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Full title is: Electric Spanking of War Babies Length: 44:10 Andre Williams - Vocals Cheryl James - Vocals Clip Payne - Vocals Cynthia Robinson - Trumpet David Lee Chong - Synthesizer, Keyboards Dawn Silva - Vocals Dewayne Blackbyrd McKnight - Guitar Donnie Sterling - Vocals Dr. Funk PhD - Vocals Eddie Hazel - Guitar Gary Shider - Guitar (Rhythm), Vocals Gordon Carlton - Guitar (Rhythm) Janice Evans - Vocals Jeanette 'Baby' Washington - Vocals Jeannette McGruder - Vocals Jerome Ali - Guitar Jerome Rogers - Vocals Jessica Cleaves - Vocals Jimmy Ali - Bass Kenny Colton - Drums, Vocals Kevin Oliver - Vocals Larry Hatcher - Vocals Larry Heckstall - Vocals Lawrence Fratangelo - Percussion Lige Curry - Bass, Vocals Mallia Franklin - Vocals Manon Saulsby - Keyboards Michael Brecker - Saxophone, Sax (Alto) Michael Hampton - Guitar, Vocals Mother Love - Vocals Muruga - Percussion Nina Hoover - Vocals Pat Rizzo - Saxophone, Sax (Alto) Patty Walker - Vocals Philippe Wynne - Vocals Raymond Davis - Vocals Robert 'P-Nut' Johnson - Vocals Rodney Curtis - Bass Roger Troutman - Synthesizer, Bass, Guitar (Rhythm), Moog Synthesizer, Moog Bass Ron Ford - Vocals Ronald Dunbar - Vocals Sheila Horne - Vocals Shirley Hayden - Vocals Sidney Barnes - Vocals Stevie Pannall - Vocals Sylvester 'Sly Stone' Stewart - Synthesizer, Drums, Guitar (Rhythm), Keyboards, Vocals Tony Davis - Vocals Tony Thomas - Vocals Tyrone Lampkin - Drums Walter 'Junie' Morrison - Bass, Guitar, Drums, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Vocals
With George Clinton, a humorous phrase could be nothing more than playful tomfoolery, or it could be a double entendre with a deep political meaning. The phrase 'electric spanking of war babies' falls into the latter category -- it referred to what the funk innovator saw as the U.S. government using the media to promote imperialistic wars. To Clinton, the American media functioned as a propaganda machine during wartime. But whether or not one cares to examine its hidden political messages, Electric Spanking is an above-average party album. Spanking falls short of the excellence of One Nation Under a Groove and Uncle Jam Wants You and didn't boast a major hit single, but amusing funk smokers like 'Electro-Cuties' and 'Funk Gets Stronger' aren't anything to sneeze at, nor is the reggae-influenced 'Shockwaves.' Spanking turned out to be the last album Clinton would produce under the name Funkadelic -- when he hit the charts again in 1983, Mr. P-Funk was billing himself as a'solo artist.' ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide |