G. Love And Special Sauce

The special sauce is just ketchup and mayo mixed together.

this is like if "guy who brings guitar to a party" was an entire band

Not very good 90s music. A must-listen to understand how mediocre some music can be.

I can enjoy 1-2 songs, listen to 4-5 of them, but by 6 I'm ready to drive off an overpass.

I feel like if you were heavy into this guy, you might also be curious about bath salts?

We’re on over 175 albums, and I keep going back to the title of this project. 1001 albums to listen to… before I die? THIS is an album I need to listen to? Before I die???? Didn’t like. I think there are better bands that do some of this. Give me any early Dispatch song, any record on any album, over this. This just feels like what is playing in a random coffee shop in Cambridge 20 years ago. I could tolerate it in that environment, but that’s as far as your gonna get me onboard. I found it monotonous and kind of tiresome. It does feel very adjacent to things I like, as a Vermonter. But that doesn’t make me like it. 2/5

G. LOVE!!!!!!!!!! I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the app and saw this album. Every party I went to from the mid 90s to the early aughts, this album was played at some point. Doesn’t matter where, Center City, University City, South Philly, the Great Northeast, and the burbs. I can’t believe this album is on this list. I’m breaking my 5 star rule. It’s supposed to be 5 stars go to the greatest albums of all time. I don’t know how many I will hand out but I gotta imagine it’ll be less than 10% Maybe around 5%, I dunno. This is not one of the greatest albums of all times. But it’s one of the most fun. It takes me back to a great time in my life. It’s getting 5 stars. I love me some G Love and Special Sauce. I can’t believe this is is on here.

I had never heard of this before, but my hopes were not high for this eponymously titled 90s white boy hip hop album by G. Love and Special Sauce. However, I should not judge an album by it's cover, nor its awful artist name, nor its generally questionable genre. This is reminiscent of music by Dirty Projectors with vocals by the Hiphopopotamus vs. the Rhymenoceros, and is really quite good (at least for the first 40 minutes or so). Cool, jazz infused, music with a great double bass sounding baselines, and easy enough vocals. At an hour long it could have done with losing the final third, which started to be a bit of a slog, but overall, I'm pleasantly surprised. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Blues Music Date listened: 08/07/23

just the worst

Ah here's a band that I've heard so many references to, but have never actually heard a song from. Based on festival attendance, they run in a similar circle to the jam / indie bands that I like. The Things That I Used To Do opens up with a Cage the Elephant style spoke word snarl (understanding that these guys are predecessors). Super crunchy texture that I like out of the gate. Satisfying drum line with an equally comfortable bassline. Not something that would be single territory, but a low-key jam fit for a college house party. Blues Music takes over with a similar spoken word style through a reducer on top of a lazy drum and bass line. Creates a very chilled out atmosphere. Good music for munching Doritos. Garbage Man brings a little more attitude to the mix. This is about as head-bobbing as this album has gotten so far. I'm once again stricken by how similar this feels to Cage The Elephant. Digging the atmosphere. This would probably make for an awesome show song. Eyes Have Miles is a noodly number that stays in the same atmosphere. Instrumental is reminiscent of some less bright jazz / surf rock (mei ehara, robohands). Baby's Got Sauce flips into some bright guitar strokes and the most didactic vocals of the album so far. This is music tailor made for a middle of the day backyard summer kegger. I'm a little surprised this is the most popular song according to Spotify. Its a fine tune, but I actually prefer their more laid back songs so far. The chorus is kind of rough IMO. Rhyme for the Summertime is more effective IMO. It taps into the snare-tap drum beat paired with a surfy guitar tone that while brighter than most songs is still disappointed (minor) sounding. Feels similar to Mac Demarco a la This Old Dog. Cold Beverage is another head bobbing jam. Guaranteed crowd favorite that I'm sure helps to boost bar tabs. Simple concept, but honestly it works on the rawness of it all. Fatman follows this on with a fun little jam that lets things open up with a harmonica riff. Ends with some loose guitar noodling that segues into more reserved This Ain't Living. This Ain't Living feels like a more typical rock structure out of the gate; very effectively done. Walk To Slide is another standout in my mind. Love the lugubrious bassline that keeps things flowing / sliding all the way through. The echo on top of the sparkly guitar is a nice effect as well. This and Garbage Man are my favorites so far. Some Peoples Like That and Town To Town are both way down tempo crawls. Heavy blues influences shining through both. I enjoy both songs for what they are. Album finishes out with a traditional stripped down blues song with sparse acoustic guitar and hand clap making up the composition. This is a really pretty song and so far from where the rest of the album has been. I really enjoyed this album and see the appeal of G. Love. This is a rough and crunchy album that shows a decent amount of range, from the spoken word, almost rap like deliveries to traditional blues. Many of the songs sound like they are made for backyard barbeques or smoking a joint and watching cars drive by. I will absolutely come back for another listen. 4 leaning towards 5 / 5.

Never heard of this guy, but, despite a couple of duff tracks, I really like his scrappy, laid-back sound. Beck without the weirdness, or Fun Lovin' Criminals without the cringe, or Beastie Boys without the boyish aggression.

Not nipping this shite in the bud is the reason we have Cage the Elephant. Don’t let white people try jazz

What trying too hard to be cool sounded like in the 90’s

This is the worst kind of white boy college music.

Got a bit too samey too quickly for me.

This was not good. Seems like it might be slightly responsible for so much bad white rap music. What a mess.

I heard rumors about how bad this was back in 1994, so have actively avoided it until today. It really takes some cursed skill to make Fun Lovin' Criminals sound inspired. Every track is somehow worse than the previous, and the chief slacker moron's voice gets exponentially more annoying throughout. The casual rap/funk/rock wanker market was well-supplied in the mid-90's, eh?

I FUCKING LOVE RIMSHOTS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣 God damn this album is fucking cool. The blues/rap fusion is genius and I'm shocked it didn't become the standard. It's a match made in heaven

This album sounds like Rage Against the Machine if the rage was less about anger and more about just getting drunk and playing music with your buddies.

The bluesy pseudo hip hop from the early-mid 90s really works for me. This is like a stripped down Beck from his Mellow Gold era. Best track: Cold Beverage

Not the biggest of fans but mostly enjoyed this.

There was a time in my life that I may have liked this more, but its not now

So 90s but in the best way. This album does "sloppy" better than nearly anyone. It doesn't feel lazy, it feels incredibly intentional. So many slacker anthems here.

I like the sloppy, kind of jazzy hip hop feel of the band. The vocal delivery is pretty unique, like someone free styling while coming out of anesthesia, very laid back but kinda mumbled and somewhat hard to understand.

I actually love this album. I'm not sure it really counts as "hip hop" but it also doesn't fall cleanly into any genre - which is what makes it cool. It's simple, it's fun, it's well-executed. What's not to love?

Absolutely LOVED this - been listening to it now for days...

I had a roommate in '94 who brought this home. We liked Beck's Mellow Gold so this fit right into the soundtrack. Good memories listening to this album.

already heard it so many times

I'm surprised they didn't get more popular, because this is the White Stripes before the White Stripes.

At this stage of the 1001 if we get more hip hop it better be alt. This one is and is enjoyable even as background music which is how I listened to it

Fun for about 15 minutes and then it just keeps going

Kinda fun but a bit annoying

It was good, though I'm not sure what about it is so great? I don't really ever want to listen to it again, really.

Jizz Love is adorably awful, zeitgeist successfully captured! What do you think, S Hugs? And what are *you* sticking in the fridge? Best, M Ass

Never heared of them before. Here and then some nice tunes but in total nothing to convince me. Especially the vocals are not my favour.

What? What even is this? Come on list, you're better than this. You're gonna include a dime-a-dozen 90s hip hop/rock record that almost no one remembers? Why not Sublime if you're gonna do this? I find it hard to believe that anyone in the world thinks this album is necessary to hear before death. Honestly, this is pretty close to my lowest opinion on any record on the list so far. Maybe I'm just having a bad day, but come on. There are just way too many better albums in the world.

This band manages something impressive: it takes a bunch of musical elements that I love, blends them, and creates something abominable. Good job.

Make it stop.

This dude wants to be black sooooo bad.

God this is boring. Nothing but a guitar and an hour of singing by one of the least engaging singers of this entire list. One or two songs on here were maybe fine, but the rest of it was all a borefest to get through. Headache and boredom inducing, couldn't wait for it to be over. Can't imagine the album had any real influence.

So I don’t really have anything bad to say, but I certainly don’t have anything good to say either. This was a fucking waste of an entry.

Another curiosity. How does this warrant inclusion? It isn’t original, compelling or even competent

Desperately trying to sound cool but failing miserably. How did this make the book but Check Your Head was ignored. This project frustrates me sometimes.

This was the first concert I ever went to as a teenager, just after this album came out. I probably have an irrational love for this album based on that, but I don’t really care - this is my list. Five stars.

Is this a five star album? Who knows. It's it one of my personal favorite albums of all time? Yes. I can remember the first time in college. Blew my mind. Many incredible nights were spent watching G and the boys. All started with this. A seminal 90s, slacker sound that was unique then and now. The first couple G albums were a revelation. Still play great.

Banger

Great album! Loved it since it came out.

Really funky, catchy and had me bopping away the whole time. Glad to hear jimmy jazz prescott on the bass won't be doing those things anymore too

4.5 - Okay this one really took me by surprise. No idea who they are but going to come back to for sure

An all time fave that stands up! An easy 5.

Still love this!

I truly like this album. I dig it

Phil Melillo

own

The Talk sing really works here. Wonderful listen

I wonder what the special sauce is.

18/03/25 I have never heard of them before and I enjoyed this album.

Love this dude

Mischung aus Blues und Rap Gefällt mir sehr gut!

Really good album. Great find.

i REALLY like the instrumentals. not really a fan of the vocals but i can tolerate it. i will come back to this in the future. OH MY GOD I JUST READ THE GLOBAL REVIEWS YALL ARENT HEARING WHAT IM HEARING THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE

This opening track is amazing from the get go. I was familiar with the third album, but not this one. I really like this album.

Could I get a cold beverage? I need some leverage It's sweaty outside, some lemonade would be nice Or a Sprite from the drive-thru at B.K. Yo, I'll buy a girl a drink, but girl's got to pay On the front porch, yeah, I got some iced tea If you'd like a taste of tea, then come along with me Summertime is steamin', don't give me no bug juice Grab some ice and a dash of vermouth It's martini time, yeah, yeah, feeling golden Bring your own beverage, just make sure it's cold Enough said, really. This is a great album. 5/5

Very chill album, reminded me of Beck in the best ways

I really like this album! It's like bluesy hip-hop. The guitar is excellent

Loved this album! I'm not sure i ever listened to the whole thing...but wow...it was great!

At first I was annoyed this was the album I had for the day my twins were born because it was something I had never heard of and sampling it for a bit made it sound like something I would hate. But then I actually found two seconds out of my first week with the babies and relax to this album. It was actually really weird in the best way. Weird as in unique. I actually appreciated the weird inflections of some of the words being sung (said? Rapped?). I ended up enjoying every song on this album.

Very interesting, I dig it.

This was formative album for me. It stands on its own but I also appreciate it since it got me curious about other blues and New Orleans influenced music. What a generational icon for the Philly area too

Pure vibes

I just totally love this, it's so musical. Saw G. Love perform the whole album last year, still accompanied by the Special Sauce. It was amazing.

Another great find through this project. I have never heard of this group but the record was just so good! Thanks for showing it to me.

I was not familiar with this album, but it is my kind of jam.

I’d give this a 5+. Awesome album. Loved the rhythm and the bass all the way through.

G. Love! One of the coolest sounds ever made.

Blues + hiphop/rap is an amazing combination which comes out perfect on this album. Never heard of them or any of the songs but I enjoyed every song. It’s not perfect so I would say 4.8/5 but since that’s not possible I’ll give it 5 stars. Favourite songs: - Blues music - Baby’s got sauce - Shooting hoops

5 stars, funky and fresh.

Surprisingly enjoyable. His voice wasn't the best, but the music was great.

Loved this album, never heard of them before

Very much and album of its time. The Slacker blues-jazz meets hip hop sloppy sound seems to have hit an epoch in '94 with similar sounding Beck and Bran Van 3000 popping up independently at the same time. I forgot how much I loved this post grunge break from seriousness

Still a banger

One of my favorite albums and artists of all time. Such a phenomenally talented musician.

Throughly enjoyed this one

LOVE it

5/5 Ska-ey and hip hop-ey, love it

9/10 crazy good, like beastie boys meets bob dylan

Oh hell yeah dog this is what I'm talking about. A great example of a band that make being tight as fuck seem laid back and effortless. His voice is something else too. The whole thing exudes cool. I'm always trying to figure out what my definition of cool is, and this fits what ever that definition is. It feels like they hit something very special that so many 90s bands either totally overshot or way undercooked. Other bands who hit the same mark: Sublime, President of the United States of America, Beastie Boys... I sense a playlist coming on.

Fun album

loved this

Pretty good - Casey would love this I reckon, sounds a bit Sublimey

Hasn't held up quite as well as I thought it would since I was 17, but still some jams.

Interesting album. This is the type of thing I look to this list for. Genre-mashed good vibe albums that I would never discover on my own. It had a slacker feel, almost like a Beck precursor

This exceeded by expectations and indeed had a little special sauce to it. Although it may have got a little redundant at times, I thought the album had a pretty cool vibe to it; a mixture of blues, funk, and early hip-hop. Top tracks: Garbage Man, Baby's Got Sauce, Cold Beverage

I liked it.

Was ok

All together, a good listen. At times, sounds like beatnik poetry slams. Not dance music, but there’s some rhythm and rhyme a happenin.

This made my eyes roll to the back of my head in pleasure. I like it not only because it mixes hip hop with soul and rock, but because the rap lyrics are more than what usually puts me off hip hop. Instead of the vapid lyrics about money and fame and women and getting your cock sucked and how rough your life has been and how great you are for surviving it and all that crap, it’s more from the heart, it’s passionate but in a cool way. And I bloody love it.

Nostalgia probably bumps this from a 3 to 4 stars. Honestly had no idea this came out in ‘94. All the kids from “outside Philly” would play this all the time when I was in college in the late aughts.

Very cool day driving album

I'd never heard that before. I really enjoyed it.