Reviews (page 5 of 8)
Nice to hear double Dutch and buffalo gals (or whatever it’s called) in context. But I’m these days it does feel a bit like cultural appropriation
Well, this was unique. "Go round the outside." We've got world music, reggae, merangue, rap, DJ skits...was it all meant to be serious? Not a tough listen, but wouldn't revisit.
Bit o' this, bit o' that.
Un album de plein de genre qui est pas pire. Cependant jen ai assez. 3.10
Sounded like zydeco. Didn’t grab me
It's not bad but there is no way I could possibly take this seriously.
Not great
real melting pot - kudos to it, but i'm unlikely to go much deeper on it
Quirky & a bit patchy - the singles were great.
Another one that I've never heard of or heard! That's cool. The reason I wanted to embark on this exercise. Read up on this guy and he managed the Sex Pistols and New York Dolls. His music sounds nothing like that. Thankfully. Since I listen to these while working, I have to say I love this record. Sits nicely in the background and creates a nice ambiance in the room. I'd listen to this any time I needed something chill that will fit in the background, but is still interesting enough to pick things out when I'm paying close attention.
Weird album; not bad, interesting mix tape vibe
This was a fun one. So glad I didn't look up anything about this album before playing, it was an experience guessing the genre. "Obtala" is a chill start with African beats and a synthy atmosphere. I swear it sounds so familiar... reminds me of PS2-sounds. "Buffalo Gals" is the star of the album, showcasing everything this album has to offer. A mix of New Wave and very early hip hop, it's both funky, danceable, and hilarious. I wasn't expecting so many samples from 1983! It's one of the finest of its time for sure. "Double Dutch" is a parodic square dance that again mixes hip hop and synths but with a large emphasis on calypso music. This track's probably the most fun. They go back to this square dance parody a few more times, most notably in the strange closing track. The album jumps from genre to genre in world music with each track. "Double Dutch" does it best. Next two tracks are more representative of the latino traditional music they sound for than anything else, but I wasn't a real fan. But then "Legba" is a sudden turn into a full Blade Runner synth track, a bit excessive, with some maracas in the background. "Jive My Baby" is alright, I even like that last minute where it does whatever. "Song for Chango" turned into a Donkey Kong jungle track near the middle. I like Donkey Kong. By the time I got to "Soweto" I asked myself, "does all world music sound the same or is he just using the same genre over and over?" Like seriously, "Soweto", "Merengue", and "Punk It Up" all sound like the same culture. It keeps kinda boring, and I can see why this album is seen as a gimmick. It tries to shape it up with fiddles and synths, but it gets a bit tiring. "World's Famous" reminds me that I just need to hear more very early hip hop tracks besides "Rapper's Delight" and "The Message." The closing track "Duck for the Oyster" is just fun and hilarious. Bravo for such a unique time.
A scholar of world music, he was able to infuse a country square dance with hip-hop to get Buffalo Gals, or mix African and South American folklore en masse. Hip-hop is even used to rework three famous operas, "Carmen", "Madame Butterfly" and "Turandot". Anyhow, Nice try (6/10) FT: Buffalo Gals, Obatala
Ik heb zelfs getwijfeld over vier sterren 😱. Er zitten echt een paar erg leuke nummers tussen. Hoera voor energieke, vrolijke muziek in donkere tijden!
I actually thought it was kind of fun. I didn’t love it because I don’t really see how it is influential in any way but the songs just had a fun little bop
Un dels primers discos en importar les influències africanes a la sensibilitat occidental, uns quants anys abans de ‘Graceland’, i de forma molt diferent. Tal com és McLaren, aquí està tot molt més a prop del caos, i la melodia no cobra tanta importància. Fortes influències també del hip hop i de la cultura graffitera i urbana en general de començaments de la década. Tot plegat hilvanat per la narració i excerpts radiofònics à là Manu Chao. Per sort, Trevor Horn en el seu millor moment, es troba darrera de tot plegat per donar-li coherència i fer de l’àlbum una obra molt disfrutable
Heel speciaal album die van hot naar her springt qua genre. Soms is het latin, soms hiphop tot iets dat het het laatste nummer moet voorstellen... Was wel plezant om één keer naar te luisteren
I think at its best this thing reminds me of a hip hop Graceland. But some of the skits are a bit redundant, and what the hell was that last song?
6/10
This is an album that sounds pretty dated - normally I like that but here it does not work for me. Buffalo Gals is an iconic song of course, and I also still like Soweto and Jive My Baby - the rest of the album is ok-ish, perhaps I was not in the mood for this, but I guess that is the nature of the 1001album-generator.
Pretty good, something I hadn't heared much of before
Eh
What in the world. Very interesting album with cartoony square dance intro and extro sandwiching a hip hop call-in show featuring ‘scratches that make you itch’, hot beats/raps, merengue and traditional African music. Enjoyed the concept and commentary. Overall fun/unique but not sure what to make of the final product. Double Dutch, punk it up, Jove my baby
The entry in the book made this album sound like a joke, but it's not bad... a variety of styles of world music interspersed with dated 80s hip-hop interludes. The book said this "facilitated the birth of world music as we know it," which is kind of absurd - world music is just an umbrella term for folk music from around the globe so it could be easily marketed to Westerners. If the implication is that this is what started the trend of popularizing those styles of music, it probably does deserve some credit, but as much as David Byrne, Joe Strummer, or Paul Simon? This is certainly more forgotten to history than those other artists and their experiments, probably because of their higher pedigree. I don't really have any intent to return to this... it wasn't bad, but this is one of those albums on the list more for its role as a historical footnote than its timelessness.
This feels more like an album that was put together for others to pick apart and use how they wish. Some legitimate tunes that had me groovin'. Like a slightly more boring 80s version of The Avalanches
So the Sex Pistols manager made an album that sounds like it inspired Eminem, Paul Simon, Pixies, The Avalanches and more. Wild. Even the 'radio show' format has been used a lot since. Some of it's genuinely enjoyable, the rest is at least interesting as an experiment. A nice discovery.
What a surprise - McLaren is an infuriating twat, but there's no denying that there's some good stuff on here. It's not Graceland but he was definitely onto something.
Really random but I liked it. Apparently the guy was also the manager of the Sex Pistols
Interesting mix of styles, but pretty fun.
There were some good beats
Theres just no way to describe this album. A pure amalgamation of genres. It feels very sporadic, there were some songs I loved (World's Famous, Double Dutch), and others I was just bewildered by. All in all i'd definitely recommend this for someone to listen to, purely just so they can experience the same thing I did, which was mainly confusion and bewilderment. Real rating 3.5/5
An interesting mix of early hip hop and world music that kinda sounds like a radio show or a soundtrack. Not bad!
Party music for sure! Samples and skits all over this. Following trends of the day. Loses steam after track 8.
Favourite Songs: Double Dutch & Jive My Baby
A strangely enjoyable listen!
Surprisingly great. Not like anything I've ever listened to before but I was into it.
Interesting mix of African music and old school hiphop
I like the whole radio station you drop in your fave folks thing, but not so many catchy songs
not bad, little crazy sounding but I think that's what he was going for
Tak czarnego albumu chyba jeszcze nie bylo w zestawieniu, artysty nie kojarze, tytul nic mi nie mowi, po edukacyjnym guglu okazuje sie, ze jest to osoba ktora stala za sukcesem najbardziej komercyjnego zespolu punkowego, to znaczy sex pistols, wiec wyspiarz menadzer, ktos komu udalo sie sprzedac punka robi murzynski album? brzmi to dosc dziwnie i brzmi jeszcze bardziej, bo jesli bym nie sprawdzil z ktorego roku jest ten album, bo strzelalbym, ze to lp wczesnych lat 90 murzynskiego producenta zza wielkiej wody, a album ma prawie o 10 lat mniej i jest z wysp, jak? nie wydaje mi sie, zeby Pan Malkolm mial za duzo do czynienia z materialem, jest to kompilacyjny epek, ale nie moge sie doszukac gdziekolwiek creditsow, poza murzynska grupa the worlds famous supreme team, ktory ma jeden kawalek rapersowy, jak kompilacja to i miks stylow i gatunkow, Electronic, Hip Hop, Latin, Funk / Soul, Non-Music, Folk, World, & Country, Hip Hop, Radioplay, Speech, African, Ambient, Experimental, New Age, Bluegrass, czyli jest grubo, ale ciezko doszukac sie tam czegos szczegolnego
All that scratching is making me itch. Not sure what's going on here. May be exploitive.
Old hip hop! This is pre so many hip hop artists but you can tell some of the influences he has had going forward. Eminem copied the Buffalo Gals go round the outside. The Album cover, along with style of music reminds me a lot of Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee. A lot of radio conversations and just feels like a summertime type album. Though, I imagine Radio Raheem would take issue with the desecration of the speakerbox on the cover. Double Dutch stood out to me as a really positive and upbeat song. There is also a latin hip hop influence in here as well. Jive My Baby was also super unique. I can’t wait to see the other reviews on this one if anyone touches on the genre of this album. I’m not so sure it is Hip-Hop in the way I understood it to be. It certainly hips and hops but very little rapping and heavy beats like modern day hip hop. And then there is Duck for the Oyster, again, not hip hop, more like hee haw. Overall, I really liked this album. Each song seems unique on it’s own making for a real mish mash of an album that didn’t really know what it was trying to be but I’d like to think this was something that inspired a generation (minus Duck for the Oyster).
World music meets hip hop? ok. I mean its cool just not really my speed or style. Double Dutch has a cool hypnotic groove. Punk It Up is infectious. The second half of the album is starting to warm on me, with Jive My Baby. might be worth another listen at a later time, good summer party album. Duck For The Oyster would be fun to hear at a party but in a "wtf is this?" sense.
Some of it sounds somewhat cool but some of it sounds really bad. I wish there was like rapping over some of the beats (like the world’s famous song) because that would have probably evened it out a bit more.
Qué disco tan, ¿ecléctico? Tiene como muchos tonos en sus 12 canciones y me parece muy curiosa la oposición entre la primera y la última (que es muy cagada, la verdad). Entre toda su mezcolanza hay ahí como hip-hop y el préstamo de sonidos que no son tradicionalmente de ahí para crearlos. Agradable, pero quizá un poco olvidable. "Buffalo Gals" me gustó y las otras canciones que disfruté fueron "Merengue" y "Punk It Up", que tiene una vibra muy festiva, con todos esos coritos. 7/10
I didn't *enjoy* this album, but I think it's worth listening to once just for how weird it is. World music combined with hip-hop and clips of a radio call-in show is standard fare by itself, but it's further mixed with square dancing callouts to make a completely surreal album
Interesting...
This is another case in which I was very suprised by the first track, given the album art. I was expecting punk or hip hop, not an african-inspired ambient piece. The second track definitely met my expectations more. I know this was the early 80's but I found it a bit boring, maybe because I'm looking at it from a modern lens, knowing the full extent of what hip-hop has to offer. I will say that I love the funky bass lines on this song. The third song goes back to afro-cuban type music, maybe even carribean, which I found much more enjoyable, it was such a care-free and happy song, although I didn't enjoy the choir too much, it almost verged on gospil, which I can rarely tolerate. The next real track is much more latin-american sounding which was alright, but following buena vista social club so recently, left me underwhelmed, but I loved the strings on this song. Punk it up is the next song, right off the bat it sounds like something I would hear on a vampire weekend album in terms of the guitar and bass, but with traditional afro-cuban percussion and vocals. The track after this sounds like something froma tears for fears B-side, so a little forgettable. Jive my baby goes back to the previous styles, I like the whispering vocals and the overall range of vocals here. This is probably my favorite world-music type track on the album, it sounds like such a traditional jam, but with some interesting experimental ideas. Song for chango is probably the most traditional sounding song on here, its really cool, especially with the ambient breakdown. Soweto is folky sounding, but I wasn't s big fan of the vocals, and it was somewhat repetitive. World's Famous is so cool! I love the bass and piano. The rapping is great and it really works with the beat and instrumentals. I really wish this was longer because it was probably my favorite track, but painfully short. The last song really just sticks out like a sore thumb, its not at all thematically consistent with the rest of the album, and kind of a bad way to end the album. Overall I would say there's some really forward-thinking and ideas that were very ahead of their time, and in it's time this was absolutely boundary pushing, but these days it doesnt really do much for me. I enjoyed it for the most part though, there was a clear love and respect for the music that inspired this album.
What an eclectic combination of songs. I have no idea what I just listened to but well done.
Interesting very interesting...
Interesting, cool.
What on God's polluted earth was this? Weird fun to listen to. Somewhere between a plunderphonics, lo-fi chill beats to relax to 24/7, and a compilation album. Last track is the fucking weirdest. Favorite tracks: "Double Dutch", "World's Famous"
4/29 A Bronx radio show playing eclectic sets of music from around the world. Strange concept executed pretty well, quite groovy. Standout Tracks: Obatala, Buffalo Gals, Double Dutch, World's Famous
I enjoyed this more than I expected to.
Some really interesting music, I found the bass parts super groovy and loved a lot of the samlles. Those first tracks were particularly great, but then I read about this album and Mclaren's controversy and I was extremely disappointed. In my opinion if you're going to sample this much whilst claiming it as you own because you added some racist and boring verses, it should've just been labelled a compilation that compensated the other artists... But evidently Mclaren's doesn't care about that...
hard to listen to in its entirety. I didn't hate it but there's nothing here for me to revisit so 2 stars
I wanna call this one racist so bad I think the parts that are actually supposed to be music aren’t too bad, some decent hip hop in there and it’s got a lot of variety. I’ll talk about the specifics later but yes unfortunately the African influence does make it more interesting than if it was trying to be American I just…don’t like this album from a moral standpoint. Malcolm McLaren, a man infamous for taking his name and putting it on stuff made by other people, also happened to take his name and steal a bunch of ideas from African artists. I don’t like the spoken words parts either, which take up a bit more runtime than I’d like. Maybe because of the whole theft thing but this album feels soulless I’d say I’m usually pretty good at separating the art from the artist on this list, since if you’re looking for an artist that hasn’t ever done anything bad in their life, this list would be empty. The problem with this one is that that shiftiness and theft is directly relevant for the music itself, so it’s pretty hard to ignore. Also this guy sorta introduced hip hop to the Brits so I think the world would have been better off without this album
I don't really know what to make of this. It is not the first samples based album we have seen and there were other groups doing sample work well before this. A lot of it seems like it's barely sampled and more like "I took an existing song and added reverb to it". In a bubble it's fine but this album isn't fun because the artist did nothing really impressive, it's fun because the music that's taken and presented is inherently decent and danceable. If this was a live DJ mix then I think it'd be fine, if mostly primitive and a kinda forgettable one. This is supposed to be some sort of project though, it's not like this was recorded in a club or from a radio show. I'm guessing this may have been the first mainstream incorporation of african/carribbean music in to the british pop scene, which is why it's notable. If it isn't that then...what is this doing in here?
the good parts were what this dude didn't do
I’ll be honest I’m a bit confounded by this one. A self-professed “impresario” decides he can make his own album? But it’s a mix of hip hop, South African and Latin American music? But he’s a British white guy? But some of the stuff kinda slaps? But it’s performed by uncredited POC’s? But it’s supposedly credited with introducing hip-hop to the UK? But it’s so deeply sonically incohesive and unfocused? But Eminem referenced it on “Without Me”? Idk I feel like that kombucha meme girl. Giving it a two for now but might demote or promote later I’m so confused.
WTF?
I’m a fan of the song Buffalo Gals, but the story behind this album is pretty exploitative. Lots of better early hip hop pioneers that could have been included on the list. 2⭐️
está bacanito pero no va conmigo
This is weird and disjointed, a grab bag of musical styles that bonk abruptly off each other, smelling of cultural appropriation and toward no discernible end. Paaasssss
I mean, stealing from black artists and exploited drug addicts is probably not the best if you want to make a *good* album.
This made for one of the most interesting internet research rabbit holes of this experience so far! I genuinely love the opening track on this. I’m aware that most of the other things about the record that I appreciate have been lifted from other musicians and artists. The DJ bit gets old fast. Some cool things here that have sparked my interest in other artists, but overall it doesn’t quite feel like a cohesive piece and there are some very annoying bits too. 2.5
4/10 Rarisimo. Usa muchos estilos, pero no me jode eso, el tema es que son malos los temas, capaz podes recatar alguna parte pero hasta ahi
Man, I was not ready for this comments section. Judging purely on the music - the whiplash between catchy and annoying is staggering. I don’t think I would ever voluntarily put this on again, but I wouldn’t call it bad I guess?
It started strong on this album. It felt like a trip across Brooklyn NY in the early days of Hop Hop. By the time you got to the end it felt like I was dropped into an Oklahoma ho-down. I respect the idea that it was a look at Americana, with techno-New Wave nods, Hip Hop and the Latin roots appealing to Puerto Rican and Cuban cultures, and the radio skits were interesting but I am not quite sure how they tied in, unless it is the whole Yankee Hotel Foxtrot theory of a radio journey across American. Overall, I respect the diversity but as a whole it felt disjointed.
This is one of the most confused albums I’ve ever listened to. It sounds like some dude has taken 5-6 genres or ideas, and mashed them together without much thought as to how they fit with one another. Don’t get me wrong, some of the tracks are really good and are enjoyable in isolation - especially the upbeat likes of Double Dutch. But from what I’m hearing and reading, this album is basically cultural appropriation with no respect for a coherent, well written album.
I dag er dette i grunn novelty music. Får trøstepoeng for historisk relevans. Burde få minuspoeng for tvilsom kredittering av de involverte.
Enjoyed the concept more than the album
This is just not for me at all. Probably great music, but I cannot connect to it at all.
Wow, now I know exactly where Eminem got his "Trailer park girls go round the outside" line for "Without Me"! Hearing the original source on "Buffalo Gals" completely blew my mind. "Punk It Up" was pretty catchy, playing out like a wild Caribbean homage to the Sex Pistols, which makes sense given Malcolm McLaren's history with them. The skit during "Jive My Baby" was pretty funny too, adding to that chaotic radio-show vibe. However, "Duck for the Oyster" didn't sound like it belonged on this tracklist at all. Mixing square-dance calling with electronic hip-hop beats just completely derailed the momentum for me. As a whole, the album is a fascinating time capsule of early 80s hip-hop, scratching, and world music collage. While it is cool to see how groundbreaking it was as a blueprint for sampling, the shifting genres make it way too jarring and messy for a casual listen. It feels less like a cohesive musical record and more like an art project or a global field recording experiment gone off the rails.
Malcolm is such a slime ball to an almost comedic degree. Despite that and despite being egregious cultural appropriation, I had a decent enough time listening throughout. A lot of it sounded like King Creole. Rating: 2.2
The more I read up on this album the grosser it felt to me. Like, I'm sure without any outside context I would've thought this album was just... Fine. A lot of nice South African music turned novelty by Malcolm McLaren farting out some sub-standard raps over it. I could've been amused by it. I'm not against novelty music; I listen to too much of it to be. But you hafta take into consideration how much South African music was sampled on this album, and how much of it went completely uncredited. Only recently has any of it been credited to anyone besides McLaren and the album's producer, Trevor Horn. Quite frankly, it feels like an insult. "Here's your music, born from your culture— and it's mine now. It's mine and I made it because my name's on it. Here's some square dance calls and shit about jumping rope." Sure, I guess this album was important to UK hip hop or something. It has some place in some history. But as a listening experience, why would I wanna listen to the Sex Pistols' manager stealing South African music when I could just listen to the artists he stole from? Like, jeez, even Elvis would openly acknowledge where he got a lot of his moves. Led Zeppelin stole a lot of shit, too, but at least they have blues tradition as a flimsy excuse. Not to mention, their shit feels like tribute. Malcolm's, meanwhile, feels a lot more like Kid Rock's use of sampling: he was just too lazy to actually record anything himself. Duck this.
I’m at a 2. It’s competent. It was probably solidly fun in 1983 when the bar wasn’t as high. It’s barely compelling by modern standards & nowadays, tremendously plain. Malcolm McLaren’s horrendous racial insensitivity as the lead white vocalist constantly doing an African accent aside, the production work here feels a bit slapdash. One might call it “early hip-hop”, as a chance to forgive the weirdness. I will graciously choose to call it “accidental plunderphonics”, as a lot of these tracks really settle into their beats / instrumentals in the first minute & rarely give themselves a sense of more entertaining progression. The soundscapes here, however, for 1983, are all genuinely kinda cool, and at least a little ahead of pace. I never knew “Buffalo Gals” is what Eminem interpolated for “Without Me”, nor did I know it was one of the first major UK hiphop hits in general, and one of the first to incorporate record scratching in the beat. It barely qualifies as a rap track nowadays, but based on who’s sampled it, it’s clear there’s at least something intriguing to the production that can catch the ears in a way that might warrant a very slight head bop. That’s true for most of the album, with a lot of famous artists sampling tracks here. The problem, of course, is that the intrigue lasts for a measure or two, and then relies on it for the entire track as a crutch before throwing the World’s Famous Supreme Team with an interstitial radio recording that occasionally repeats. This album’s biggest curse is that it follows the exact same formula for the whole thing, at least in the structure of each track. That’s why I call it “accidental plunderphonics”, since the samples coming out of those intriguing measures are all far more compelling on other better produced beats & albums. I won’t deny that this probably did have an impact on introducing hip-hop to the UK, to a degree, but the parts of this album that comprise “hiphop” are far overstated compared to the rest of the album, which is uncredited African instrumentation, a crummy Spanish song, a track where Malcolm McLaren practically sucks himself off in “Punk It Up”, and a completely goofy closer in “Duck for the Oyster”, which is a square dance track with a very loose trip-hop vibe mixed in. I don’t think they’re all that bad, but… damn, they really let a white guy who managed & got kicked out by the Sex Pistols be the initial representative for this stuff? What were they doing, man? I’m almost inclined to give it a 1, but there are a handful of moments here where the tracks don’t feel that dismally plain (and one surprisingly strong beat / vibe for 1983 on “World’s Famous”). No, Malcolm McLaren’s relatively racist singing is not as good as his promoting skills, but as far as picking the right team of producers to put this together, he at least put together a competent enough group that were able to make some decently memorable stuff. At the very least, it’s memorable stuff as made famous by other people putting in the work to expand & improve on this album’s rather shaky, if fine (& stolen) foundation. I don’t think it’s all that bad. It’s just very, very plain, and a bit boring at times. If you got something out of it, more power to you. I just never really elevated past a head bop that faded away before the tracks ended. Hence, a 2.
Mediocre in my opinion. For this style I prefer DJ Shadow!!!
This was odd. It seemed to jump around allover the place in terms of genres, something I would normally enjoy, but for some reason it didn't click for me at all. It was fine, I guess.2/5
I am taking a star off because the last song was so annoying. The rest was okay at best.
This album is all over the place with some crazy good moments. But it's kind an assorted collection of cool ideas rather than a cohesive album, in my opinion. I absolutely loved Obatala, it's going on my other playlist for cool/chill instrumentals.
When I think of Malcom McLaren I think of his time managing and forming the Sex Pistols and New York Dolls. I've never really thought about his musician phase of his career because I don't think he caught on in America. Maybe because Americans have better taste, I mean have you seen British food? Okay to be fair Chicken Tikki Masala is really good, but what else after that? Duck Rock is certainly An Album. It's trying to catch onto trends that would get superseded by other 80s trends really quickly. Trevor Horn saves the album with his synth wizardry. The hip hop elements are time accurate in corny levels to hear from a British perspective of a very American genre at the time. Duck Rock sounds like a haphazard studio ideas flying around themes of what was trendy in music at the time, a McLaren talent of understanding the market. But the result is mid. Very mid. Quite mid. Or in British terms, it was like the cheapest bin of beans you would find at a Tesco. Some songs were interesting, Obatala was a nice mellow opener. Merengue was cool I think. Soweto is cromulent. Song for Chango was good for the first half or so. Duck For The Oyster is a terrible song and should not close the album. The rest is honestly forgettable and nothing impressive. Duck Rock is like going to your neighbor's garage sale and seeing nothing but old shit from the 50s through the 80s (at best) and seeing shit that looked like it was preserved in some asbestos lined room and fades immediately once its exposed to sunlight. Now please buy this garage sale item for $150 because I too am a phone user that can use eBay to sell things at approximate value like everyone else nowadays. My tangents are keeping me entertained enough to keep writing about this. I don't think it's fully shit (or 'shite' for the locals), but I don't think the novelty of the record warrants a presence on this list. I'm not sure it holds any kind of legacy other than being another "super 80s!!!!!" album. I'd replace this record with The Egyptian Lover's On the Nile. Another very 80s (self-produced!) record that had a lasting impact on electro music. Also it still sounds good and is immediately impressionable, unlike Duck Rock where it's so weirdly bland despite trying to be innovative and getting swept away by much more creative artists of its time. At least it's not Disco Duck?
Least favorite hip hop album on this list. I know it was a pioneering album for samples but I just didn’t get my brain thinking as much as I hoped
What is happening here? Drunk brunch bingo on a Virgin Islands merry-go-round.
Nostalgic and very fun, guy who talks on the radio reminds me of Professor Rocket from Crashbox. Best songs in my opinion are "Obatala" and "Song For Chango"
Punk Svengali Malcolm McClaren once described himself as “the most evil man in pop music”. I wouldn’t go that far (at least compared to some of the vile bigots and predators that I won’t mention here), but it’s fair to say that he was a thief, a plagiarist and an exploiter of other people’s talents. For this album he plundered from South African township bands, New York Hip Hop artists and traditional American folk music with not a credit or royalty to be seen (until he was sued and settled out of court for an undisclosed sum). This is also a wildly uneven album with the two hits (clumsy yet catchy takes on line dancing and skipping) bookended by samples from a Hip Hop radio show and odd little electronic and ambient pieces. The latter pieces were from producer Trevor Horn and musicians Anne Dudley and JJ Jeckzalik who would later form the much more interesting group The Art of Noise. Two stars for the original work on this and zero for Mr McClaren himself.
From the Vault #15 (January 6, 2026) Here we are again with another handy pre-written review. This is a pretty out-there title for what is allegedly a hip-hop album. I genuinely have no clue what I'm getting myself into, though chances are I'm in for something old school similar to that of Grandmaster Flash. Anyways, here goes. Wow. I wasn't expecting this. A dance-y, electronic, Afrobeat, samba, old-school hip-hop kind of thing. I'm not feeling it. I don't think there's much nuance to this music beyond its gimmicky nature. The merging of different world music styles is novel at first, but very quickly becomes an annoyance once the novelty disappears. Most of these songs are simply way too busy and cluttered. I never had the opportunity to regroup or absorb what I was listening to, so much of this album passed me by, truth be told. The mixing is also pretty strange. Very lo-fi, which I would venture to guess is by design since this guy certainly wasn't strapped for cash after managing The Sex Pistols. It works in the case of the opening track, but I can't say I appreciated the sound on the rest of the album. The radio interludes are also pretty frustrating. I imagine they're here to contextualise the varied styles under the concept of a radio broadcast, but they go on for way too long and feature nothing of interest. Overall, I appreciate this album's guts, though I shant be returning to it for obvious reasons. As far as individual songs go, "Obtala" is a pretty good opener. I dig the wavy synth and cool ambience which hangs over the track. The African sound peeking through in the percussion and vocal sections is the best part, if only for how unique the combination is. Book time. Created after a journey across America and Africa. McClaren apparently had no idea what he was doing while making this album which, frankly, I can believe. "Buffalo Gals" was the first big hip-hop single in Europe. I'm kind of in this album's corner, but I shall consult Wikipedia so I can be certain. Responsible for introducing hip-hop to a wider audience in the UK. Mild critical acclaim. I mean, sure. I think this album has somewhat of a claim to the list. I cosign this inclusion.
Great that this widened the audience for hip hop. But this is not a great album. Sounds like some sketchy stuff going on around royalties too.
The guy who manufactured Sex Pistols and opened a bondage shop with Vivienne Westwood steals music from 4 continents and creates a disjointed mixtape. I’d score this a strong ‘whattheactualfuck’ out of five.
Feel like this album doesn’t know what it’s wants to be
Not my bag…baby?
A conceptual mish-mash of sounds and styles generated from the chaotic mind of a cultural revolutionary, so I get its importance in that regard, but as music, it’s more an idea than something tangible
I don’t even know where to start. It’s not hip hop. I don’t know what it is. 2
This felt more like a compilation of songs played during a radio show. The concept works, and the radio call intermissions started off feeling really fresh, but by the end they became a bit dull. I read that the album was seminal in bridging the gap between genres and exposing a lot of people in the UK to an entirely new set of sounds. Of course, there’s also the controversy surrounding Malcolm McLaren and what his actual contribution to the project was, but I’m truly out of my depth on that topic. I know there were some nice jams here, but as with a lot of compilation albums, it doesn’t really feel like a cohesive vision. I enjoyed "Double Dutch" and "Merengue".
Kind of sad, really. Not that terrible of an album, and there are plenty of ideas, to bad its not his
I don’t really know what I just listened to. I didn’t hate it, but don’t think want to listen to it again. Soeme weird stuff came out of the eighties.
Volgens veel reviews op deze site mogen we dit niet leuk vinden omdat het meeste gestolen is. Dat komt me niet zo slecht uit want ik vind het sowieso verre van een topalbum. George of the Jungle gemengd met Rocksteady Crew. En dan nog continu die radiofragmenten tussendoor. Dit vind ik echt een haast kinderachtig niveau. Ik voel dit album echt totaal niet zoals je misschien merkt. Dit album heeft geholpen met de grote doorbraak van hiphop in de UK blijkbaar (citation needed staat erachter op Wikipedia), maar dat is dan ongeveer zoals dat de Brigand IPA mijn eerste IPA was. Daarna brak IPA bij mij door, maar dat was zeker niet dankzij die Brigand IPA. Ik vind het maar matig. 2 sterren.
I'm not quite sure what this is, but essential listening before one dies it definitely is not.
McLaren is (in)famous for saying something like “ do you feel you have been cheated.” Anything positive on this already exists in much better form, I suppose he brought it to a white audience but he apparently was quiet open to the idea of stealing from different cultures and as much about scandalous success as the music (product). He didn’t credit others (the original artists) and had legal action for plagiarism too. So it gives you snippets of world music, basic hip hop but Doesn’t really lead to a great album, and it’s an overall mess. 2 Star
this album really lacks cohesion for me. i'm not sure what is going on. Its not bad more confusing.
Meh, más ruido hecho por hombres blancos
and dosido your partners
No conecté
I don't understand what this is doing. It isn't expressly bad but it has a snarkiness to it. I could be biasing my experience from reading a few reviews, but it sounds like he's showing you a bunch of global sounds and saying "have you heard of these sounds??? I've heard of these sounds. I'm so smart and worldly"
I don't really know what to make of this. It is not the first samples based album we have seen and there were other groups doing sample work well before this. A lot of it seems like it's barely sampled and more like "I took an existing song and added reverb to it". In a bubble it's fine but this album isn't fun because the artist did anything really impressive, it's fun because the music that's taken and presented is inherently decent and danceable. If this was a live DJ mix then I think it'd be fine, if mostly primitive and a kinda forgettable one. This is supposed to be some sort of project though, it's not like this was recorded in a club or from a radio show. I'm guessing this may have been the first mainstream incorporation of african/carribbean music in to the british pop scene, which is why it's notable. If it isn't that then...what is this doing in here?
Ha das gar nöd checkt
Lotta thoughts about this one. In a vacuum, this should be a great album. Conceptually, I love the idea, especially considering this came out all the way back in 1983 - a variety radio station flipping through early hip-hop and regional styles such as Caribbean merengue and South African mbaqanga. Done properly, this would be a shoe-in for one of the most forward-thinking records of its day! Unfortunately, the execution leaves much to be desired. First off, there's the obvious problem of the credited artist - Malcolm McLaren adds nothing to this with his narration, and in fact actively detracts from it in some songs, especially with that god-awful accent in "Merengue". Further, while there's been much discourse over the last four decades about the morality of sampling in music, this goes one further - they actually invited in many of the performers of the original music to record new takes, and then simply didn't credit them! McLaren and producer Trevor Horn also claimed composer credits for many traditional and religious music pieces across the album, some of which are centuries old. This blatant thievery and focus on McLaren's own name and credit, while simultaneously purporting to actually be interested in the history of the music it's presenting, is an inexcusable cognitive dissonance, and really just leaves the whole record feeling much more sour than it should. And considering the way inclusions in this book have gone across this challenge so far, there's a pretty good chance that McLaren's little exercise in self-aggrandization has bumped a genuinely worthy merengue or mbaqanga album from being represented. There's a world where this could be 3 or even 4 stars for me, but this is not the one. A real shame.
There are moments of really cool stuff on here but then I’d hear Malcolm McLaren input some annoying interjection and be reminded about how most of the musicians on the album went uncredited. Bleh
It's cursed knowledge to read up on this album. The music and performances themselves are excellent, and connecting all these different regions' music through radio skits is pretty charming; if it was a way to spotlight the various bands we hear throughout, this would be a lovely project! Instead, the spotlight is on Malcolm McLaren, for who this is really only a business venture -- so artificial-feeling that even the gorgeous cover art contribution from Keith Harring is reduced to just another marketable element. Standouts: Obatala • Double Dutch • Merengue • Punk It Up • Jive My Baby
Really disjointed in it's approach and weirdly soulless? From some digging, the fact McLaren just tried to cash in on Afro-fusion and hip hop without living this may explain it.
wow this was agressively 80s
This is a bit of a misleading album. While this may have brought in hip hop and other world music to the UK, the artist supposedly didn't credit some of the African musicians involved in the recording here. He also had a history with this sort of thing too, unfortunately. The actual musicianship and recording here is good enough, it's not often that you listen to an album that mashes up all sorts of different world music styles. Shame about the lack of credits and just the appropriation in general, though.
This is a strange album. It feels like a random collection of stuff to fill Top of the Pops up with Legs and Co or Ruby Flipper when guests are lacking. I say this because I remember seeing Double Dutch on it 😆 The Caribbean bits could be fun, but the album lacks any meaningful structure to get any joy from it. Misses the mark.
Chlini Achterbahnfahrt. Zerst hani Oldschool Hiphop erwartet (irgendwie), denn de ersti sphärischi Track wo mer no pässlet het, gfolgt vo oldschool hiphop (hans doch gwüsst!) und eme Wilde Mix vo Ariel die Meerjungfrau-Soundtrack und draufni bongo-songs. Eigentlich fan dass es mal chli was anders isch aber leider chani ned meh wie 2 Stockente geh
A little outside my wheelhouse
Mashups of world music and rap, with interludes of recordings of (radio?) DJs. Also features the members of Art of Noise on some songs. Depending on how old you are, you might remember seeing the video for Double Dutch on MTV way back in the day. A few of the songs sound very similar to Paul Simon's Graceland album, only this was produced 3 years prior. Special mention of the square dance song Duck for the Oyster. Some of the grooves are pretty damn good, but the interludes are annoying. And the amount of whiplash genre-hopping makes it pretty wacky. It would probably be 3 stars for anyone else, but Malcolm McLaren is a sketchy douche and I can't condone that.
I see how it’s influential ig but still not for me. The obvious best track is “Buffalo gals”
There are some cool songs amongst the filler, it feels like someone has taken 4 albums, chopped them up and assembled them in a random order. It just shows that being great and being influential aren't always one and the same
I had no idea the Sex Pistols’ hype man made music, and this is not what you’d expect from someone with that history. The music is okay to good, but lyrically/vocally there’s not much going on. And sometimes the vocals are downright irritating. Meh
2 Feel like he's just making the stuff he nicked from other artists worse
Típico MC de los 90
graceland but somehow badly done and more controversial, which means half of the reviews are talking about cultural appropriation while also potentially licking led zeppelin’s boots in other reviews. (i like led zep and isnt complaining about this i was just pointing out a point.) bitch learned what “exploitation” means and is destinies to use it in the review of every single controversial album meanwhile i’m just here for the weird shit. woke isn’t a fucking thing in the 80s and you should all go fuck yourself cause you are fucking boring. still the 1001 albums list is not a list of 1001 best albums it’s just 1001 albums that reflect modern popular music history in its different eras so weird and bad shit is not excluded. anyway this shit is dumb but still better than ive expected and sometimes although theres the cultural appropriation thing and other controversies, malcolm is still talented when it comes to figuring out the vogue reflective in his actions like being the manager of the sex pistols and stuff. he has a ear for whats popular and its so dumb in the modern times when what people only believe in "authenticity" cause who the fuck cares. 2.5/5
Quite eclectic. 2.6 stars.
Much like Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, early Rolling Stones, solo Eric Clapton, and the Bluesbreakers work, the cloud of "white man popularising the black man's music" hangs heavy here. Classic old skool hip hop, albeit stolen and distilled.
Erikoinen sekoitus kaikkea. Ei ihan omaan makuun.
Derivative schlock. It's as if Malcolm McLaren spliced together an assortment of discarded reel-to-reel tape he found while secretly rummaging through a trash bin behind a recording studio.
Colonizer album. “World music” is fun and I’m sure this introduced people to non-western sounds, but the whole project falls apart when the british guy starts talking.
A bloody mess. There's no consistent musical vision
Duck Rock just reinforces my urge to punch him in the throat
2.4 2x decent enough. On way and in ATL on way to OAK for all hands Sacramento
2.0 - Weak
Did not really care for this one’s substance regardless of the appropriation claims people had been making. No original raps, not very interesting production
The songs I liked most on the album were still pretty mediocre. This was a strange album to be sure.
Bit all over the place and definitely taking music from all over the world. Surprised this was released in 1983, definitely sounds newer.
It feels like a kind of cynical rich guy cashing in on music he heard at shows.
quatsch 2/5
I see the influence, too all over the place for my taste
I was absolutely ready to give this a three, but Duck For The Oyster is just so stupid. This does some interesting things, but I’m not sure I would really return to it with all the radio call-ins between the songs. Favorite songs were Buffalo Gals, Jive My Baby, and World’s Famous.
Very strange stuff... I like the first song but the rest is very so and so.
Even for early 80's rap/hip-hop, this stuff is cheesy.
Quack
It sounded indeed like ducks made this
3.5/10
The Malcolm McLaren who recorded this mess is the kind of guy who would come back from a Jamaican holiday wearing cornrows
Day791 - worlds famous is a pretty good one but this is a little too old school for me
Ryan Coogler made Sinners bc of ppl like this. Big gentrified mess 3.4/10
I didn't like this much, so it's not getting a good review. Interesting that this predates Graceland, though.
Un cas intéressant ! C’est un album influent qui a contribué à faire connaître le hip-hop à un nouveau public. Y’a des samples intéressants venus d’un peu partout. C’est un album de hip-hop (ou de proto-hip-hop) qui arrive en 1983, bien avant les plus grands noms du genre. Musicalement, c’est très sympa quoiqu’un peu décousu. Mais ça a été fait par l’arriviste à qui on devait déjà les Sex Pistols. Vu comme le mec s’est approprié le mouvement, la sincérité de sa démarche en produisant cet album est plus que douteuse. Mais ça reste un album plutôt sympathique.
Malcolm McLaren sucks as a person, but at least he was able to introduce some folks into these varied sounds. The album itself is messy and all over the place, and it’s far from great, but there are a few catchy tracks scattered throughout that make it at least somewhat interesting.
I'm sure it was groundbreaking at the time but, out of context, it just sounds like a weird 80s experiment. Not sure what parts of this Malcolm McLaren was actually responsible for; seems to me he just coerced a bunch of regional musicians into a recording studio and mashed it together with modern music of the day.
The hip-hop track "Buffalo Gals" is an amazing collaboration between clothing store owner Malcolm McLaren and former Yes lead singer Trevor Horn but the rest of the album is off-brand Afropop that'll make you wish you'd bought the real thing instead.
An odd album, impressively ahead of its time but also there’s a can of worms here that makes it hard to approve of
A culturally important piece of media that is far more interesting to talk about than to listen to. Malcom McLaren's whole schtick was selling brits on approachable but "exotic" music.
So this album was very varied, and kind of fun, pretty random, and instead of annoying me it mostly just confused me. I don't know what it's supposed to be and I'm not looking that up either, instead I'll just say it was an interesting little collection of hip hop country ambient tribal gospel "songs". The opposite of a great closer, Duck For The Oyster was dumb 4.6/10
Non il mio genere. Sbaglio o è stato stampato da Eminem (Runny outside??)
Had one song that I really enjoyed, but the rest wasn't my type of music.
2. dos.
I'm sure there are some interesting bits to this but it really didn't work for me.
While I didn’t hate every individual part, I didn’t care for the way they were organized into this eclectic mix of an album. Or the filler in between.
basically a compilation album of a bunch of random types of music so he can pretend he predicted it. Sounds like a mike myers rap album (Not a bad thing!)
Eeeeeerrrrfffffiiiiittttttt. En sumt gaman.
Sometimes interesting world music/hip hop fusion that often ends up just hokey
first song was nice and chill, and the album overall had a couple of moments where I thought it was pretty nice. Overall though I did not like this
This was just weird, not a fan. Stand-outs - Obatala - Buffalo Gals - Legba
Felt weird that all of these white guys were using such cultural music and not giving any credit. The concepts were interesting but I don't think the execution was the best, especially the singing.
It’s no Graceland.
2.5
Some of the songs are good, but the radio patter in between songs and the weird way the radio host calls women "females" ruined it for me.
What the duck is this?
I didn’t mind some songs but then I read he didn’t credit any of the artists so that’s a shitty thing to do isn’t it Malcolm?
the hiphop is a little too gritty
Some good variety here. It's irreverent and silly at times, which generally appeals to me, but this album just doesn't really.
🐥🎸
Duck Rock, indeed.
This really seems like an album that you should either love or hate - but I somehow land at around a 2.5, I think I just don't understand it. The opening track was fantastic, it sounded like solid video game music. But then it goes down this strange concept of listening to a hip hop - Afropunk radio station, and the songs were sometimes interesting with good beats and variety, but also strange and disconnected? And there are moments of the album where I become genuinely annoyed, like certain repeated phrases on Buffalo Gals and Duck For the Oyster. What sounded like a very polarizing album is just a 2/3 for me
I think it's easy to create a sonic sampler album when like this when you're committed to straight up stealing sounds from other cultures in the hopes of desecrating them all and turning them into cheap marketing gimmicks.
Three stars for trying something truly new; one star for doing so in the most morally dubious way imaginable; one star for containing 'Duck for the Oyster; one star for not even being nearly as good as Paul Simon at ripping off African artists. I'm not sure what that averages out to, but I think two stars will do.
not sure what Malcolm was trying here but it didn't workb
This may be influential but that doesn’t mean it’s good. It feels messy and incomplete.
Once upon a time, MTV was cool...now it's just dead.
This is meh, kinda fun and I get that its on here for what a novelty it must have been, especially in the UK in the early 80s. But its got to lose at least a star for me for how irrelevant it feels. Is anyone who's not doing this generator listening to this in 2026? And the fact that he gave no credit to a lot of the artists he threw on here sucks too.
Went over my head but I recognized where Eminem got his line from
Was not aware he made music. Bizarre. Not sure how to classify this one.
Nette Idee für ein Album, ungeschickt umgesetzt.
Much better as a world music album than a hip hop album. Fairly fun.
I have no idea why anyone would choose this album for the list. The music is occasionally interesting, but not interesting enough to merit being here. 2/5
I appreciate the incorporation of African music, but after reading other reviews, I'm not sure how ethically this was done. Wouldn't listen to this again, but maybe I should stop reading reviews before I listen to the albums! Just found out he was married to Vivienne Westwood, I appreciate the taste Also love organically discovering samples that I didn't know about before
There's a lot going on in this record, and a lot of it isn't good. Interestingly, the record resembles a radio station, but it misses the mark when trying to focus on a single form of sound. Favourite Track(s): Buffalo Gals Least Favourite Track(s): Soweto
The concept and vision of Duck Rock are really impressive but the backstory of the plagiarism and exploitation completely sours the record. Best treated as a compilation of various artists, ignoring the evil manager slapping his name and lyrics on the record. Great to use as a jumping point into genres like mbaqanqa and merengue (and the actual artists behind the songs) but functionally distasteful listening.
Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Buffalo Gals, Double Dutch I can't really make heads or tails of what this is supposed to be. proto-hip-hop influences, along with a lot of percussion beats and rhythms? Sort of reminded me of Nightmares on Wax. It was like listening to a disc jockey live on the radio in the 80s or 90s - not that I have any personal experience with that. This album is apparently somewhat responsible for popularizing hip-hop in the UK in the 1980s. And then, of course, the thing I personally recognize the most is the fact that Eminem sampled/remixed Buffalo Gals on Without Me (The Eminem Show). I am pretty sure I also caught another sample; subtle: Deltron 3030 sampled the background beat in El San Juanera on their track New Coke (which is more of a skit than a song).
2/5
It’s fine and all, but it sounds more like a sample album or a tech demo than a collection of actual music.
Songs are good but I don’t think McLaren is what makes them good. Probably better examples of NY radio shows and South African music.
Well, to put a positive spin on it, Malcolm McLaren is a compiler of different styles of world music, some of which later became their own genre (e.g. Hip Hop, when it was still good in the 80s). It's an interesting idea on paper, but the execution is just done in a totally uninteresting way. Especially, I don't think that the aforementioned genres got their rise to prominence because of this album, and so, nothing good has come from the album. It's a wasted effort. 2/5
Uno de esos discos, no poco abundantes en esta lista, que se siente que envejecieron terriblemente. Sí, seguramente su experimentación sorprendió en su año, pero escucharlo hoy resulta un tanto insoportable. Tiene un par de tracks medio chistosos, pero en general me la pasé deseando que terminara lo antes posible. Me he topado aquí con discos experimentales que tienen casi 50 años y se sienten tan sorprendentes como seguramente lo hicieron el día que salieron. Pero con Duck Rock, creo que el chiste se le agotó al siguiente día de haber salido.
So many sounds, genres and styles all mashed together to produce a totally unfocussed piece of work - mostly junk.
I didn't connect with this and found it to be somewhat annoying. I didn't find the mashups of different genres to work for me.
01) Obatala - 7,0 02) Buffalo Gals - 7,0 03) Double Dutch - 7,5 04) El San Juanera - 3,0 05) Merengue - 6,5 06) Punk It Up - 6,5 07) Legba - 5,5 08) Jive My Baby - 5,5 09) Song for Chango - 5,0 10) Soweto - 5,5 11) World's Famous - 6,0 12) Duck for the Oyster - 4,0 TOTAL: 5,75 (58/100) Current ranking: 632/758
it's fine i guess, just not my vibe. Seeing other reviews, yikes. I don't get why the list would have this and not something actually important to hip hop? weird. the only reasons i'm not putting this as 1 is because I'm trying to save those for things I absolutely hate.
Looking at the reviews for this album, I had not a clue that this "artist" stole much (if not all) of his work from black artists. Knowing that did sour my opinion of the album a bit, but I will try to keep that out of this review. Overall, this album could prove to be very fun. It did get me moving at some points (which I credit to the people who actually made the songs, not McLaren), but it wasn't super consistent. I'd be vibing with one song and the next I would be in an entirely different realm of music. While I'm not fond of the blatant stealing from black artists, this was an okay listen. I didn't hate it.
What I got from an album called Duck Rock is about what I expected. Eclectic and unusual. The inclusion of so many kinds of world music is commendable and interesting, but it sure didn't make for a uniform listen. At least it was different from anything else on this list?
Well, I learned one thing today: Eminem interpolated material from "Buffalo Gals" for "Without Me". I had no idea. But in all seriousness, this was an interesting album. I didn't necessarily love it, but I was intrigued by a super white British guy's interpretation of hip-hop and world music fusion. His material is often too clashing and intentionally avant garde for my liking, but the moments where the various Caribbean, Latin and Black American inspired sounds shine through, it seems fairly obvious that he understood the assignment as far as working with these genres go. And by "working with these genres", I basically mean "taking them from their source cultures and then taking credit"... Anyway, I was intrigued by this album, but ultimately it didn't really land with me. I saw the vision, but the vision seemed to be "scatter as much world music in as possible". Would have liked for things to feel more cohesive and less of a hodge-podge, and for god's sake, AT LEAST credit the people you took this music from.
Like the radio interlude or rather then procession of the radio show in the songs. Obatala, Legba, are the two favs.
Not plain awful, more like raisin I'-d-rather-have-something-else.
Sjukt album. Allt från avslappningsband där man bara väntade på delfinjudet, lite härlig skratching, lärarrap och exotika. Tycker ändå det var lite småkul men kommer nog aldrig lyssna igen.
Holy cultural appropriation Batman! I can see why this would have made a splash at the time bringing a colourful mix of hip hop and world music (and oddly, a bit of country) to British listeners, but we all know McLaren was a right so and so for taking credit for the work and talent of others. This feels more like an eclectic DJ set or someone switching between radio stations than a cohesive album, but it is interesting. Probably not interesting enough to merit a second listen through tbh, although I did get a little buzz from recognising the Eminem hat tip. Disappointing lack of ducks
It’s giving orientalist mish mash unfortunately. Looked up Malcolm McLaren afterwards and it seems to be an accurate picture of the artist. Better sampled by other musicians
What an odd album. Mostly, it's some fairly risible cultural appropriation, but there are odd bits of quite joyful instrumentation and music. The opening two tracks in particular are very strong. But it definitely feels like Malcolm has nicked a lot of early hip hop ideas and is bringing them back to an extremely white British sensibility.
It's not unlistenable just annoying as fuck to listen to
Annoying
boy. there's some real potential here. some really great instrumentals. and then this dumb asshole opens his mouth and starts sing rapping. the world music here should in all rights be pretty good, but having this guy who has the affect of an obnoxious white guy who can't take anything seriously makes this whole album feel like he's spitting in your face. at least paul simon seems like he appreciates the international music he regurgitates. i don't even know what the point of this album is when most of the time it makes you feel like you're witnessing a huge asshole being a quirky annoying british guy over what is some talented backing tracks. it actually pisses me off. if it wasn't for the quality of the music he is leeching this entire album, this would easily be a 1.
1.9 Oof. What a strange one. On the one hand, I admire the effort. On the other hand, everything landed flat. It's as though someone was taken back in time and tasked with recreating the atmosphere of switching through the radio stations on GTA vice city, but without the talent to really nail any genre specifically. Strangely the first track was very AFX'y (surely that's been remixed at somepoint), but after that floated through a range of genres that I have no real interest in.
på den ene side er kombinationen af tidlig hiphop og world lidt interessant og unik, på den anden side er hele albummet næsten kun repetitive samples så ved ikke hvor essentielt jeg synes det er. elsker den er noteret for at "bringe hiphop til storbritannien" som om det land nogensinde har bidraget noget som helst til hiphop udover en meget kort bølge i 2002-2004 ca
Smells like blacksploitation...
Not terrible enjoyed more than expected but nothing great. Bit different from Sex Pistols days.
Even the good songs are annoying.
A hilarious, early attempt at mashup. It screams “eccentric gives music a try”, but hey, it’s not that bad, and in general it’s well-received to be included on the 1001 albums list, which could use much more weirdness.
This was a bizarre but fun album. How can joyful African and Carribean reggae jams NOT be fun. Mix it with some early hip-hop and a "framing" structure of each track being played on a New York morning show or something - complete with call-in listeners. Definitely an interesting listen on my morning commute. This was the era when all these "World Beat" styles mixed with post-punk and new wave, much moreso in UK than USA. I was pleasantly surprised to see Trevor Horn's involvement in this production. It kept me listening. I could see playing this as background music at a party - but really, that's about it. An enjoyable spin.
Started out ok but got progressively worse.
What the fuck is this mess
If this album were any good, I'd be conflicted on how to rate it, as Malcolm McLaren is a serial appropriator of musical sub-cultures who attempted to capitalize on whichever cool new thing came wafting through his window. Thankfully it is not.
I did not like this one bit. I suspect McLaren just stole a bunch of music from other artists and stamped it with his name on it.
i expected something annoying....and it was annoying but different annoying than i thought
3.4/10
Yeah it was awful, I liked the Soweto sound but those were just lazy samples
meh?
2,5
No lo terminé de escuchar. Un tanto irritante
Interesting in its really early experimentation with samplings, but not much substance to listen to. I’ll admit that disliking McLaren’s character is not helping
A nice try for early polystylism and sampling experimentations, but the result is far from enjoyable, sadly.
hat potenzial, aber sehr zammgewürfelt und manche tracks nerven extrem
"whoever made this list grew up in the UK during the 80s and 90s cause there’s a lot of absolute bullshit on here that no one else would tell you you need to hear before you die" is how i'm feeling. Buffa gals made me nostalgic because eminem
The UK grapples with its changing multiculturalism in the 80s and is influenced and altered, doesn't know if it's appropriation or embracing. I'm still not sure either. Some sounds overwhelmingly 80s, some bang.
yeah idk not my cup of tea i think
Meh
That's not my taste in music
Not a fan Didn’t know eminem’s sample was off of one of their songs
Definitely funky, some cool old-school hip hop beats. The Appalachian folk tunes at the end were odd. Favorite song(s): Double Dutch.
I can recognize that this is different and maybe ahead of its time, but it’s definitely not for me. Very odd imo
Never heard of this, after reading about it it seems McLaren was more a producer who didn't credit a lot of the musicians who contributed to this record, it's a mix match of genres, interesting in parts, hard not to love African beats
It's quite good but just doesn't feel right
I can imagine it was fresh and fun when it was new. It's cheesy now. Favorite song: merengue
2.5
The last track is horrendous, and the rest is not much better, but the South African songs are okay. 2 stars
Not the worst thing I've heard, but I don't quite get what they were going for -- it's part African music (which is the best part), part old-school hip-hop (which is much less good), and part dicking around in the studio (which is not good at all). Was probably going light 3-stars before "Duck for the Oyster" which was like the proto version of Rednex's "Cotton Eyed Joe" I never needed to hear. 2.5 stars.
Didn’t really get what this album was the old hip hop tunes where the best but this was not for me
2/5. not much i liked from this one but it wasn't complete garbage
Very strange
mid
Cultural appropriation the musical.
I once went on radio and raved about McLaren’s Madame Butterfly as the ideal pop single: catchy, trashy, highbrow, lowbrow, exploiting the latest technology, and completely disposable. That was probably just on‑air jibber-jabber, but some of it holds, especially because Un Bel Dì, Vedremo is gorgeous, whatever you do with it. You could make a similar argument for Buffalo Gals or Double Dutch, McLaren's UK hits. They were clever, infectious, but not long lasting: like a cold virus. But here’s the rub. No one cares much about McLaren exploiting Puccini. The plunder of African musics, however - Highlife, mbaqanga, South African township sounds - sits uneasily now. McLaren’s failure to credit the records he pillaged and musicians he played with seals his reputation as cultural irritant rather than musician. Zeppelin and Paul Simon caught flak too, but no one denies they had chops in the material they lifted. As Eliot had it: immature poets imitate; mature poets steal. McLaren stole, sure, but was he mature, or just a cheeky wee glyp? It’s worth remembering that in the early ’80s, no one was crediting samples. Only in the ’90s, after black artists fought labels in court, did the law grudgingly recognise recorded sound as property. And there’s a line of precedent stretching back through musique concrète, Cage, the avant‑gardists who stitched reality into art. McLaren, ever the Situationist huckster, liked to cast himself in that French tradition rather than the bloated rock lineage of Zeppelin and Simon. In that light, Duck Rock is closer to Joni Mitchell’s Burundi rhythms on The Hissing of Summer Lawns, but brasher, gaudier, more self‑consciously Now. Then, at least. It couldn' last. McLaren was no great artist. He was a scavenger of ideas, sometimes of people. But that’s what gave his work its bite: you were never sure if he was creating or conning you, or both. If you share his taste in music (his jukebox in the Sex shop was legendary), you’ll like it; if you find him unbearable, you’re supposed to. Either way, irritation was part of the show. And yet - let’s be blunt - Duck Rock was beaten to the punch. Byrne and Eno’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts did the same trick two years earlier with more depth and less smirk. Duck Rock was probably fun at the time, a bigger hit in the UK, but there doesn’t need to be two of them on the list. 1.5 I sense that this album is designed to invite a listener’s puzzlement. Is it earnest pop music or mere comedy? Is it affectionate curation of World Music or is it scornful exploitation? Thoughtful innovation or mere arbitrariness? Fortunately before Duck Rock is any of these things it is, first, shite. The clutter of mundane musical ideas with a side slop of McLaren’s clowning obviously passed for entertainment for a lot of people (I was bored personally) but they didn’t waste their time analysing this right? Everyone knew this was silly rubbish, didn’t they? Didn’t they? 1.5/5
I wasn't convinced by this album. It started off with some cool recordings of African drumming, so far, so good. Then it seemed to descend into a sort of GCSE music class improv session where the aim was to seem clever by munging together as many genres as possible. A little bit too much like an academic exercise and although the music is often quite pleasant, it lacks an authenticity, grit, or heart. I guess, in context it gets some extra kudos for introducing some new sounds to the UK at that time and laying the groundwork for 90's hip-hop. This album is definitely at its best during its purer African moments, like the "Song for Chango" which would have liked more of.
Some of the music is okay, but the album is all over the place. Throw the spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks? I'm not sure what the McLaren is trying to accomplish here? I'm also not sure why in the hell this album qualifies as something I need to hear before I die? I guess it is interesting that McLaren borrows (steals) from so many other artists if diverse styles, but what do they bring to make it different or their own? I don't get it and am not inclined to try to.
Eminem origin story
You can tell this is the hip-hop album that put the British public on the genre because it’s 1. Made by a narcissistic white guy and 2. It’s bad. The only good parts are the parts stolen from various African artists.
Really interesting but not so enjoyable for me as a listen through. Feels a bit aimless as its going between hip hop, the skits and the south African stuff.
Hmmmm. Odd choice really. Whilst pretty different to anything else around at the time, did it unleash a movement off the back of it? Do bands regularly name-check this as the reason they make music?
Complicated feelings. On the one hand, this album was likely the first exposure to African world music for Western audiences, so in that sense, it's groundbreaking. But it now seems clear that Malcolm McLaren lifted many of the musical ideas for Duck Rock from the South African artists who performed on the recordings but weren't credited on the album. Really tough reality, since I was rather charmed by the goofy, eclectic range of songs on this LP. There's some really fun early hip hop and African / world music here: Buffalo Girls and Soweto are the standouts, but Duck for the Oyster is laughable — it sounds like a country jamboree song performed by Chuck E. Cheese. Was ready to give this a 4 for unexpected freshness and, most critically, for not being another punk album, but I'm downgrading to a 2 because Malcolm McLaren is a culture vulture.
Pretty eclectic collection of songs assembled like a radio show. But apparently this guy is not the original artist. If I make a mix CD of awesome songs would my name make it on this list? lol I think not and for that I rate this down.
not for me
conceptual
it's kind of giving mambo number 5 in terms of lyrics and spirit, if not sound.
Wildly erratic, genre-bending stuff... I dunno. 2 outta 5?
Meh
Mér fannst tónlist furðuleg en samt furðulega skemmtileg blanda sem virkaði einhvern veginn. Það sem eyðilagpi ánægjuna voru aftur á móti þessar útvarpsútsendingar með The Supreme Team. Mikið fóru þær í taugarnar á mér
Not a bad album all over and an interesting listen but I'm not sure what's going on here. Could be me and the listen I gave it. Maybe it would be stronger with headphones. I don't know.
Experimental and fun listen. Nice to know where the Slim Shady line came from, but does not have a lot of replay value.
Buffalo Gals is the only thing keeping this album from getting a 1.
Meh
Bit odd
Feels appropriative, and also it's just not very good.
1,6/5
Type of album to listen once and forget like a random radio station.
Not so bad
A mess. Not fun. 2/5
Wow. Totally bizarro. Half early rap, half kid-like, & half artsy Technasia. Enjoy that math. lol Also not for me but not Bruce Springsteen bad.
Relatively enjoyable to listen to for the most part but not something I would be likely to revisit. There were good samples but some of the album seemed to run together.
weird pick. this album reminded me a lot of Beyond Skin, but this one was executed much better.
All That Scratchin' Is Makin' Me Itch 1001 Albums Generator 84 (07/29/2025) Malcolm McLaren's Duck Rock is one of the strangest albums I've ever heard. I have no idea how to classify this without using the slightly antiquated term of "World Music". Double Dutch reminds me of some Soukous music I've heard from Central Africa, while Merengue is named after its genre, a dance genre from the Dominican Republic. "World Music" is not constrained to the global south by the way. Buffalo Gals is an early hiphop song, and Duck For The Oyster is a really shitty country song. This is world music in the truest sense of the term, in that every song feels like it take inspiration from different parts of the world. The whole thing is also interlaced with these radio broadcasts that make it sound like you're listening to the most culturally vast radio station you've never heard. Sometimes its eclecticism works in its favor. The opening tribal ambience of Obatala is the sound of a drum circle in heaven. It sounds slightly far away and reverbed and has these little synthesizers and vocal chops that are quite inspired. Double Dutch and Soweto are both wonderful bits of African inspired music that really scratch my itch. Soweto especially is really fun since it mixes Western elements with the African ones. Merengue is a really fantastic take on the genre, with the musicians and backing vocals working really well with this style. If it weren't for McLaren's shitty vocals, I could believe this was playing at one of my wife's family parties. That's the thing with this album though. The McLaren of it all. I am not some crusader against "cultural appropriation", whatever that is, as I actually believe that sharing culture is one of the most import aspects of an integrated society. However, I do believe in giving credit where it is due, and the fact that most of the musicians that McLaren brought in to record on this album were uncredited is extremely shitty. Even if he had no legal obligation to do so, I still think it is the morally right thing to do. I don't judge the quality of this album based on this fact, but it really doesn't help McLaren's case when he is the reason why it kinda sucks. And gosh sometimes it really does suck. Legba is a song where nothing ever happens, choosing instead to wander aimlessly through ambient, uninspired synth landscapes. Jive My Baby is really annoying and Song For Chango is a completely forgettable African song. Duck For The Oyster is one of my least favorite songs I've heard on this challenge. It is some sort of parody of country pop with terrible, annoying vocals and sound effects in the background. Duck Rock is a mess. Some of the songs, especially in the first half, are pretty good, but the album is extremely unfocused and many of the experiments do not work. 2.5/5, rounded down to a 2. Favs: Obatala Merengue Soweto Least Fav: Duck For The Oyster
you're going to hate me but i liked this album and had fun listening to all of the things that turned out to be samples that i heard of in other places...but the things i liked the most were like the mbaqanga music and the early hip hop and he didn't credit those people so bye
what was he cooking
Eh. Some fun beats but not much else
Strong correlation between shitty album covers, and the quality of the music therein.
i like the influence of this and can see how this would be seen as “the first taste of hip-hop”. i just feel that the album is fairly messy, i liked some of the songs but it doesn’t really stick to a solid path through the album, just felt a bit everywhere. i also don’t feel like credit was given very fairly as i heard Malcolm McLaren isn’t the best person. music overall was decent just not the best as an album. i think it’s cool that eminem sampled the second track 2.5/5
Not sure I understand what this is. Don't think Malcolm McLaren had anything to do with making the music itself, he just took it and banged it all on an album then took the credit? There was some interesting sounding stuff here I guess. The song that Eminem borrowed that bit from. Some other relatively interesting early hip hop. Nothing blew me away
acid trip
Interesting 80s hip hop. Different I guess.
appropriation issues
intriguing just not really for me
Strange mix of Styles - hey, let us try out this!?
The album of all time
A better promoter than a musician. Those who can do…and those who can’t promote.
Not much here for me at base, then I find out the guy stole most of the album from other artists. I guess +1 for helping to bring hip hop/world music to GB but otherwise, fuck this guy and his record.
Oh nice, this instrumental opener is beautiful. Cool glimpse into what the album is perhaps? Oh a radio show? Okay, I like these guys, and....wait what? What the fuck is this? Weird, a song that sounds like what they play during the dance week of gym class. Oh god there's more? What the fuck is this album? And now it's a spanish varient?!?! What is going on here? This album is just so goddamn weird. Malcolm McLaren was just a manager too, I know his ass did not play on this at all. He once got kicked out of the studio after attempting to sing. I just, I really do not get this at all. Probably the most dated sounding album of all time. World Famous Supreme Team is pretty cool though
Most random album ever made. I can't understand this album, it is so weird.
Two Buffalo girls go around the outside.
This sounds like something my kid could have made on Incredibox, particularly Buffalo Girls.
This shit was lame in the 80’s-ist way possible. Something about it just feels off too. Like it was cobbled together from bits and pieces of songs that were left sitting around a random studio’s cutting room floor.
Really felt like this album was all over the place and incoherent. None of it was bad per se but there was very few standouts for me.
Horrible noise