Personnel 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.
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.
