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

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

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.

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.

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.

just the worst

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

Got a bit too samey too quickly for me.

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

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

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.

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

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.

loved this

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

Still a banger

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

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

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

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

Loved this album, never heard of them before

LOVE it

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

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

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

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?

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

5 stars, funky and fresh.

already heard it so many times

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

Fun 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

Throughly enjoyed this one

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.

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

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.

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

Fun.

Garbage Man // Eyes Have Miles //

I hadn’t heard of this band. They sound like a really tight local band that holds the Saturday night residency at the coolest bar in town.

Blues y hip-hop, una mezcla curiosa. Venga, un 4 por lo original.

Very funky, down and dirty in Philly. Not an artist I had heard of before, but one I certainly enjoyed. A clear influence, in my mind at least, on Fun Lovin Criminals and Cage the Elephant, and a few others who fused rock, funk and rap-sung vocals. A cracker

Pretty incredible stuff. I'm uncertain how this passed me by in the 90's; I must have been too wrapped up in the Seattle sound. Very reminiscent of Beck, but in a less organized, more "dirty" way.

This is my first encounter with this type of music, and to my surprise, it's not bad.

This takes me back. "Baby's Got Sauce," "Cold Beverages," "Rhyme for the Summertime"... So much to love here.

I recognized the group name when this appeared and much to my surprise found this album already in my music collection along with three other albums from G. Love and Special Sauce. This came from the early 2000s when I ripped my and my boyfriend’s music collection in the move to digital. Once I was listening to this I did recognize a lot of it. I never really got into this group but I do appreciate the sound.

Reminded me of a british sublime

I never heard of these guys but I actually really liked the album. Drummer was great and unique guitar almost like a mix between black keys, cake, and cage the elephant plus toned down rap/talking vocals.

I've never heard of G. Love and Special Sauce. This was entertaining enough. I'm not sure though about their controversial take on Cold Beverages.

Fun, Unique.

great album, unique with some funk, rock, r&b

Digging it. 4 stars.

Huh. This band slipped under the radar - it’s the right era, and right genre but I had never come across them. Growing up I’d have loved them - a bit of Beastie Boys, Sublime and a mellow JSBX - and the accent somehow is both grating and refreshing. Now I’ve kind of moved on from this blues / funk thing but still an interesting find for me.

The music itself is good. Good bluesy sound mixed with a blend of blues and hip-hoppy vocals. A lot of the songs sounded the same, however, which made it feel repetitive at some points. Overall good album, though.

Liked this a lot. Chill out jammy rock sounds, hip hop style lyrics. Very understated.

I enjoyed this, Tessa and I used to listen to a lot of G love. In the early 2ks.

Great unplugged-indie sound. Did not know the band and it is definitely a great discovery and addition to my playlist.

This is nice.

took me back to being in college

Fun, funky album.

not at all what I was expecting, but rather enjoyed it.

my levels of confusion here are through the roof. he's fucking insufferable with his whiteboy funk/rap shtick. But... for some reason i really enjoyed it. The rhythm section is really strong and give him his dues, he's pretty good on guitar and it all works together with his street lazy singing thing. i also love the really tight band that sounds sloppy thing. every problem i have with this band is his accent/ way of singing. Is this just what Philadelphia is like? everything i've heard of the place is that it's full of not rights.

Take either the voice or melody away and you have crap. Perfect combination.

Funky Rock, macht sehr viel Spaß

That’s a fun listen

This was an interesting one. It's astonishing by how much rap music can be improved if you take out the cringey, forced toughness/gangsterism/toxicity. Still not sure if it can actually be called rap, but since I usually don't like rap, pushing the genre boundaries seems like a good thing to me. Rounded up from 3.5

I really enjoyed this a lot. Not sure if I’d listen to the whole album again but it was super cool

Not bad.

Need a nice Cold Beverage for when I listen to this one while I’m driving from Town to Town.

pretty solid makes good use of dynamics, mixing and mastering are pretty solid. I enjoyed the mixture of the rap vocals over blusier elements. overall pretty good would recommend to fans of incubus

Mycket bättre än det borde vara

This is so unique and only possible in the 90’s

Oh wow, why have I never heard of this before? First song it’s on for an easy 5 stars. Laid back jazzy white boy hiphop. But it got old real quick, very little variation throughout the album drags it down to a 4. Super interesting to hear that this predated Beck and Fun Loving Criminals by a good few years through

Heavy dose of nostalgia with this one. Great fun

Koste meg

Really enjoyed the funk and blues feel here. Fun album

A catchy fun album that grows on you! I’m glad it was on the list!

Love the funky music

3.5

90s sloppy Philly hip-hop, what's not to love?

This album was played by my friends so much in the 90's I never needed to own it. At the time of release it was nice blend of genres and with some unique production, perhaps it sounds dated now. Blues Music sits on a few of my playlists but it's an album I don't every listen too. 3.5 for me but given he was raised in Philly that's enough to bump it to a 4.

This thing fucking slaps. MAYBE IT'S THE SPECIAL SAUCE. It's gotta be the special sauce. I'm not so sure that I'd call what this dude does "rapping". He reminds me of a local band I saw in Nebraska of all places where they did Whole Lotta Love mixed with a lot of vocals similar to what G. Love is doing here. If he took off his shirt and wore a sock on his dick, he would have been bigger than Anthony Keidis.

Solid

Just plain basic funk. Who doesn't love this?

Blues y hip-hop, una mezcla curiosa. Venga, un 4 por lo original.

There are many blues appendices in Anglo music, skirting genres longer-lived in this universe. G. Love and Special Sauce becomes ever so slightly caricatured near the end, but the bass puts on a strong anchoring performance, liveness to balance the hip-hop swirling. Slack, stoned, on the nose: The shtick works at least once.

Funky. Raw vocals. Favorite tracks: Baby's Got Sauce

really of the time.... gets a bit old