''America Eats Its Young'' is the fourth studio album and the first double album by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, ...

, released in May 1972. This was the first album to include the whole of the House Guests, including

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s before joining the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Collins established himse ...

Catfish Collins Phelps "Catfish" Collins (October 17, 1943 – August 6, 2010) was an American musician. A lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist, he is known mostly for his work in the P-Funk collective. Although frequently overshadowed by his younger brother, ...

, Chicken Gunnels, Rob McCollough and Kash Waddy. It also features the Plainfield-based band U.S. (United Soul), which consisted of guitarist

Garry Shider Garry Marshall Shider (July 24, 1953 – June 16, 2010) was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen ...

and bassist

Cordell Mosson Cordell "Boogie" Mosson (born Cardell Mosson; October 16, 1952 – April 18, 2013) was an American bassist who was a member of Parliament-Funkadelic. He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy in 2019. Mosson was born in New Brunswick, N ...

, on most of the tracks. Unlike previous Funkadelic albums, ''America Eats Its Young'' was recorded in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, 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 ''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 chartin ...

''.

Composition

According to Dave Rosen of ''Ink Blot'', ''America Eats Its Young'' was radical in that it "devours"

African-American music African-American music is a broad term covering a diverse range of musical genres largely developed by African Americans and their African-American culture, culture. Its origins are in musical forms that developed as a result of the Slavery in ...

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 An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

record that doubles as a lesson in the history of black music." Dave Swanson of ''

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

'' 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" Biographer

Kris Needs Kris Needs (born 3 July 1954) is a British journalist and author, known for writings on music from the 1970s onwards. He became editor of proto-punk and early punk rock ''ZigZag'' magazine in August 1977 at 23 and has since written biographies ...

described the album as Clinton's "grand statement" on the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

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."

Critical reception

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".

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

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 The Process Church of the Final Judgment, also known as the Process Church, was a British religious group established in 1966 and disestablished in the 1970s. Its founders were the English couple Mary Ann MacLean and Robert de Grimston, who spr ...

, further singling out "Biological Speculation" and "Loose Booty" as the album's only good songs. Among retrospective reviews, Andrew Perry of '' Select'' panned the album as an unappealing, "cluttered

jazz-rock Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music Music genre, genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, a ...

fusion" that was alone in the

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American musical collective, music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton (funk musician), George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament (band), Parliame ...

discography and which "seldom arnedthe 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". Christgau revisited the album for ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

'', where he reiterated his dislike of the liner notes and described it as "Funkadelic's worst album", whose domination by

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American Keyboard instrument, keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective. In later years, he also worked with ...

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." He later called it Clinton's "most Zappaesque" album. More positive was Ned Raggett of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, 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". ''

The Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' says that although ''America Eats Its Young'' is not Funkadelic's best album, it "introduces key elements that will lead Clinton to

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

", such as vocal harmonies and Worrell's playful, catchphrase-heavy humour, and favoured the "party tunes" over the album's "political anger".

Dominique Leone Dominique Leone is an American musician and writer based in New York City. Early life and education Leone was born in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 29, 1973, and grew up in the Dallas, Texas area. He received a Bachelor's degree in Music Per ...

of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' called it a "disparate, schizophrenic record" where Clinton's attempts to make it more

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

-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 ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...

production." He nonetheless compared it to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' 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." ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: * Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in Hoodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Mojo'' (2017 film), a 2017 Indian Kannada drama film written and directed by Sreesha Belakvaadi * '' ...

'' named it an "expansive work by a huge funk collective".

Track listing

Songs

Everybody Is Going to Make It This Time

The song was recorded in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, with the assistance of English drummer

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and Music of Africa, Africa ...

, who was one of Clinton's favorite drummers. Personnel: *Vocals:

Calvin Simon Calvin Eugene Simon (May 22, 1942 – January 6, 2022) was an American singer who was a member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 along with fifteen other members of Parliame ...

, George Clinton,

, Dr. Music ( Diane Brooks, Steve Kennedy) *Guitar:

*Bass:

Prakash John Prakash John is an Indian-Canadian rock and rhythm & blues bassist. He is known as one of the originators of the ' Toronto sound'. Early years John was born in Mumbai, India, in 1947. At age four, he was enrolled at the prestigious Protestant ...

*Keyboards:

*Drums: Tyrone Lampkin *

David Van De Pitte David J. Van De Pitte (October 28, 1941 – August 9, 2009) was an American music arranger and bass player. He is best known for his work at Motown Records during the 1960s and early 1970s, when he was responsible for arranging many of the ...

– arranged

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

and string guitar

A Joyful Process

This song starts off borrowing the music from the children's

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

song, "

Jesus Loves Me "Jesus Loves Me" is a Christian hymn written by Anna Bartlett Warner (1827–1915). The lyrics first appeared as a poem in the context of an 1860 novel called ''Say and Seal'', written by her older sister Susan Warner (1819–1885), in whic ...

". *String and horn arrangements by

*Drums: Zachary Frazier

We Hurt Too

*String and

Steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

*Vocals: George Clinton, Ray Davis,

Loose Booty

*Vocals: George Clinton *Vocal Ad libs:

Eddie Hazel Edward Earl Hazel (April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992) was an American guitarist and singer in early funk music who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. Hazel was a posthumous inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 19 ...

Guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

: Harold Beane *

Bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

Keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mus ...

*Drums: Tiki Fulwood

Philmore

This song represents the first major songwriting effort of

as a member of

, and is widely considered the introduction to his musical persona. *Lead Vocals:

*Bass: Bootsy Collins *Guitar:

I Call My Baby Pussycat

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

on their 1970 album ''

Osmium Osmium () is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Os and atomic number 76. It is a hard, brittle, bluish-white transition metal in the platinum group that is found as a Abundance of elements in Earth's crust, trace element in a ...

''. 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. *Lead guitar and backup vocals:

America Eats Its Young

and string guitar arrangements by

Biological Speculation

Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

and string guitar arrangements by

*Lead Vocals: George Clinton,

*Guitar:

That Was My Girl

The song is a remake of a 1965 version by

The Parliaments The Parliaments were an American vocal quintet from Plainfield, New Jersey, United States. Originally formed in the back room of a barbershop in 1956, the quintet was named after the cigarette brand. The Parliaments initially performed doo-wo ...

. *Lead Vocals: George Clinton

Balance

*Lead Vocals: Bootsy Collins

Miss Lucifer's Love

"Miss Lucifer's Love" features vocals by

Fuzzy Haskins Clarence Eugene "Fuzzy" Haskins (June 8, 1941 – March 16, 2023) was an American singer. He performed with 1950s and 1960s doo-wop group, The Parliaments, and was a founding member of 1970s funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, also known as Pa ...

and string and horn arrangements by

. Its songwriters are George Clinton and

. *Lead vocal: Fuzzy Haskins *Lead guitar: Eddie Hazel

Wake Up

*String and horn arrangements by

Personnel

s &

Melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...

Percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

: Zachary Frazier,

Tiki Fulwood Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood (May 23, 1944 – October 29, 1979) was an American musician. He was the drummer for the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, as well as a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other membe ...

, Ty Lampkin, Kash Waddy *

: Harold Beane,

, Ed Hazel,

Boogie Mosson Cordell "Boogie" Mosson (born Cardell Mosson; October 16, 1952 – April 18, 2013) was an American bassist who was a member of Parliament-Funkadelic. He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award Grammy in 2019. Mosson was born in New Brunswick, N ...

Trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

: Bruce Cassidy, Arnie Chycoski, Ronnie Greenway, Chicken Gunnels, Al Stanwyck *

Alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

: Randy Wallace *

Tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

: Robert McCullough *

: Ollie Strong * Juice harp: James Wesley Jackson *

Violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

: Victoria Polley, Albert Pratz, Bill Richards, Joe Sera *

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

: Walter Babiuk, Stanley Solomon *

Cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

: Ronald Laurie, Peter Schenkman *

Vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

: Harold Beane, Diane Brooks, Bootsy Collins, Catfish Collins, George Clinton, Ray Davis, Ronnie Greenway, Clayton Gunnels,

, Ed Hazel, Prakash John, Steve Kennedy, Garry Shider,

Grady Thomas Grady Thomas (born January 5, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey, United States) is a former member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkad ...

, Frank Waddy, Randy Wallace,

Charts

Album -

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

(United States)American Eats Its Young – Awards
/ref> Singles - Billboard (United States)

References

External links

{{Authority control 1972 albums Westbound Records albums Funkadelic albums Jazz-rock albums