and Bernie Worrell's great synth signatures. The last track, "Deep," has great, understated riffs from the Horny Horns. Although many Parliament efforts can't be fully appreciated unless the whole catalogue is nearby, Motor Booty Affair stands on its own merits and sustains the laugh throughout. ~ Jason Elias Possibly the oddest of all the Parliament album concepts, 1978's MOTOR-BOOTY AFFAIR is about water. Well, actually, it's about racial identity--like all of George Clinton's projects--but water is the defining metaphor. It works more often than not, surprisingly, but as always, the real focus is not on the goofy-serious lyrics, or even on the tape-effect vocals of Clinton and superstar bassist Bootsy Collins as the character Sir Nose D'Void of Funk, who gets his comeuppance in the manic and hilarious "Aqua Boogie." No, it's the monster funk grooves that Clinton, Collins, and the other 31 (!) credited musicians and vocals lay down that are the real point of MOTOR-BOOTY AFFAIR, from the jazz-tinged title track to the spacey and psychedelic love song "Water Sign." Fred Wesley's Horny Horns are the real stars of the show, their tight syncopations as much of a lead voice in the complex arrangements as Bernie Worrell's wriggly synths. MOTOR-BOOTY AFFAIR is an all-time '70s funk classic, and second only to 1975's peerless MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION as a Parliament album.
