Reviews (page 3 of 9)
Never heard of this band but I definitely have heard the first song and it is jammy! This is a really upbeat album and I am here for it. That version of In A Gadda Da Vida is epic. Great album. I think the album is tight if you only listen to the original tracks, less so if you listen to the 40 anniversary version on Spotify.
Kinda fun instrumental album. Not sure it needed to be an hour though. 3/5
I was honestly hesitant at first, but I ended up enjoying it far more than I expected. It’s certainly not the most memorable record I’ve ever heard, nor a contender for one of my favorites, but the bongos are just so fun.
Mucho bongo, si era 40-80 minutos más corto sería un buen álbum
Surprisingly, not enough bongo
I can’t do this. It’s funny but that’s it. Great sample repository, again it’s funny, but whatever. There is musicianship here but inclusion on this list is weird.
One of the most 70's albums I've ever heard, enjoyable in chunks but as a whole the bongos become overwhelming
güzel la
-Sehr gute funky beats -mal was instrumentales -gute Brass, Hammond Orgel und Bass Teile
You want bongos? You've got 'em. I thought that this sounded like the soundtrack to some cheesy 70s action movie even before I read thats basically what it is. Drum beats that were used by the Beastie Boys, musical variations of The Rolling Stones (and borrowed by The Coup), and even some Iron Butterfly thrown in for good measure. Will this make my regular playlist? No. Did I enjoy the ride while it lasted? Absolutely.
Bongotastisch
они милые, но когда начинается бонго-соло я перестаю наслаждаться. хочется больше труб! дайте мне удивительную духовую банду
It's bongo alright
Surprisingly not bad.
Not available on Deezer, had to turn to YouTube. The music is so phenomenal that I couldn't even get that annoyed at the ads being thrown in every other track. I'm thinking about getting this one in a physical media format so I can enjoy it properly.
No. 156 Well this is a lot of fun. No grand artistic statement here just a bunch of talented musicians.
A fun covers album to party to! Feels like a good time in a bottle. Not much poetry in it, but it’s nice.
la mejor vibra
I know these song! Never heard of the band though. Bookmarking this!
Best bongo-themed album I listened to all day.
It's fine. Get's repetitive. 2.5/5 Probably won't listen again
la verdad que musicalmente es muy bueno pero no lo escucharía yo un dia común ni tampoco creo que iría a un show pero la musicalidad que tiene es increíble
Entretenido
grew on me as listened.
This was cool to listen to! Lots of "Oh yeah I guess that's where that sample came from" throughout. And it was pretty easy to groove to as well.
# Album Name: Incredible Bongo Band # Artist: Bongo Rock # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: I strangely enjoyed this one. Lots of fucking bongos i guess. But very funky, good vibes. Not something id listen to all the time mind ya. # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? Yes
I really liked hearing apache. 800 samples is iconic - fun beats but i got bored
I really liked this. Who would have guessed?
Pretty good instrumental album. Nice arrangements, nice to listen to in the background. Pleasant surprise, but not what I would drive around to.
best cool album
Not enough bongo honestly
I had a lot of fun listening to this record. The origin of so many classic rap songs
I was expecting cool bongo music, not a bunch of shitty covers of other songs already on this list. Wildly uninspired, and honestly not even that much bongo. Live or die by your bongos, don’t be a half assed neutral.
Different. Decent. In a gadda was a jam.
Nothing spectacular, but really fun to listen to from time to time
A fun album, but I got over it pretty quickly.
A kind of funky/surfy library music filled with bongos. I can't see why it's in this list, but I always have fun with this album for sure!
What the hell, sure! Definitely enjoyable, but I don't think I would relisten tbh
This is so perfectly itself and of its time! Favourite tracks ‘Apache’ and ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’.
There is absolutely good percussion here, but the music was so cheesy I wondered if this was a joke.
A bunch of dudes got together in the early seventies to write the songs to be sampled in eighties rap songs and played at sports arenas.
just cool to a t! Its funky for days. I was enjoying this and then Bongolia kicked it up to a higher level. There's a nice variety of tempo here as well, sometimes with albums like this it can run the risk of sounding kind of samey across the board but this is just a blast through and through.
This album feels like it was tailor made for me. Bongos and funky beats and horns and all kinds of other unique percussion. I loved it! But much like eating a bunch of peanut buster parfaits in one sitting, it does become a little too much of a good thing by the end. Definitely didnt need to be an hour long. If you break it up into a couple of listening sessions it’s perfect
Trop bien !! Mille samples et HUGE Baby Driver energy
This was a pretty fun album.
This album exceeded my expectations of what a bongo band can be- incredible bongo band is a great name. Got me through physics which is quite the feat. I just dont really see myself listening to them much in the future though- theres lots of other stuff id much rather listen to.
Felt very sceptical going into this - I mean bongos?!?! surely that would make for a rubbish album. Turns out I couldn't have been more wrong, this was so good!
It's really cool to see the origins of so many famous samples, and some great covers to top it off.
Pretty fun
The Rosetta Stone of sampling is also a kick-ass groove by itself. My joy in hearing where the Beastie Boys got that track is equaled by my ass shaking to the killer beats and breaks. If you can make “In-a-Gadda-da-Vida” sound actually good, my friend you can do anything.
4 Bongo bongo
Wow, I was not expecting this to be that good. And the cover of In a Gadda Da Vida is far better than the original (which is pretty good itself). 4.5/5.0: Excellent
incredibly fun. happy it ended when it did, because it did start to get a little tedious.
Bongo bongo, Intsremental Musik die doch eine gute Basis hat
Standouts Apache
Nice enough at first listen, but ultimately meaningless and empty.
jesus christ. so many bongos. at least it's able to live up to its name. if i were to rate it based on the length i would've gone lower, but the music is too good for that
Jaaa
Own this album. Great stuff
Like it
How much bongo is too much bongo? About 70 minutes it turns out, but then I accidenatlly listened to an extended version of this album, which should have only been 33 minutes. Either way, i enjoyed this, it's been sampled to death by just about everyone, so it was nice to pick out the odd little drum beats and work out where they were from. Nas mainly, but also Suguarhill Gang, Massive Attack, Goldie, Leftfield and so many more. I think this is a niche that the world is crying out for more of, bring back bongo!
leopointing.gif
Funk.
Highlights: Let There Be Drums, Apache, Bongolia, In a Gadda Da Vida, Raunchy, Bongo Rock Going into this record I knew that it is often used as a hip-hop sample library, but didn't have any high expectations. However on first track already I found it to be pretty dope. For whatever reason the first track on streamers isn't the same as the one on the official track list. Don't know why and what to think of that... I expected a lot less of the rock, but the title sure didn't lie. I also expected that all of the tracks would be originals, but there is a good number of covers too, if not all of them (I didn't check every track). Interesting to see how musical ideas circulate around. I don't recognize what the unique instrument in Raunchy is, but it kinda sounds like a mix of a moog and organs and since I like both of them that's a nice addition. Overall an interesting listen. It was nice that it doesn't have a long runtime (if you go by the LP track list and not the one available on streamers). Can't say that I'll revisit it for sure but I certainly wouldn't mind doing so. Highlights were dope and they will remain in rotation. The current rating is a bit generous, but a 3 would be too low as well.
Priem
I like it
3/5. The groups name and album title do not lie, this is an album with a lot of bongos. Though it is not only percussive, there’s a healthy serving of funk as well and a lot of instrumental covers. to me though the most interesting thing about this album is what a treasure trove of samples it is. There were several times where my ears perked up and I thought “oh, I recognize that.” And when it’s at its best there’s some really good grooves on here. However it is just about an hour long and the album starts to run out of steam a bit in the back half as the gimmick starts to wear thin. Still, glad I got to hear this, don’t know if I ever would have otherwise.
Just another weird one to cover all the author’s bases for making a comprehensive album list.
meme ass band
These weird cover albums are a drag.
3.5
3.5
This was a fun one that I have never heard before but it drifted into gimmicky after a while.
No private session used for Spotify. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this album, it's groovy, like Paul's Boutique sample/Grandmaster Flash groovy.
Merci Omar
Strong start! Bongo awayyyy! Then it gets more rock with some great guitars. Later you get a killer bongo battle... what's not to loveeee
The what now? This was great. Would I play it again? Maybe on a long car journey.
Very low expectations for this album to be quite honest. I just can’t imagine a bongo album is going to blow me away. Apache is classic, but a stadium classic not a great song classic. We cat be adding this album to the list just for Apache. It’s fun for sure, just not what I’m looking for. Let there be drums is fine. I have a feeling that’s will be my thoughts for a lot of the songs. The music is good but not good enough on its own to warrant being in this list. Good guitar on bongolia, drums are basically the same as Apache. Last bongo is a good song. I wish there were lyrics but that guitar is really good. Really good sax too. And it just keeps going. A ballad with no words. 3 songs in and I’ve done a 180. Dueling bongos is an apt name. Really talented stuff. Ok song. In a gadda da vida is fire. Sick guitar/bass. Great horns again. You forget abt the bongos but they’re tapping along too. Another song that just keeps going and stays good through out. Raunchy 73 is pretty good. I really like that keyboard solo in the middle. Another really catchy beat. I have to go back to what I said earlier, I wish there were lyrics on some of these. Bongo rock is a really good pop tune with no singer. Could’ve been great. Trumpet on sing sing sing is so good. Cool bass line. This one does kind of sound like a movie score. I mean these beats are just good there’s not much more to say. The fact that these were made in the 70s is crazy. Satisfaction is banger. I like the version with lyrics better though. Wipeout is almost an extension of satisfaction. Really good guitar solo followed by bongo solo. Another good song. Okey dokey is fun, honestly a bit of a different sound at the beginning. Funky guitar and then it turns into the full on production that we see throughout. Great way to end the album. Completely blown away. Worth the listen. 4 stars.
3.5
learn your roots! listen to this album!!
There's absolutely nothing wrong with this album; I'm just not sure why it exists. This is a bunch of talented studio musicians recording an esoteric selection of covers (and a few simple originals), all focused on disco-style beats with extended percussion breaks and, as the name suggests, an awful lot of (quite good) bongo playing. "Apache" is certainly recognizable since it's been sampled a thousand times, but the whole album kinda sounds like it was written and recorded for the sole purpose of being used in some distant future Tarantino soundtrack.
Nice instrumental and laid back album. Repetitive at times, but great ambient.
Well it said I was going to get "Bongo Rock" and I believe that is exactly what was on offer here. Lots of bongos! There were a couple of places where I thought I had experienced enough bongos, but I was proven incorrect. The album itself is great, but the filler on Spotify was less so. Three stars, more for the smile it put on my face than any actual musical quality.
Good instrumentals
te escucho 2/3 canciones pero el album entero me parece codicia de más
One of my favorite instrumental albums ever? I couldn't believe how much fun I had listening to this. Hope to return to it often.
Coś tam sobie bangla, ale po co tak bangla? Totalnie nie moja bajka.
I know there were some really good albums produced in the 1970’s. This is not one of them.
Saw someone say this sounds like old spy movies and that's spot on. Instrumental, heavy on the bongos obviously, but the rest of the music is quite catchy. Apache is next and this is where the breakbeat is apparently sampled from in tons of old school hip hop songs. There's some variety in the music going forward but the drums are a constant. The tribal rhythms are so satisfying to listen to, and it's full of horns, organ and other bits of orchestration. Last Bongo In Belgium is more yacht rock than anything, which I do like, and Dueling Bongos removes the orchestra to focus on, well... dueling bongos. Then, if you wanted to know what a bongo heavy cover of In A Gadda Da Vida would sound like, you'll get your wish. The last couple of tracks are quite joyful and good. Look, as a historical artifact this is super interesting and seems to merit its inclusion on the list. For me, the music is worth listening to in its own right, as long as you don't mind some very kitschy 70s sounds. And bongos. Lots of bongos. ***
Fun...if you like bongos.
Its bongos/5
Would not buy
Fascinating gimmick album. Something that started as a throw away side project became one of the cornerstones of hip-hop and sample music. Incredible story of things having their own life way past their theoretical expire date. That being said for drum lovers such as myself, this is a great album in and of itself. Drums and percussion taking the centre stage is something I have to love and admire. It might not be extremely listenable or enjoyable if you're not into just beats and instrumental flow. So I understand it's not for every palate. But I fully understand how it got a cult following.
3.5 Stars Positively SHOCKED at how much I enjoyed this. When I saw this pop up and hit play, I was convinced it would be a 1, maybe 2 star album that I wasn't into. Am I going to come back to it much? Probably not, but seriously, what a pleasant surprise. That being said, though, it's way too long. Cut 2-3 tracks off this thing and call it a day.
I was pleasantly surprised that this was not *just* bongos, despite that bongo-forward band name, album title, and song list. Really dug the vibe on this one!
Fun and energetic with some solid funk and a lot of bongo. Mostly really enjoyable. And a Grandmaster Flash hook-up as well.
This was bongos. Also trumpets not bad but unsure on why this was part of the 1001 albums
Nope nope nope
I'll give it to them, they are an incredible bongo band
On every album on this list so far I have waited until I listened through the entire album before I started writing my thoughts. Not this time though. Before I even started I wanted to write down how happy I was when I read the band and album name. Its not something I have ever heard before and not something I would have imagined I would listen to today but instantly I an very hyped up. Unusual and unexpected albums is exactly what I want to find! After having listened through the album it was everything I expected. In a good way. The rhythms and feel of the album are great. It felt like an OST for a 70s or 80s movie and Wikipedia told me that was correct, although the year was way of. I had a really good time listening through this and even though its not music I would listen to every day its something I can really appreciate once in a while.
My first though was "bongo rock?", but this is great!
+1 star for the album's importance to modern music in general, however I don't need to listen to an album full of backing tracks/sampled music before I die
Угарная в целом хуйня, но почему она тут.. Я уже ничему не удивляюсь за эти годы
Pretty ok.
Fun enough, I guess!
Mélange d'originaux et de reprises très funk, forte place des percus (bongos...) qui en donne tout le sel
I enjoy Apache as much as the next peson, but a whole album of this is too much. It's a novelty band.
3.5/5
Always only heard Apache which I love. Going through this is going through hip hop history. Samples everywhere. Amazing.
What a delight!
Fun
(5) I got a FEVA; and the only prescription is more bongos!
Apache is iconic. I was really feeling it, then "Dueling Bongos" kinda killed the vibe and I couldn't get the feeling back
Didn't know I needed this much bongo in my life.
3/1 Pretty good album. Makes me thing of DKC and the Ape Out soundtracks
7 - GOOD
Songs: Bongo Lyrics: Bongo Drummer: Bongo Lead Vocalist: Bongo Guitars: Bongo "What?" - B O N G O!
Oh it's the music from the gambling adverts on TV. I have many questions primarily...why? Why was this made in the first place? And why is it on this list?
It’s okay, but I’m not particularly interested in bongo solos I think. The other music and instruments were nothing special, but not bad.
2,5/5 Os covers são na maioria de pouca inspiração e formulaicos. A parte rítmica é boa.
I enjoyed this a lot, and I imagine it would be even more fun if I knew enough hip hop to spot all the bits that have been sampled. I did spot something I knew from Bentley Rhythm Ace.
It was fun for the first two tracks, then it becomes incredibly boring.
Я пока не совсем понимаю, как оценивать полностью инструментальный альбом, но он прикольно звучит. Поставил себе фоном, играя в Айзеке, клёво чо)
gran album, muy innovador, nunca habia escuchado un sonido asi, la verdad esta bueno pero al ser pura instrumental me aburre un toq, si tuviera una voz normalita seria alto album
#urlaubsrezension Wenn ich das zu Hause gehört hätte gäbe es jetzt böse Kommentare zur Bongo im allgemeinen und dem hier im speziellen. Im Urlaub aber echt lustige Arrangements, Instrumentals auch Mal cool und zum Frühstück machen in der Sonne fein
KLOP KLOP KLOP KLOPKLOP GEDUDEL. Hilfe. Sampling wurde für dieses Album erfunden um uns ganze Lieder zu ersparen. Morgen dann das Blockflöten Album
Shaft-Soundtrack much. Niemand sollte ein Instrument so doll lieben, dass auf einem Album "BONGO Rock" der "BONGO Band" die Songs "BONGO Rock", "Dueling BONGOS" und "Last BONGO in Belgium" auftauchen. Just No. Sorry, still not losing this Shaft-Vibes.
Being honest. This didn’t quite deliver on its bongo promises. Not like Houmous & Chutneys infamous album ‘Bongo Promises’. Still the best bongo album ever made that doesn’t actually feature a single bongo. 1.4 3/19 Bongolia
3 Stars (8/15)
I wasn’t really in the mood for this but it was fine
The album itself is almost as imaginative as the title.
Very enjoyable instrumental music
Bongos! Interesting album. Instrumental only
Bongo Rock was definitely an interesting album. I was thinking that this would be some kind of world album taking inspiration from South America or Africa but this one seemed to lean more towards funk rock and had a few covers on it. I enjoyed this album for the vibes it brought with all the guitars and of course, the bongos were always interesting too. However i could feel like this album could get rather repetitive especially considering it had parts which focused entirely on the bongos that went on for longer than i would have liked. It does make sense why those are there but those still weren't my favorite, However, it still is interesting enough to be a fairly enjoyable one. Best Song: Apache Worst Song: Dueling Bongos
wooooooow i recognised so many of these songs, they’ve been sampled off pretty much every track of this album. unreal!!!!!
Way more fun than I expected! It's got great energy and it's absolutely hypnotising (which the haters would call "being repetetive"). A great piece of music history and a definite recommendation.
Funky and energetic
I thought it would have more bongos anyway this is a fun one, nothing amazing, a little more interesting in its historical context than the actual album
A gimmicky covers record. It’s really not worthy of inclusion, I don’t care how well played and often sampled it is.
I didn't have bongo funk on the album bingo card today, but thought it was great. Apparently lots of weird and interesting stuff came out the year I was born, which might explain a thing or two.
apache was so familiar but i had a hard time placing the sample i knew was in some hip hop song or two in my head. turns out it has been sampled over 300 times (!) according to whosampled.com.
Greatly influential for sample based music, i see why it was used to cut so many tracks. Overall it gets pretty repetitive, fun, but definetly made to be listened to once, take the best tracks and move on from it.
Skilled but meh. Instrumentals 2
Yep those are bongos.
it sure is lowk fire af. more songs need bongos
01) Let There Be Drums - 8,0 02) Apache - 8,5 03) Bongolia - 7,5 04) Last Bongo in Belgium - 7,5 05) Dueling Bongos - 6,0 06) In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida - 8,5 07) Raunchy '73 - 7,5 08) Bongo Rock '73 - 7,5 TOTAL: 7,63 (76/100) Current ranking: 321/825
Loved this
buona musica di sottofondo. non sono abbastanza colta per apprezzarlo di più
Once thought a concept that quickly ran out of ideas, this proved me wrong by song 2 and just evolved into an awesome album. Very good work mr bongo
A bunch of covers and genre-type backing tunes…but with bongos. F right off.
Different and surprisingly fun
Better than tubular bells
Mucho mejor de lo que pensaba. Una falsa banda haciendo buena música y sentando las bases para samplear durante años. Las tres primeras canciones son para guardarlas y disfrutar: Apache, Let there be drums y Bongolia.
Aha! A one-hour and eighteen-minute sample of choices to the opening sequence of every 70's cop/detective show that aired at 10:00 PM. Listening, I could immediately visualize the detective, slightly overweight, in a cheap suit, chasing the bad guy down an alley in the city's red-light district. As the bongos really kicked in, the detective tackles the bad guy. Then the fisticuffs ensue, with a beat down going to the bad guy, as the tough guy detective bags another one. 3 stars; just because the above thoughts amused me.
fun and awesome!
background music, again...
This album slaps. Not only are the saxes and guitars incredibly funky, but it manages to stay consistent the entire time and be incredibly engaging. The drums are an entirely different monster. The psychedelic mixing the bongos go under gives such a cool effect, scratching my brain. The actual kit's sound is absolutely amazing as well, and doesn't clash with the other percussion, which is impressive to pull off in such a crowded album instrument-wise. Such an enjoyable experience.
Instant classic covers album! Not a bad song in the bunch with each song song set to maximum funk!
Voted best album for listening to on headphones at high volume while browsing the aisles of Safeway on a Friday evening.
Love this album. Tons of different bongo beat instrumentals to choose from
Man, this was good stuff. I'd never heard of them before but I will be mixing this into a Pandora station for future listening. I am not sure if with a few more listeners this could be a 5 or not. So maybe when I repeat
1. Incroyable 2. mid 3. cool, même style que apache, en moins bien 4. Au début plus rock, ensuite par jazz funky, cool. un peu chargé pour rien et looooong. 5. Bataille de bongo sans instruments, peu d’intérêt appart la fin. 6-7 : atroces 8. ok tier Dans l'ensemble bien bien mid, appart le 1. qu'est excellent 2/5
and to think manu chao had the audacity to call himself king of the bongo bong
Zapravo nije loše koliko sam mislio da će biti, dosta pesama je ustvari odrađeno uz ceo bend. Čak i ove pesme gde samo lupa u bongose nisu loše. Realno u celom albumu nema loše pesme jer bukvalno nemaju šta da zajebu. Ocena za album je 4/5
This is really good music. The bongos truly do rock. However, this is mostly covers. Good covers, sure, but it lacks a little originality.
Vibes - didnt know this contained the Jump On It sample
It's a collection of instrumentals that's most notable for it's use in samples in other music. You'll recognize the "DUH! ... DUH! DUH! DUH!" from "Apache" the moment you hear it. As an album listening experience, it's not the worst thing, but if you derive any enjoyment from all the bongos and horns, and the high school marching band quality of In A Gadda Da Vida, well... good! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Lol, this is pretty dang cheesy. Not bad, but I'm pretty bongoed-out.
Apache is great, of course, and the overall sound is good fun. Some cool grooves, many of which you recognize from hip hop and break beat classics.
2 out of 5 There were so many funny covers and others that made you wanted to get up and dance around the big fire. But there were a lot and it got very repitive.
I think this is a 2 for me. I think the bongos are cool and impressive just not for me though.
WHAT! IS! THIS! DOING! HERE!?
I didn't k la what to expect other than bongos and I am so happy all I got was bongos.
6/10
4/10, so idk wny is this album even here, but i think its good for samples, maybe
A lot of it's catchy. Recognise from Baby Driver. It's good. But I'm probably not gonna randomly choose to stick it on or pick out a track to listen to. Maybe it's too niche. Maybe I need to listen again some other time.
Some really good song but some really meh ones.
why the hell is this album on this list, horrible covers of okay songs?? sure. Would I listen again: no Deserves to be on this list: Convinced me that this list is freaking insane 0.2
It was fun until it wasn't. That's a LOT of bongos. 10 6-minute songs is one thing, but 18??
Unfair ranking this on its own
As someone else said, I like bongos but not that much lol
A goldmine of samples that turns into one long drum solo pretty quickly. When it tries to do more than just bongo stuff, it feels like blues/classic rock ideas that have been done better elsewhere — just with bongos.
I got a fever, and the only prescription is more BONGOS
Fun if you like bongos, which I do.
Better than you’d expect ✨
I'm glad I listened to this; it felt like I was listening to a piece of musical history; however I don't think it's something I will go back to again very often. I wouldn't change it if it came on but I wouldn't willingly put it on again, very often anyway. It's the best bongo album I've ever heard.
Very instrumental and complex, I liked it 26/1/26
What crazy album! This was a good one but nothing I would have expected and also cool to find out where some samples came from!
I felt like I needed a smoking jacket and a proper drink. Could rock to this for many of on occasion. Loved the IN-A-GADDA-DA-VIDA rendition.
Fun with some recognizable songs
Okay I loved this
Sounds like the soundtrack to a car chase in a blaxploitation movie. Loved the beats. As someone who likes samples and musical connections, this was also cool to hear what inspired the beginnings of hip hop in the 70s (Apache). Besides the historical influence importance, i genuinely liked listening to it.
Okay...
I mean, who doesn't love their version of Apache. Who doesn't laugh and smile to a bongo-fied version of In A Gadda Da Vida? This is to a large degree a novelty album, but I assume it is included here because of its outsized presence in hip hop music - and if that's it, that's a good reason! It's a fun album - it gets old fast, but at worst it's harmless and the songs are fun and generally make you want to dance.
Much better than expected. The title didn’t lie, there were some bongos
For anyone interested in the history of hip-hop, and therefore the history of popular music from 1973 onward, this is essential listening, if only for their cover of Jerry Lordan's 'Apache,' containing the most important breakbeat this side of James Brown's 'Funky Drummer.' The rest of the original eight-track set is an underrated yet underwhelming collection of instrumentals, underrated b/c they ought to be heard, possessing some real-deal energy, especially on 'Last Bongo in Belgium,' but underwhelming b/c you're almost waiting for the rapping to start. What's weird is the sense you get that this record was made to be sampled, that the point of the project was to supply the future of music w/ a plethora of percussive possibilities & breakdowns.
Groovy
Was a bit sceptical going in to this one. It’s an odd concept. But it’s fun and funky and had me shaking my booty. A nice surprise!
If you only listen to one bongo album before you die, make sure it's this!
+
This really works as an album. These guys are white?
It was cool at first but got old after a while.
Pleasant. Not really innovative for the early 70s. Less so as most of the songs are covers. Still, a good listen. 3.5/5
Amusing and relatively easy to listen to, but even though it's a short album it's feels much too long and the bongos are quite repetitive and start to grate at some point
Covers of songs you largely already know, but with lots of bongo drums? This is the type of thing that could only exist in the 70s and I’m absolutely here for it. You cannot deny that this album is exactly what it says it is. Bongo Rock. You may wonder what this album is doing on the list. This album, specifically Apache, has been heavily sampled in hip hop for decades. This is a great find and as I was writing my review, I actually changed my rating from a 3 to a 4 because of how interesting and oddly influential this is.
Easy on the ears and maintains a toe tapping beat throughout.
Much better than I expected. Well deserved on the list for its foundational place in hip-hop.
Love the sound!
Hou ervan!!
repetitive.
Shouldn’t be on the list.
Never trust a bongo player
🪘🪘🪘🪘
How much bongo is too much bongo? This much bongo. It’s fun, for a while. Then you reflect on it and realise that underpinning the bongos is a cheesefest of the highest order. I can’t lie though, I kinda like it!
Lively rhythms that made me think of the intro theme for 70's buddy-cop shows. Can't say I needed instrumental covers of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Satisfaction, Wipeout, and more, though.
This album rules so much.
Great energy and production. Sounds like they are playing in my phone. Brass is big and bossy. Organ is ripe and nasty.
I was told there would be bongos. I was not disappointed.
They really are putting this on this list before african/carribean music with bongo-percussions. Frustrating
This is either for you or not. For me it is not.
This is a rather long, instrumental album. Their skill at playing the bongos cannot be doubted. I recognised the opening track but I was indifferent overall.
I liked this a lot more than I expected. I have a set of bongos and I get bored playing them for more than a minute or two. I was really surprised I could make it through some of these bongo solos. The rest of the music with full band accompaniment are groovy and very listenable.
That's nice, I guess, but do you have something worth more bongos?
Groovy, ain't it? 4.5 bumped down to 4.
It’s obviously a 10. Just go listen to it. That’s fucking electrifying. You can’t possibly hear that & come out of it feeling angry or disappointed unless you just hate music. That’s 33 minutes of some of the best instrumental music I’ve heard in my life. They are incredible, and it’s a super easy 10.
Instrumental, not really my style
Really hitting me as a novelty album, not sure why it's on the list. That said it's more enjoyable than some of the other things on the list. Wavering between two stars for wtf and three stars because I don't really dislike it. Sounds like it was a helluva lot of fun to make this album anyway.
What a gem! This is the album this list was made for; I would've never listened to this album otherwise
I tried. I really did. It seemed like it might be fun. It started out well! But it just... kept... going... The tempos weren't right, and after the initial "huh, bongos, ok" it just didn't do anything to keep me interested.
Now I know bongs can, in fact, rock. Neat concept, like SKAndalous Allstars. There were a lot of bongos.
I understand why this is on the list, but I wouldn't listen to it again.
Marching bands would have fun with many of these tracks. Not totally sure why an album of covers on bongo would be on this list, beyond the Apache breakbeat. But here it is.
Not a high 4 but better than a 3
Pure groove. Had a lot of fun!
The Bongos were a nice gimmick but idk listening to over an hour of bingo music made me kind of tired of Bongos tbh
All instrumental, covers of rock songs, fun
Really interesting, maybe too long for me but the different sound are really fascinating.
As a music lover who grew up on 70s TV, and was drawn to shows like Fat Albert and Sanford & Son for the music, this album is like mainlining pure nostalgia. (No wonder I loved late 80s - early 90s hip hop so damned much.) It's a reminder of how banal most of the music we listen to, and even most of the music that makes this list, actually is. And it is definitely added to my collection of proof that computers can't come close to being as soulful and/or funky as we can, no matter how deftly they're programmed.
Insanely good. I had heard of it, but never heard it. Crazy how much of it has been sampled. An all-timer vocal exhaustion listen. Gonna be listening to this quite a bit for the foreseeable future. Very fun listen, well-crafted songs performed incredibly well.
This is exactly why I started this project, to hear weird and wonderful stuff like this! Funky bongo covers of the Shadows and Iron Butterfly. Great start to a Sunday morning.
Told that this album was influential in break dancing music so that was cool to listen to through that lens. Not exactly my type of music though still.
The drumming is quite skilled but all the songs kinda sound the same to me. I was tired of it by the end (I say this as if I made it to the end, I did not). Liked some of the covers (Wipeout) but like the original better…
Okay bongo rock, I see your game. I’m beep bopping along happy as a clam. The Jump On It sample or whatever happened in the first song made me excited for the rest of the album I’m so sorry, I’m exhausted by the bongos. After four songs I was questioning my life decisions, they all sounded the same after the first song and not super in greatest way Happy to have tried bongo rock, onto the next
Ik heb geprobeerd om een liedje of 3 te luisteren maar het was hem gewoon niet voor mij!
Pretty cool bongo
Thought it was going to be terrible but I was soo wrong
Love this. Shit is so funky.
Love to hear this album. So much inspiration given to other songs and always love having instrumental albums to break up the listening & to read to.
65
Not for me.
Funny and funky
I mean, it's quite an interesting idea. But dated and it wears thin quite quickly.
Giod
This was ok. Just bongo music… probably wouldn’t recommend.
I was fine for the first five tracks but it went on way too long
🥇bongolia 🥈let there be drums 🥉last bongo in belgium HM: apache, bongo rock, wipeout, pipeline i love the bongos!!!!!
Entertaining enough listen for a Christmas day and I confess I enjoyed it but not creatively hard hitting.
So gimmicky. Well produced but covers are sacrilege.
Jay-Z may have released The Blueprint but this is THE BLUEPRINT for what would become hip hop. Essential listening.
Very cool Loved the Grandmaster flash mix of Apache
Those bongos sure are bongoling. Bro i fucking love trumpets. This album slaps. Some songs did not hit but it was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be! For me it was a good background album. Some cover songs were fun to hear the bongo version, but some just didn’t hit at all, first half was a bit slow but picked up a lot toward the end.
Unlisteneable
It’s funny, I went in thinking that I would probably enjoy the album, but there’s no way I needed to listen to an hour and twenty minutes of bongos. I was wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this and could have listened to more. Such a fun listen. I loved the covers and the groove was fantastic. Perfect music to lift the mood.
Who could have known that all that was missing from my Saturday was an album of bongo music?!? Covers of Apache, In a Gadda De Vida, Satisfaction, Wipeout….the list goes on! The guitar, the horns, and synthesizers did a lot to help the songs along, but man was this a cool listen. Not sure this was a must listen to before I die album, but it was fun to take in on the ride.
117 minutes of bongo music? Get the fuck outta here.
How much fun was that! This is exactly what makes this project so much fun, there is no world where I listen to this if not for 1001 albums. I honestly can't believe i vibed to the sound and rhythm of bongos for the better part of an afternoon and enjoyed every minute.
3.5
A pretty enjoyable romp
Maybe the Incredibly Bongo Band has more bongos than one would really need. All of these tracks are individually fine. The performance is fine. There's just so, so much of it. Every track will follow the same pattern of setup, extended bongos + drums break, and then conclusion. It's fine - it works. But when it's this formulaic, going this much over an hour just isn't all that welcome.
A hidden gem! What a delight. Perfect in its way.
I initially thought that this was some sort of joke - it’s obviously an obscure novelty record (that was inexplicably popular in Canada for some reason) but something about the first track, a cover of Apache, triggered a memory. This particular track was discovered by pioneering New York DJ Kool Herc who found that he could mix together two copies on different decks to get a drum break that went on forever. This discovery was one of the foundational moments of hip hop and the rest is history. Let There Be Drums, the second track, was an even bigger rush of recognition. This was effectively the Madchester sound of the Stone Roses but 25 years early. You are hearing the origin story of Bez right here. The rest of the album, mostly covers of other popular songs but with added bongos and funky guitars, are similarly good, and this is easily one of the most sampled records of all time. How 70s could this album be? The answer is none. None more 70s. Bongo-tastic!
++: Apache, Bongolia, Last Bongo in Belgium, Raunchy '73 +: Let There Be Drums, Dueling Bongos, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Bongo Rock '73 7,7/10
Speaking from experience, this music is perfect for when you wake up and realize you’ve gotta mark 20 final essays by midnight to meet the academic deadline. For just a little while I felt like a PI reading over case files in 1970’s Miami as opposed to a TA deducting grades for improper formatting styles.
Very good
Fun idea, but got bongoed out five songs in
Really cool drums!
Very interesting. I liked hearing the original source of samples for some hip-hop classics, but this is not something I would listen to again.
Fun....sure... essential... nope!
Quite enjoyable listen. Mentally I was crashed out in someone’s conversation pit in 1970s Palm Springs.
This album was a delightful surprise. You can banco on that!
I got so damn excited when i saw the title of this, despite never hearing this before. Honestly, it met my high expectations.
Bongos are kinda cool
certainly brings the bongos. good dance music i bet. i can see why this became a gold mine for hip hop. doesn't do a terribly large amount for me but is interesting enough to make me glad i checked it out. deserves to be one of the 1001? i think if this list took a strong bias towards hip hop this could work, given all that samples it, but otherwise no
This may be my favorite album of all time with someone's name before the word "Presents" in the title. I would listen to it again.
For an instrumental album it was surprisingly enjoyable, and the covers were an added bonus
So today I learned there is a limit to how long I can listen to bongos
I originally thought this was more of a beat record that was most well known for Rappers Delight, but there's some other rock tracks that have some notoriety. I liked the combination of drum sets and bingo battles.
Excelente. Divertido.
It has some really bongo-rific tracks, but I don’t know when I’d ever listen to this again. Not enough in there for me to sit down and listen to it, too energetic to have on in the background, too dated to throw on at a party. Most of its appeal to me is how recognisable its beats are after being sampled in hip-hop so often. Great musicianship, but it just sounds like the chase music for movies it was designed to be. Probably 2.5 stars.
babababongoooooooos 3/5
Sorry but wont listen to over one hour of bongo music
They sure weren’t foolin about bongos
Fantastic. Love finding the source of so many samples
That’s some mean jazz guitar from the Incredible Bongo Band. Enjoyed the listen, recognized some classics. Sharp Nine is top cut, but they’re all good. (2.55*s) Liked this drum session a lot better than the one from RonieSize!
I mean the bongos are cool but...I am a bit perplexed by Bongo Rock making the list. Covers were just covers with hardly any bongos. Some of the end tracks were alright like "Kiburi Pt. 1" where the bongos were really featured. What happened to Pt. 2? I guess for 1973 this was something wild and hip? The Thing With 2 Heads has been on my watchlist ever since I saw a top 50 worst movies ever made list and it was #3 so even more interested now. These guys are better than the not so incredible strings but was hoping for more. Major let down...1.15.
I find it strange that multiple acts on this list named themselves Incredible ___ Band. I didn't expect much out of this as acts that tend to self-label themselves as incredible rarely live up to the namesake. All pretentiousness aside I was pretty pleased with what I got from Bongo Rock, though a little perplexed as it seemed pretty short on bongos in general (unless I missed something?). It's a fun detour down an instrumental alley with a couple funky jams and some nods to otherwise famous tunes (Apache, Gadda-Da-Vida). While I don't think I needed to hear this before I died I'm not mad that I did. Nice little slice of an alternate approach to the genre for 30+ minutes. I'd strip the Incredible moniker, but overall not a bad entry from the Bongo Band. This lands pretty much straight down the middle as there is plenty worse but plenty better on the list. 2.50 stars
Holy hell, this floored me. I went in with zero expectations and got hit with a crash course in the DNA of hip-hop. Track after track is a stack of samples from hip-hop history. It’s almost disorienting: you hear a groove and your brain jumps across decades, mapping every beat that borrowed from it. What makes it work isn’t just the “hey, I recognize that break” novelty; it’s how alive the record feels. These arrangements have that cinematic, borderline-chaotic energy where percussion leads the charge and everything else just hangs on for the ride. You put this album on and suddenly the most mundane moment of your day acquires a swaggering, funk-forward soundtrack. It’s an absolute blast—one of those rare records that doesn’t just play in the background, it instantly reframes the space you’re in.
1st song. Nice bongos. 2nd song. Ah bongos are kinda cool. 3rd song. More bongos???? 4th song. What more bongos????!!!!???? 5th song Please no more, I never want to hear a bongo again!!!!!
Incredible! Packed with samples and a clear influence on a ton of modern pop music. Was slightly skeptical at the name but couldn't have enjoyed it more
That was not too bad