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America Eats Its Young | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 22, 1972 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 69:06 | |||
Label | Westbound | |||
Producer | George Clinton | |||
Funkadelic chronology | ||||
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America Eats Its Young is the fourth studio album and the first double album by Funkadelic, released in May 1972. This was the first album to include the whole of the House Guests, including Bootsy Collins, Catfish Collins, Chicken Gunnels, Rob McCollough and Kash Waddy. It also features the Plainfield-based band U.S. (United Soul), which consisted of guitarist Garry Shider and bassist Cordell Mosson, on most of the tracks. Unlike previous Funkadelic albums, America Eats Its Young was recorded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and in the UK. The original vinyl version contained a poster illustrated by Cathy Abel. The bottom of the poster features the first widespread appearance of the Funkadelic logo, which would appear on the cover of their next album Cosmic Slop .
According to Dave Rosen of Ink Blot, America Eats Its Young was radical in that it "devours" African-American music whole "and regurgitates it back as a virtual catalog of styles and sounds. Containing no hit singles and precious few catchy tunes, America Eats Its Young is primarily an experimental record that doubles as a lesson in the history of black music." [4] Dave Swanson of Ultimate Classic Rock said that Funkadelic stripped away the "sounds of rock, funk, soul and psychedelia" that had defined their previous albums, instead delivering a "hard funk offering" [2] Biographer Kris Needs described the album as Clinton's "grand statement" on the Vietnam War and "other elements that were afflicting his country", and further added that it featured Clinton's "most ambitiously epic production yet to befit the socially-conscious themes bristling among the love ditties and reworks." [5]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [6] |
Blender | [7] |
Christgau's Record Guide | C+ [8] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [9] |
Funk (Rickey Vincent) | [10] |
The Great Rock Discography | 6/10 [11] |
Mojo | [12] |
Pitchfork | 8.1/10 [1] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [13] |
Select | [3] |
Vernon Gibbs of Soul Sounds wrote in 1973 that most fans of Funkadelic were "universal in their condemnation of certain parts of America Eats Its Young," while conceding it himself to have a "dearth of top notch material" for a double album, and said that the consensus highlights "could not offset the badly thought out stuff". [14] Robert Christgau wrote in Christgau's Record Guide (1981) that the album was marred by its double length, "programmatic lyrics" and usage of strings as well as Funkadelic's continued use of sleeve notes by the Process Church of the Final Judgment, further singling out "Biological Speculation" and "Loose Booty" as the album's only good songs. [8]
Among retrospective reviews, Andrew Perry of Select panned the album as an unappealing, "cluttered jazz-rock fusion" that was alone in the Parliament-Funkadelic discography and which "seldom [earned] the accolade of true funkadelia." He also felt Clinton was largely uninvolved with the album, which instead profiles "vague polemic" that provides "neither the entertainment nor the hedonistic alternative of the moon-age anti-manifesto that was Clinton's trademark". [3] Christgau revisited the album for Blender , where he reiterated his dislike of the liner notes and described it as "Funkadelic's worst album", whose domination by Bernie Worrell scorched "the widespread and plausible muso theory that his keyboards were what made P-Funk P-Funk. Strewing chaos and screwing his friends, George Clinton was what made P-Funk P-Funk." [7] He later called it Clinton's "most Zappaesque" album. [15]
More positive was Ned Raggett of AllMusic, who described America Eats Its Young as a double album that was "worth every minute of it" and a departure from the "endless slabs of double-album dreck that came around the same time" as Funkadelic brought "life, soul and much more to the party". [6] The Rolling Stone Album Guide says that although America Eats Its Young is not Funkadelic's best album, it "introduces key elements that will lead Clinton to Parliament", such as vocal harmonies and Worrell's playful, catchphrase-heavy humour, and favoured the "party tunes" over the album's "political anger". [13] Dominique Leone of Pitchfork called it a "disparate, schizophrenic record" where Clinton's attempts to make it more crossover-friendly were thwarted by its length, adding "there's simply too much material, and too many conflicting directions to really make this seem anything other than a Frankenstein production." He nonetheless compared it to the Beatles' 1968 self-titled album due to it "containing too much great stuff to dismiss, but by almost anyone's standards, containing more than it needs." [1] Mojo named it an "expansive work by a huge funk collective". [12]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "You Hit the Nail on the Head" | George Clinton, Clarence Haskins, Bernie Worrell | 7:10 |
2. | "If You Don't Like the Effects, Don't Produce the Cause (released as B-side to "Cosmic Slop"-single Westbound 218)" | Clinton, Garry Shider | 3:43 |
3. | "Everybody Is Going to Make It This Time" | Clinton, Worrell | 5:50 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "A Joyful Process" (released as the B-side to "Loose Booty") | Clinton, Worrell | 6:10 |
2. | "We Hurt Too" | Clinton | 3:47 |
3. | "Loose Booty" (released as a single-Westbound 205) | Clinton, Harold Beane | 4:45 |
4. | "Philmore" | Bootsy Collins | 2:40 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "I Call My Baby Pussycat" | Clinton, Billy Bass Nelson, Eddie Hazel | 5:00 |
2. | "America Eats Its Young" | Beane, Clinton, Worrell | 5:45 |
3. | "Biological Speculation" | Clinton, Ernie Harris | 3:00 |
4. | "That Was My Girl" | Clinton, Sidney Barnes | 3:41 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Balance" | Clinton, Worrell | 5:52 |
2. | "Miss Lucifer's Love" | Clinton, Haskins | 5:50 |
3. | "Wake Up" | Clinton, James Wesley Jackson, Worrell | 6:20 |
The song was recorded in London, with the assistance of English drummer Ginger Baker, who was one of Clinton's favorite drummers.
Personnel:
This song starts off borrowing the music from the children's Christian song, "Jesus Loves Me".
This song represents the first major songwriting effort of Bootsy Collins as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic, and is widely considered the introduction to his musical persona.
George Clinton sang lead vocals, with Frank Waddy on drums.
The song is a remake of a faster version, titled "I Call My Baby Pussycat", recorded by Parliament on their 1970 album Osmium . Two versions of the song (fast and slow), based on the original Parliament version, appear on the 1996 live Funkadelic release Live: Meadowbrook, Rochester, Michigan – 12th September 1971 .
This later version of the song was originally retitled "Pussy," and that title appears on the cover of some vinyl versions of the album, and on some modern CD reissues. Under record company pressure, the titled was restored to "I Call My Baby Pussycat," on future Parliament-Funkadelic releases featuring the song, and some future CD pressings of America Eats Its Young. Both titles can be found on modern CD pressings of the album.
The song is a remake of a 1965 version by The Parliaments.
"Miss Lucifer's Love" features vocals by Fuzzy Haskins and string and horn arrangements by Bernie Worrell. Its songwriters are George Clinton and Fuzzy Haskins.
Album - Billboard (United States) [16]
Year | Chart | Position |
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1972 | Pop Albums | 123 |
1972 | R&B Albums | 22 |
Singles - Billboard (United States)
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
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1972 | “A Joyful Process” | R&B Singles | 38 |
Parliament-Funkadelic is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their eclectic style has drawn on psychedelia, outlandish fashion, and surreal humor. They have released albums such as Maggot Brain (1971), Mothership Connection (1975), and One Nation Under a Groove (1978) to critical praise, and scored charting hits with singles such as "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker" (1975) and "Flash Light" (1978). Overall, the collective achieved thirteen top ten hits in the American R&B music charts between 1967 and 1983, including six number one hits. Their work has had an influential effect on subsequent funk, post-punk, hip-hop, and techno artists of the 1980s and 1990s, while their collective mythology has helped pioneer Afrofuturism.
Cosmic Slop is the fifth studio album by Funkadelic, released in July 1973 on Westbound Records. While it has been favorably reevaluated by critics long after its original release, the album was a commercial failure, producing no charting singles, and reaching only #112 on the Billboard pop chart and #21 on the R&B chart. The album was re-released on CD in 1991.
Let's Take It to the Stage is the seventh album by American funk rock band Funkadelic. It was released on April 21, 1975 on Westbound Records. The album charted at number 102 on the Billboard 200 and number 14 on the R&B Albums.
Hardcore Jollies is the ninth studio album by the funk rock band Funkadelic, released on October 29, 1976 by Warner Bros. Records, their first album to be issued on a major label. It is dedicated to "the guitar players of the world." Originally, the first side of the album was called "Osmosis Phase 1" and the second side was "Terribitus Phase 2." Hardcore Jollies was released one month after Funkadelic's final album for Westbound Records, Tales of Kidd Funkadelic, which was recorded during the same sessions.
Tales of Kidd Funkadelic is the eighth studio album by the band Funkadelic, released in September 1976. It was their final album on the Westbound record label. The tracks were recorded during the same sessions as their first release for Warner Bros. Records, Hardcore Jollies; which was released a month later. Two tracks from Tales of Kidd Funkadelic, the single “Undisco Kidd” and the party anthem “Take Your Dead Ass Home!” have been staples in the band’s live performances since the album’s 1976 release, and can be heard on the 1977 Parliament concert album Live: P-Funk Earth Tour. The album opener “Butt-To-Buttresuscitation” and the song “I’m Never Gonna Tell It” were included in the band’s live shows during the early 2000s. The song "Let's Take It to the People" has been sampled by hip-hop band A Tribe Called Quest for their song "Everything Is Fair", on their album The Low End Theory.
Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome is the sixth studio album by the American funk band Parliament, released in 1977.
Chocolate City is the third album by the funk band Parliament, released in 1975. It was a "tribute to Washington D.C.", where the group had been particularly popular. The album's cover includes images of the United States Capitol, the Washington Monument, and the Lincoln Memorial in the form of a chocolate medallion, as well as sticker labeled "Washington DC". The album was very popular in the capital city, selling 150,000 copies alone there.
The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein is the fifth album by funk band Parliament, released on July 20, 1976. The album is notable for featuring horn arrangements by ex-James Brown band member, Fred Wesley. The album charted at #3 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart, #20 on the Billboard pop chart, and became Parliament's second album to be certified gold. Two singles were released off the album, "Do That Stuff", which charted at #22, and "Dr. Funkenstein" which charted at #43.
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Live: P-Funk Earth Tour is a live double album by Parliament that documents the band's 1977 P-Funk Earth Tour. The performances include songs from Parliament's albums through The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein as well as songs from the Funkadelic repertoire. The album is made up of portions of two performances from January 1977 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena and the Los Angeles Forum.
All The Woo In The World is the debut funk album by Parliament-Funkadelic keyboardist Bernie Worrell, released in 1978 by Arista Records. The album was produced by Bernie Worrell and P-Funk leader George Clinton and features various P-Funk alumni including Garry Shider, Bootsy Collins, Junie Morrison, Billy Bass Nelson, and Eddie Hazel.
Funk or Walk is the debut album by the Brides of Funkenstein, released on Atlantic Records in September 1978. The album was produced by George Clinton with the exception of the album's first single "Disco To Go" which was written and produced by Clinton and Bootsy Collins. The Brides of Funkenstein consisted of Lynn Mabry and Dawn Silva, who were members of Sly and the Family Stone prior to joining P-Funk. Funk Or Walk earned Mabry and Silva a Record World Award for Best New Female Artists and Best New R&B Group in 1979. The song was originally performed live by Bootsy's Rubber Band. To this day, the P-Funk All Stars continue to play "Disco To Go" in their live concerts. The Brides of Funkenstein also toured and recorded with Parliament/Funkadelic around this same time.
A Blow for Me, a Toot to You is a 1977 album by funk musician Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns featuring Maceo Parker.
George Clinton: The Mothership Connection is a DVD released in 1998 and then reissued in 2001, featuring George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic. The DVD features a concert performed by Parliament-Funkadelic at The Summit in Houston, Texas on October 31, 1976. The DVD documents the beginning of famed P-Funk Earth Tour, which would run for almost two years.
P Is the Funk is the second installment of the George Clinton Family Series collection. The album was released in 1992 by P-Vine Records in Japan, and then was released later in the same year by AEM Records in the United States and Sequel Records in the United Kingdom. The album contains notable tracks such as the first song ever recorded by the Brides of Funkenstein entitled "Love Is Something" featuring P-Funk lead guitarist Eddie Hazel, as well radio commercials for the Ultra Wave album by Bootsy Collins.
Plush Funk is the third installment of the George Clinton Family Series collection. The album was released in 1993 by P-Vine Records in Japan, and then was released the next year by AEM Records in the United States and Sequel Records in the United Kingdom. The CD features the track "May Day (S.O.S)", which was an outtake from the Funkadelic album "The Electric Spanking of War Babies".
Go Fer Yer Funk is the first installment of the George Clinton Family Series collection. The album was released in 1992 by P-Vine Records in Japan, and then was released the next year by AEM Records in the U.S. and Sequel Records in the U.K.. The Family Series was designed to present previously unreleased recordings done by various bands in the Parliament-Funkadelic musical stable. The first CD is notable in that it features the title cut "Go Fer Yer Funk" which originally featured a collaboration between P-Funk and Funk legend James Brown.
The Best of the Early Years, Volume 1 is a compilation album by the American Funk band Funkadelic. It was released on Westbound in 1977 while the label was distributed by Atlantic Records. The Best of the Early Years, Volume One compiles material from Funkadelic's tenure at Westbound from 1969 to 1974.