Duck Rock

urgh

Very unique and interesting album. 4/5

It was... OK. I mean, I get what the album was going for and there was a wide range of styles that were used for this first example of sampling. Interesting to see where "round the outside" comes from, I never would have guessed that from Eminem. But some of the songs did overstay their welcome a bit, like "Legba." "Double Dutch" I didn't get at all, either. Ultimately, it was an interesting experiment. But not something that I would say let's put that on again. And... Malcolm McLaren? Really?

Lame. Actually, I kind of liked the first song Obatala for its worldly beats (ditto some of the other songs when they went that way - Soweto). But I found the hip hop (if that's what we're calling it) boring and/or tiring in all of its repetitiveness. I especially disliked all the radio DJ snippets that acted as interludes. If McLaren was the first to pioneer hip hop interludes - thanks for nothing. At least now I know where Eminem's "two trailer park girls go round the outside" comes from (Buffalo Gals). Also, 80's hip hop is kind of trash in my opinion - same weak ass rapping style. And there it was on World's Famous. Barf. The wikipedia description made it sound like this album was going to be super cool. I was disappointed. Maybe it's worth a 3 but I can't stop focusing on the negatives.

Wild album, actually really liked it but I’m not sure why

This is hairable. Elmo instruments.

a garbage dump if you will.

Meh. 2.5

4/10

Another Brit getting more respect because of this list than American hip hop artists. At this points it’s almost comical to have this album of doing, radio call ins, and improv on this list over things such as madvillainy, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, members of the wu tang, Jay-z. Having just one of their albums doesn’t encapsulate the changes and styles they’ve brought to modern hip hop. And having this album on here doesn’t do much either. Brit’s are not known for rapping. It’s okay to say other countries are good at something else. 4.2/10

Duck for the Oyster songs like a Ween song. That was really my only takeaway from listening to this.

When I first saw this I had assumed this was a bit of the UK-Centric worldview peeking through from the critics that compiled the list. After all, I don’t think this album did anything substantial in the US. Boy was I surprised. Right at the start, Obatala hooks me. It’s lush and expansive and leads you through what the rest of the album will be. There are some repetitive moments and it rarely resembles anything you’d hear on the radio with a chorus, but it’s such a vibe to get lost in. I loved this one.

Na

Un popurrí del copón. Me ha gustado y todo... Un 4.

World music, hip hop. Que lo baile que lo baile...

Didn't expect to like this, but goddamn I was wrong.

Sorry it was bad then and it hasn’t improved.

Buffalo galissa on sampleja, jotka oon kuullut... jossain?? Onko ne ekaa kertaa siinä? Se jäi askarruttamaan. Muuten hyvin helposti pureksittavaksi tehtyjä etnojuttuja. Kohdeyleisön kuulee liian selvästi.

Vaikka yleensä lähestynkin subjektiivisten kokemusteni analyysiä teeskennellyllä objektiivisuudella, jonka on tarkoitus sulkea pois pelkkien odotusten mukaan arviointi, en voi olla kysymättä: miten tämä ei voi olla paskaa? Lisään: suosikkini on alkukaksikko, joista ensimmäinen on yksinkertaisinta mahdollista maalailua, ja toinen täysi sekamelska, johon on niitattu pari erinomaista samplea ja muuta. Mutta kukahan tämän kaiken on oikeasti saanut aikaan?

Malcolm McLaren? The Sex Pistols guy? Yes, that guy. This album is quite the amalgamation of sounds and styles but like, he’s not that good at any of them. If ELO (my Lodestar of Shit) suffers from a well-polished sameness, this album suffers from whatever the opposite of that is. Bonus star for trying something new I guess.

Hmm not sure about this one. It's weird but I'm not sure in a good way? It just seems like a smorgasbord of random influences without its own voice. It's not bad or anything, I'm just not really getting the point of it.

This album has some tracks that have been extensively sampled to the point that I had no idea this was their origin. Additionally, this album really runs the gamut as it explores African music, Latin/South American music, and even country while grouding it in an early hip hop framework. It makes for a very strange and oddly compelling listen.

Weirdest album I've ever heard.

odd duck

So weird and different it was a fun listen

Yup, not my gig.

Ne pas se faire avoir par la première track !!

c'est le rock n roll des gallinacées .

Love the radio bits and can see why it introduced hip-hop and scratching to the mainstream.

points for uniqeness and what felt like a whole niche of music I'd never encountered before. Standouts were Buffalo gals and El san juanera. I appreciated the very unexpected shout out lmao I thought i was losing it

3.0 - 3.5

Weird good background stuff. Love all the sampling as usual. Think I've heard this before but great songs anyway. 3.75 or 4

I was actually angry that I had to listen to this album.

- meh

Unorthodox, genre-defying, experimental album.

Buffalo Gals, is dit dan weer door Eminem gesampled? Sowieso is dit album redelijk early hiphop. Best wel geinig om te luisteren. Ik ben zeer in de war van dit album hahah Double Dutch is een grappig nummer? Het hele album is tot nu toe een soort Afrikaans muziekalbum. Dit album is echt pure chaos en ik ben best wel hier daarvoor. Merengue is juist weer een compleet spaans samba achtig nummer. Werkt het allemaal samen? Nee niet perse, het is een beetje alsof je je liked numbers op shuffle hebt gezet en constant van genre naar genre gegooid word. Het is mij wel een beetje onduidelijk wat Malcolm McLaren nou aan dit album heeft toegevoegd? Is hij de producer? Zingt hij op albums? Ik kan werkelijk niets vinden anders dan dat hij de muziek heeft samengesteld? Het zal wel. Het is in elk geval eens iets anders dan het 300e britpop album! Wat een insane album ahahha, ik kan hier best wel van genieten hoe het alle kanten op springt. Niet alle muziek is even goed, maar ik kan dit zo erg waarderen om het feit dat het echt iets nieuws is. Nog steeds 0 clue wat Malcolm hieraan heeft bijgedragen, maar goed, de muziek an sich klinkt vrolijk en dat is ook wat waard. Dit album is van de hiphop, naar de Afrikaanse muziek, naar de Latijn Amerikaanse muziek. Dit is nou echt een album wat ik nooit had geluisterd zonder deze lijst en waar ik deze lijst nou echt serieus voor neem. En ok, niet elk nummer slaagt, zeker niet, maar puur voor de verassing krijgt het van mij toch 4 sterren FAVO: Buffalo Gals, Double Dutch, Jive My Baby, Soweto, Duck for the Oyster

Weird but not in a good way. Not aggressively bad though.

Buffalo girls goes silly. The rest is silly

malcolm mclaren is a poseur

This shit was ass, but it was not the absolute worst thing I’ve ever heard. I didn’t enjoy any song on the album, but the closest that I came was on World’s Famous. I will never listen to this again.

There are some sick asf beats in here ngl but its brought down by a lot of weird additions and apparently those are the only things this guy added sooo

Didn't like it.

Interesting album. Felt like I was cruising around on a carribean island in an old jalopy

Throwback.

This was a weird listen. It’s a solid curation of African or Afro-inspired music with some hip hop radio interludes mixed in, and there’s not much else to it. After the first couple songs, I was left wondering how this was McLaren’s album and not a playlist or a DJ set. I did a little googling and found out that McLaren actually just threw all these samples together, slapped his vocals on top, and didn’t credit anyone. I don’t have much experience with the African genres presented here, and I’m hoping to with this 1001 albums project, but if that “Merengue” track is anything to go by, this album is disrespectful. Holy hell. The merengue sample in that song is washed out with reverb, the instrumentals are mixed and panned weirdly, and occasionally there’s some creepy synth strings added to it. And his vocals. Oh lord. They’re disgusting. The lyrics are cheesy at best, but his melodramatic gringo Spanish delivery just makes it outright gross. So I’ll go out on a limb here and assume that this treatment is consistent across all the Afro genres presented here, especially considering how his “rapping” on “Buffalo Gals” also kinda unnerved me. It’s a shame considering how apparently this album is what introduced a lot of Westerners to these genres. Trust me, it’s not this bad. I wish I knew what the original songs were though. They sound very nice. Fav tracks: The sampled songs in Buffalo Gals, Punk It Up, and Song for Chango

Sound track for shopping at 10,000 Villages.

Very different. World ish hip hop music. Lots of cuts and scratches came from this. Dunno how much relisten there is here

SO WEIRD but in the best way, had absolutely no idea what to expect, and this definitely wasn't it, but loved it.

Thought was going to be better,..

really cool and unique

No me ha interesado esta mezcla de Paul Simon con Hip Hop o lo que sea. No digo que sea malo, pero no me parece honrado. Prescindible.

I liked it!

Remote Malcom McLaren from this album and let everyone else cook. Also, a lot of those performers didn’t get any credit which is whack. I appreciate the use of African and Caribbean music tastes, but some of it comes off tone deaf and a bit offensive to me in 2023. I wasn’t into this one. Worse one yet for me 1. not at all what I was expecting. Odd instrumental drives by a keyboard or synthesizer? Nice drum beat. 2. What the fuck is this? Is he a DJ? Is my man rapping? I dig the samples and the radio cuts. This is not what I was expecting but I’m letting it breathe 3. The instrumental is great. I don’t know about the lyrics tho. The background singers are great tho 4. Why is he trying to sound Spanish. This is offensive 😂 the instrumental is fire tho. The radio interludes are a nice touch. Keeps a theme going 5. There’s nothing Punk about this track so what’s with the title. I think I’d like this more if Malcolm mcksren wasn’t singing 6. The use of African and Caribbean beats is all over. No shitty vocals on this track 7. No shitty vocals on this track 8. Another song from the Caribbean. This is only decent because of all the background folks. I hate everything about McLarens vocals and lyrics. He is very annoying. Remove him and I would actually dig this 9. I find most of the instrumentals on this very interesting are the least. Some I even like but I don’t love that most of the folks were uncredited 10. Same story here. 11. Love this instrumental 12. What in the square dance shit is this. This is the closer???

I'm not even sure how to rate this... feels like it's all over the place. The word that comes to mind is amusing. I don't love it, I don't hate it, I think I'm just sort of puzzled by it.

Fun little album. British hip-hop is funny, but I enjoyed it moderately.

It's very eclectic as an album. Well thought out too... A nice album from a guy that produced the New York Dolls and The Sex Pistols.

What?

Well, now, that was interesting, and unexpected. Also gave me a chance to read about Malcolm McLaren, who is quite a polymath.

Two things stand for this album by this relatively accidental artist: 1. Buffalo Girls 2. Double Dutch Other than that, the music did sound fresh at the time. I do, however, hate all the talk show like tracks; I don't know who was the one that started with this habit, but it's annoying.

I'm not really sure what I've just listened to. Unique is one of putting it. It was weirdly entertaining.

A pretty fun experiment if a bit dated as an experiment and a not so cohesive experience. I still think it’s a good record, especially given year.

This was an interesting mix of hip-hop and African music, with a touch of Latin flavor and, shockingly, some square dancing. Listened to it on YouTube and it played some of his other stuff once the album was finished, and it appears that combining different genres is McLaren's thing. He's done some funky reinterpretations of classical music, with his takes on Carmen and Blue Danube being the standouts. Might have to do some more exploration of his work.

I understand the significance of Buffalo Gals, but the rest of the album was all over the place. It was strangely part rap & part world. No cohesion.

Fine

WTF did I just listen to? I don't think I'll ever listen to it again on purpose, but I'm glad I took the time to listen to this album. I'd never heard of it or Malcolm McLaren before today.

Siger mig ikke noget.. Den ene stjerne for verdensmusikviben og Keith Haring.

это странный мировой компот, мало что отложилось, но забавно что я их за неделю до этого встретила в твиторе

very very very VERY strange record of stranger circumstance carried by the supreme team that arrives at strange and faux-exotic soundscapes in equal measure. at least ten years ahead of its time.

Wow, so this is where Eminem got the line "Two ____ girls go round the outside" The songs are a lot worse than that, but I can see the appeal I guess. This is like super early hip hop, and not in a good way. I can tell that this was super experimental for 1983, especially from someone who was apparently from the UK. This is kind of a 2 pack of ass. There are parts of songs that have good sections, but most of these songs are super disjointed and not in a good way. I really can't get into this. A high 2/5

I certainly really enjoyed a lot of this album. It does go on quite a strange path, though. A little bit of this and a little bit of that. I need to ponder it some more, but for now I will think of the parts I liked.

This album was pretty fun to listen to. Some different styles in there. Overall good, but it also didn’t really connect with me on all levels.

Delightfully entertaining variety of styles here. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I like some Malcolm McLaren. But this left my head scratching. The radio DJ interludes grated on my nerves. There were a few good songs, but after three listens (under duress the third time - I had the album on repeat while I was painting and didn’t want to wash my hands to stop it), I don’t want to hear this again.

this is so batshit. I always thought mclaren was just a bit of a shock jock attention creating manager who got publicity through cheap tricks, but it turns out he seems to give a shit about music and bringing a whole new sound over to the uk. it does seem a bit generous for him to put his own name on the album as he's clearly more of a curator than creator but he's done a decent job of mashing this together. I'd usually mark down for the skits, but i actually liked the shitty radio phone in.

A spikey haired young man once told me to eat his shorts and in a moment of pure rage I did just that. We had a 6 month long affair, which culminated in his death. I don't miss that little jerk.

👾

Almost everything on the album is comprised of kind of Afro-Caribbean sounds and influences that were clearly not created by McLaren. 40 years after its release, it just sounds like some massive cultural appropriation. I'm sure in 1983 it was revolutionary, but in historically British fashion, he stole a lot of shit from indigenous people elsewhere in the world and tried to make it his own. Musical colonization, that's what this is. Setting aside the fact that the music was clearly stolen from someone else's work, Double Dutch is a song that no white man should ever have sung. I don't care if it was the 80s, was this dude seriously calling people \"ebonettes\" while highlighting how different Black girls in NYC are from other girls jumping rope around the world? Racism at its finest, folks.

Interesting sounds. some latin sounds that are kind of cool. over all not my style. not sure whats up with the call-ins. very diverse styles in this album. some good, some not so good others in the middle.

The most interesting 3 I'll ever listen too. Was great to hear were alot of the original samples from some of my favorite rappers came from, I can see why they just selected parts of the song rather than the entire thing. Some of its okay, but I'll never want to listen to again

I enjoyed some of the music but the whole package was just bizarre. I also read that he initially didn't credit a lot of the musicians at all somehow and they had to sue him. Weird all round

More style than substance, which tracks for McLaren.

What a mess. I think the fact that ol' Malcolm calls himself an "impresario" and not a "musician" is telling. This album is just a jumbled mish-mash of musical concepts. Nothing really works and it never really comes together into anything coherent. Also, the wiki article states that this album "proved to be highly influential in bringing hip hop to a wider audience in the United Kingdom." The thought of this being anyone's introduction to hip hop makes me just SO. SAD. I'd flunk "Duck Rock" on principle but the actual musicianship isn't terrible and there are some fun concepts on display... even if they are poorly executed.

Liked the singles, the rest was a stretch.

It's kinda cool, kinda odd and very mixed. It's the musical equivalent of a charcuterie board of exotic and unusual meats. I don't think there's much here I'll take away from this but it was an interesting listen, and it's interesting to see that this helped introduce hip-hop to the UK. Additionally it's interesting to hear the origin of an Eminem lyric. But either way, this is a weird, fun and catchy album, but it still failed to fully hook me. Favourite: Legba

Ni Pies ni cabeza con el estilo.

This music is really fun and interesting and clearly had a big impact on music in the UK by introducing many people in the UK to hip hop in the 80s. However, it's a bit mad that it was just ok to blatantly appropriate an entire album of music and not even credit the musicians or make any changes to it to make it your own or bring any creativity. Kind of grim. Cool idea to bring music from the Mahotella Queens around the world but not if you're not going to credit them or even mention their names on the album... Weird. Soweto is a great tune but it doesn't belong to Malcolm.

This was confusing! I think I enjoyed it but was surprised it was mostly sampled music I guess. Generally quite fun and put me in a good mood

Nah, after reading Grace's review I looked into the album and yeah she's absolutely right. I think this is just some rich bloke who ripped off a load of stuff to make an album. I get what he was trying to do and there are positives to the music etc but he seems like a bit of a dick.

Thoroughly odd record

Didn’t like this or the radio show

Not my genre, but good!

Kind of a weird one. Couldn't really get into it, and all the skits get a bit grating after a while. Might be worth another try at some point

Dit is een ontdekking! Ik vind dit echt een superalbum. Het heeft met zijn Afrikaanse invloeden af en toe wat weg van Graceland Paul Simon, maar dan hiphop. Ook leuk om de originele nummers te horen waar zoveel samples vandaag komen.

The skits weren't great, but the rest of it just about makes up for it. Some great jams on here. Best track: Merengue

What a lovely unexpected surprise. Eclectic - perfect length, great tunes and I actual like the radio show inserts - frames the variety well. Who knew. One of the best and nicest discoveries of this exercise to me - at album 599.

Ni

Hip hop

A properly odd album that's difficult to rate. I think I must have heard Buffalo Girls before, and my wife described it as a "skipping song" that she knew from school. And there's that stuff on here. And then there's the rather lovely African inspired stuff as well that reminds me of the Bhundu Boys and other southern African music which seems to very rarely appear on this list. A shame that that stuff doesn't - although this is nice to hear McLaren not properly crediting the musicians from that part of the world that either inspired or contributed directly to this is shit. Ultimately I enjoyed the rhythms on most of this, but the "annoyance quotient" is just too high to make me want to listen again. And, anyway, I'd rather listen to the actual African stuff that inspired it.

That was one batshit insane PARTY! This is exactly the kind of stuff I came here for. Too crazy, I loved it.

I had a home-taped cassette of this in my late teens. I don't remember how this came about, other than I'm sure my brother introduced me to it. I listened to it a lot. It's a unique piece, interesting and fun, and was neat to revisit.

horrible

I know not what to expect. Strange album title and artwork. Leads in with some atmospheric, dreamy, and slightly dubby instrumental on Oblata, then flips into a radio-style intro to Buffalo Gals. Buffalo Gals is familiar as it appears to be something that J Dilla samples on Workinonit (great song). This album seems like a seminole work in splicing / sampling at the bleeding edge of rap. Digging the infusion of Latin and African instrumental work alongside classic hip-hop. So far no real standout tracks, but it has a good vibe unto itself. All around its a solid vibe album.. not really much to bring me back, per se, but I'm glad to have been exposed to it.

Was not expecting a serene soundscape to start this album. Oh it's hip hop. Oh it's world music. I really like most, if not all of the songs on the album. Unfortunately it doesn't really sound like an album to me. It feels more like a playlist. I guess that's what you'll get from travelling the world in one album. Definitely was grooving to a number of these songs

Well that sure was whacky. I am glad I listened to it but highly likely I will never play on of those songs again. The DJ radio show bit was hilarious. 2/5 for enjoyment but 4/5 for creativity.

WORLD MUSACK! This album was all over the place. Really liked some parts really hated other parts. Idk what to do I'm going 3.

5/5. Honestly a pretty rockin album. I have no idea what the genre is but it’s cool nonetheless. It has aged, with the use of “Female” constantly but the switch between radio and songs is really smooth. And the influences this album takes is numerous, from African to Indian to Jazz and Soul to Electronic sampling finishing it off with hip hop. A pretty cool experience. Best song: Double Dutch, Duck for the Oyster (mainly for the insanity that is this song)

I wanted to hate this album as I really don't particularly like McLaren as a human, but to be honest, some of this stuff is great. Obatala is an outstanding opener, Buffalo Girls and Double Dutch very good. I'm probably going to regret this, but I'm going to go a very very low 4 on this.

Great crazy act, scratch and Latino dance. Love it

Get skiva

Sid Vicious died for this

De va sickk

Wacky

This must have seemed pretty cutting edge when it came out, but I can’t get past McLaren’s cynical way of producing music. I think the prudent thing to do would be to learn more about the original music he took inspiration from, and go listen to that.

ganske ait egt

nice early hip-hop, chill vibes

It's kind of fun, though I have this constant sense of "what is going on?" It comes off more like a mix tape than a singular album, perhaps due to McLaren's role as more of a curator and from what I read, very limited musical ability. There's nothing inherently bad about what's going on here sonically but it does not get me very excited.

It's alright but to call it an album by Malcolm McLaren seems like a bit of a stretch.

This is wild. I don't know how much is sampling and how much is taking uncredited musicians work as-is and making a track though. Very interesting mashup and slice in time, for sure.

Perhaps not as ground-breaking as some people think; John Peel had been playing similar for a while, but important and influential nevertheless. And a great collection of songs to boot.

The Sex Pistol’s former manager goes way the fuck out there-and while the results may not always be listenable, they’re never boring. Yeehaw.

Not my sound.

I was going to say that this is some pretty bland pastiche . . . but then I read that it was recorded 40 years ago and holy fuck this was ahead of its time!

Hey duck...

I really liked this! Something different and fun.

That was…..interesting

Never new about this. And I love the shit out of it.

Awful, Malcolm Mclaren approriates without skill or class.

Interesting idea but ultimately not that great

Interesting. It ticked all the boxes for me: Varied, silly, a bit of jazz a bit of hip hop. It didn't quite hold it together in the execution though. I liked it a lot more than I thought I was going to.

Ah, Buffalo Gals "go round the outside", that's where Eminem got that line, good to know. This album is not what I was expecting at all, it's an interesting pick'n'mix of genres. While the Malcolm McLaren attribution is off-putting, I'm still glad I've listened to it, once.

40-year-old album. 3.5/5

Boyoyo boys bringin’ that South African groove! 2.75

There's talent here, but everything feels like "continued cultural appropriation from the British".

Have you ever been to a buffet where you didn't know what you were eating and just took little bits of everything to see if you would like it and found out that only a few mouthfuls were to your taste, yeah this was that.

Fuck Rock

Interesting

BL: never heard of Malcom McClaren before but seen that he had a lot of connections to the underground art rock scene, so will be interested to see how this one turns out. AL: i can appreciate what this was going for. But as I also do not like the sex pistols or the new york dolls, who he was responsible for a lot of their fame alongside westwood. This just felt like it was trying way too hard to say or do something, and in turn just ends up being too experimental - but not even in the way that it pushes boundaries, its just odd for the sake of being odd. I'm so happy I wasnt alive in the 70s and 80s because this wave of punk pseudointellectualism is absolutely mindnumbing and id be happy if i never had to think about it again. FT: "Buffalo gals" (the only one i found catchy) 1/5

Such a weird album. Very little of it anything to do with Malcolm Mclaren. And then the bits that are - his inability to sing is just the start of the problems

Weird. I was excited when I thought this was British hip hop and was quickly it in my place by what it quite frankly a deceptive description. Yes, there is some hip hop in there, however it is more than not a love letter to various styles from across the world! Gets a bit ‘samey’ after about four tracks but hey ho. A pleasant listen but not one I’ll be mad for buying.

I remember this coming out and at the time it never really interested me. The video for Double Dutch was kind of cool, but the world music influences left me cold. Having been semi-forced to listen to the entire album, it was actually kind of enjoyable. I found Malcom McLaren's voice a bit annoying and felt the whole thing would have been better if had stuck to producing, or coming up with ideas, or whatever he actually did on this album, leaving everything else to the professionals. Couldn't give a stuff about who got credited and who didn't, not an issue for me; some of these artists got a kickstart to their careers and a new audience for their music. The world music influences still leave me somewhat cold, steel drums and people chanting meaningless words, but overall it was pleasant enough. The "Punk it Up" track was the only time I felt mildly annoyed throughout my listen. Double Dutch raises the rating from 2 to 3 stars.

Bozo ass music. I want to shove this album in a locker and force it to do my homework. Oh, Eminem sampled this? Alright cool, guess that makes it worthy of being one of the 1001 albums you have to hear before you die. Thanks Robert Dimery.

got progressively worse as it went on

This album was very good because of its nationality and language and I found It very groovy

Had no idea that this even existed. Thanks for another eye opener 1001

What an interesting album. An odd collection of Caribbean, African and proto- hip-hop. I need to listen to this again. Oh and that's where Eminem got it from.

Surprisingly interesting one

Not quite sure what I listened to beyond a bit of cultural appropriation but hey, it was fun

This was an interesting listen. Not exactly what I expected, which made it better, in this case. It was fun and I enjoyed the radio bits. A high three. I liked a few of the songs, and it was nice to listen to, but I can't see myself coming back to it at the moment. My opinion of it may change over time though. My favourite songs were Double Dutch and Merengue.

This was an interesting album in, and of, the fact that it was a white British dude bringing rap/hip-hop to a wider audience. It is further complicated by the fact that he was a sketchy dude who was known for plagiarizing foreign artists. Regardless, If it wasn't for Duck Rock, we might not have Eminem's "Without Me"/

This was not good. Many drugs were presumably involved, but creativity did not flow in a positive direction as a result.

Yup, it's good

Well, this didn't sound aggravating, but it was a far cry from something I was able to enjoy. The genre mix seemed pretty contrived and the international influences seemed more like shallow representation than true ethnic music. That the South African musicians were apparently not credited correctly for their contributions fits the picture. As for the more familiar elements of hiphop and simple electronica - I'm not a fan of those styles anyway and they didn't seem particularly well done either.

I did not really enjoy listening to this. I appreciate the ambition, but music is hard enough without trying to cover all these genres. Feeling 2.5 but I’ll round up Buffalo Gals.

This is as much a Trevor Horn disc as a Malcolm McLaren disc. This is a pleasant mix of disparate styles from all over the world circa 1980. In addition to a then nascent hip-hop scene, there is country and western, afro-beat, all wrapped in an 80s Trevor Horn sheen. There is a novelty aspect to it, but it somehow works. Fun, but not great. We are looking for great on this list.

more of a historical relic about early hip hop than an album i'd ever listen to

It was definitely interesting, not interestingly good unfortunately. The entire album doesn't exactly feel cohesive jumping from (to my ears) genre to genre. I liked a couple of tracks like "Punk It Up", "Jive my baby". Would not relisten

Great cut up monster and given the publishing year absolutely astonishing. 3.6

Liked this a lot more than I thought I would A real melting pot of different sounds and cultures As an album it’s lack of cohesion means it’s more of a compilation though

First off, Trevor Horn deserves way more credit for the musical direction of this album. McLaren just discovered these artists but had no idea what to do with them or even pay them which is a crime. There's some good stuff on here but McLaren is a slime ball so I can't give it to high of a ranking. To think, Trevor Horn went from the Buggles, to Yes, to the manager of the Sex Pistols, back to Yes, to Frankie Goes to Hollywood then to Seal. Horn is a genius.

A great mixture of world music and funk. It makes me want to dance. There are some fantastic tunes there

Entiendo su inclusión, pero no hizo nada por mí.

Interesting stuff, it has aged pretty well.

pity zero stars aren't available

It's one of those albums where the story behind the scenes seems more interesting than the music itself. And I reckon that's why all those retrospective reviews keep on singling this one out, in spite of common sense. Rock critics love it when they have a story to tell for a review, don't they? But that doesn't necessarily mean the contents of the record they praise are *that* important. Here's the thing about Malcom McLaren: there's probably a good reason explaining why his first foray into the music business was being a manager and not being an actual musician. The man had good instincts, don't get me wrong, and this both in the business/promotion area and in the manner he chose his collaborators for this album. Yet as good as the future Art Of Noise collective Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley and J. J. Jeczalik are as producers/music writers, they can't save this record from the hodgepodge that it is at heart. There are two main issues preventing this LP to be an "essential" one. First, on a couple of pivotal tracks, there's the cheesy, dated imitations of a rap style that was in its infancy at the time--an imitation that has none of the cultural importance and social urgency you can still assign to those early attempts today (See Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster flash, etc.). And then, there's the lack of cohesion of this whole thing: fusing different "global" sounds into a single offering is a valuable idea. But when the execution sounds awkward overall decades later, it means that the concept was not enough. You need a real vision, cruelly lacking in this LP. If at least McLaren had brought something truly personal to that mix, maybe his project would have been worthwhile. But the point is that this project has no identity. Hence why it sounds a little shallow today. Under that light, accusations of cultural appropriation against what is only a very obscure release today make me smirk. If you say "Malcolm McLaren" to anyone interested in music history, 99% of them will reply: "Oh, yeah. The Sex Pistols manager". They won't reply: " Oh yeah. *Duck Rock*". So if ever McLaren appropriated other people's music for this... *thing*, it didn't bring him very far as an artist anyway. Well, sure, it *did* bring him money, especially since he "forgot" to give credits to some of the other artists he pillaged. But I guess that beef is settled for now. Or is it? Do we only have access to the tip of the iceberg here? Yep, that's a question that looms over the way you can "feel" about this record as well, even if that doesn't necessarily mean the music itself is bad... Speaking of which, I have to say that "Obatala" was an interesting ambient introduction for the LP, very dreamy, and that "Soweto" sounded quite uplifting, along with a few afro-beat or latin tracks here and there. Those good moments save this record from a 1/5 grade. Not so bad, all things considered: as I see it, a 2/5 grade for the purposes of this list means a 7/10 grade for more general purposes (5+2). Number of albums left to review: 579 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 201 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 97 Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 125 (including this one)

Rart, men gøy. Allikevel nok å høre det en gang

It's like if you took a GTA radio station and made it into an album

Weird little album. shout out eminem for taking some lyrics from this album

meh

This was a wild ride, felt like lots of different vibes. A good one and done album.

Interesting new at the time.

This album is kind of all over, but I get that he was influenced by basically everything so... I enjoyed it well enough, and found myself dancing a bit, but who doesn't dance to the Merengue?

Interesting cultural artefact, so I'll give it a 3 for that - but the best parts of this record were those he ripped off from African and other original musicians

I've never heard of Malcolm McLaren before. His name evokes a no nonsense League 2 football manager that favours a 4-4-2 with a big man/small man combo up top. However, it turns out that names (and appearances) can be deceptive. Malcolm McLaren is an innovative music, art and fashion impresario and has created a massively eclectic and influential album. It mixes hip hop, South American, African and Caribbean styles and is a lot of fun. Quite a bit was familiar. I think it may have been sampled by the likes of Eminem and Fatboy Slim. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: Punk It Up Date listened: 28/03/23

This feels very 80s, a good fun listen. Favourite is Double Dutch. Merengue piqued my interest as it uses the same sampled dialogue that another song I like also uses.

Ok, this was a very entertaining listen. Kinda questionable premise overall, but if you just give in and accept the colonialism then I find it fascinating that McLaren co-opted hip-hop, South African choral work, and _line dancing_, and blended them all together! 😆 There's a definite ambient sensibility in the way the tracks all flow together. Fave track - "Jive My Baby Jive" is a stomp. "Obatala" kinda prefigures vaporwave!

That was wild. It really felt like flipping through radio stations. It was a great use of the radio hosts between songs too. The variation between genres was cool too. 8.5/10

At times interesting, at other times messy, and felt more like a compilation.

World music, hip hop. Que lo baile que lo baile...

I can hear the influences in this 80s album. Not my fave, not my least fave.

Couldn’t make it through this one. I had an immediate negative reaction to the first song and pushed through a few more songs. It didn’t age well and wasn’t enjoyable.

I enjoyed this far more than I expected. It's Graceland, but if Paul Simon had gotten into hip hop. And couldn't sing for shit. I'll probably buy this now, it's that good.

I don’t purposely hate world music but I just do this is weird and yeah unique but rubbish 1/5.

MM, dodgy geezer, but had vision and a magpie like ability to capture and cannibalise the zeitgeist to thoroughly mix metaphors. Not heard this album all the way through before, but Buffalo Gals and Double Dutch have always been up there as two of my favourite tracks of all time. The Japanese inflected Obatala is a lovely start. Elements of hip hop, Country, Southern African music abound. Great stuff

What is it with these Baby Boomers thinking it was okay to just take music from black people and give themselves writing credits? Zeppelin essentially covering Willie Dixon, changing a lyric here and there and coming up with a new title and claiming it's their new song is pretty bad but McClaren and Horn using actual recordings of African recording artists and not even mentioning them is especially gross. If it wasn't for the chutzpah or hubris or straight up racism if this I'd probably give this four stars because it is a pretty important document. I've always felt that Zeppelin were just naive kids who thought they were paying tribute to their heroes, however misguided, short slighted and wrong that was. McClaren on the other hand was a business man, he knew what he was doing was exploitative.

It's just not for me. Experimental stuff by a dude that was mainly produced by another dude (Trevor Horn).

Well this album is all over the place, isn't it? It's an interesting mix of world and hip hop (especially in the outros for each song). I had to keep active listening to this album because I didn't know what to expect from each song

A wide range of musical styles and genre make for a strange, though interesting mix of music that is somehow associated with Malcolm McLaren? I've never taken anything seriously from Malcolm (Pistols, perfect example) and I found it a challenging listen, but if you listen to it without any pretenses or expectations, the music is fun and spirited.

This is like world music lite. Just a taste of all different cultures smushed together. I'd rather listen to the real thing but I appreciate it for being forward thinking among British/American peers. And that it has Keith Haring art.

Wasn’t really too much my thing, I could definitely see why people would like it though. I did like the opener though. Fav tracks, Obatala, double dutch

Nope.

Listened to this album while working quite focussed. Apart from the first song, I can't recall what was on the album, so it's not exceptional in a good or bad sense.

Listened to it but don't remember anything except the bit Eminem stole which is usually not a good sign

This was quite weird, not necessarily in a good way.

Was probably very influential/groundbreaking at the time but it's not for me...

After hearing the keyboards, I was not at all surprised to learn Trevor Horn and Thomas Dolby contributed to this album.

This is a really fun album. I've never heard of this one but really enjoyed it. Lots of upbeat songs with a unique theme and flow to the album. The interstitial radio-style talking and introductions give everything a really cohesive feel. I can definitely see the influence this album has had on modern music. Glad this one came up in my feed today. Standout Tracks: Obatala, Buffalo Gals, Double Dutch, Merengue, Punk It Up, Jive My Baby, Soweto

Ok

This was interesting and apparently a very important album.

Musik man blir glad av. Dock inte jättebra.

Not as bonkers as I thought it was going to be.

My first thought here was.... Surely not that Malcom McLaren. My second thought was holy shit, its that Malcom Mclaren. I'm finding it quite hard to put into words how I feel about this absolutely mental record, part hip hop, mostly world music made by the manager of the Sex Pistols. One thing its not is subtle which is kind of to its credit. But its all over the place and such a weird mix of stuff, surprisingly it actually sounds quite cohesive though. That being said I don't think I'll be in a rush to revisit this one.

I was somehow unaware that Malcolm McLaren had made any of his own music, especially a whole album called Duck Rock of all things. The cover art is perfection. The content is a great musical trip, some fun songs and some ridiculous songs. Not what I was expecting, except that Malcolm slapped his name on a bunch of stuff that wasn't actually his.

Wild! Very out there. But culturally significant apparently so I’m glad I checked it out.

You are kidding me

Fun fact: It seems that nobody likes world music until someone appropriates it for them.

It's a mixed bag. This album isn't sure of what it's trying to be. Is it new wave? African music? Synthpop? Sample-based hip hop? I can't even try to pin it down. I should clarify that there are plenty of albums out there where genres can merge and coexist very well. In the case of Duck Rock, the problem here is that there's no rhyme or reason to the genre choices. It's like emptying the refrigerator and hurling the contents at a wall and hoping some of it sticks. The last song is a particularly dated attempt on novelty country pop; it leaves a rather sour aftertaste.

Surprising great! To be honest I went into listening to this with a closed mind, "Rap!", I found myself really enjoying this.

Pretty groovy dub stuff.

It feels like listening to a radio station but the signals keep changing so most of the time you have no idea about what is going on.

This was a rather interesting album. I liked the creativity. 6/10

Not my favorite album the style wasn’t really me. Low 2

This is ok. 2.5

Obatala- 2 (???) Buffalo Gals- 4 (most of the song is nothing) Double Dutch- 3 El San Juanera- 1 (not even a song) Merengue- 7 (bias) Punk It Up- 4 Legba- 2 (so boring) Jive My Baby- 4 Song For Chango- 3 Soweto- 2 World's Famous- 7 Duck For The Oyster- 1 (...what is this) This album can be explained in three words. What. The. Fuck.

I mean... it's interesting... there's lots going on here. I'm not really on-board with this wild ride, but I appreciate it's out there somewhere and people are jamming with it.

Terrible

When HipHop was good. This album could be 5-stars based on it's clear influence on HipHop over the next 10 years alone. On the other hand it is quite silly.

This album was weird as hell I would give a 3.5 if I could

Some cool moments here and there, but otherwise unremarkable.

Well this is just loads of fun, especially when McLaren isn't speaking. You've got the Art of Noise, you've got Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens (massively not cool that they were uncredited - wtf), you've got Thomas Dolby, you've got the pirate DJs the Supreme Team all smooshed together by Trevor Horn and the gang. There's so much to love. Keith Haring cover art as well. It's so ubiquitously 80s, it's kind of wonderful. Even if McLaren comes across as one of the creepiest dudes ever, and most of this album is magpie-ing shit from everywhere - and although that is kind of the entire point, see above, pay those people! They made half the record pop. Also love happening upon another PWEI sample (end of Merengue = end of 88 Seconds...and still counting) Man From Delmonte stole the Makgona Tsohle Band sound (specifically on Water in My Eyes which I still love) and mixed it with Marr/Orange Juice guitar, and although no-one seems to have heard of them these days I still like them. This album sent me off on a journey of listening to all of the above over the course of the day. Therefore, inspirational.

Not for me. Self indulgent, privileged, superior.

Perhaps the first british "hip hop" record, showing a certain fascination with the music and culture without actually taking part in it. It's an outsider album if I ever heard one. It blends so many different genres and styles but it seems to firmly planted in a sampling-based music (not quite plunderphonics). Frankly, I'm more puzzled by this release. What is McLaren's point of bringing in African folk music and interspersing it with hip hop radio djs? And what about that closing song? God what a weird album.

Really oldschool hiphop, not my thing

Clearly MM half inched anythig that was good on the album, and it started really well but faded out. Of it's time, but intersting

Sounds reasonably fresh still, even though it's nearly 40 years old. Some good memories of my teenage years aswell. Not a life changing album, but fun.

Music and jams from the whole, wide World, mixed together with some electronic music and hip hop. Quite a positive and original album, with one great hit "Double Dutch". I will be definitely coming back to this song again and again. Otherwise, fun tracks, but nothing memorable, although I'll try again listening to the album in the future.

Enjoyed this one.

Interesting album that influenced a lot after it.

I feel like I don’t really get this album like there’s something to “get” that I’m missing it’s a fun album but I was kinda confused by why it sounds the weird way it does, idk might need some context to understand this 7/10

TWO BUFFALO GALS GO AROUND THE OUTSIDE, ROUND THE OUTSIDE, ROUND THE OUTSIDE

Loved it, wasn’t expecting it to be as interesting as it is.

I've never heard this one. It's great.

What in the hell was this. It was a mix of Merengue, West African-style music, hip hop, etc. It was all over the place and each song was a surprise, and not a particularly good one. Just not good. 3/10.

helvete vad knepigt det här var då. massa inklippta dialoger och grejer. nehedu

Spretigt!

What a weird album. Genres jump between each other so much that it feels like listening to someone's entire music selection on shuffle. The strange thing is that it actually works, since the musical whiplash at least keeps the record from being monotonous. However, that also makes it harder to take this album seriously as a piece of music. It sounds like a novelty album more than anything, something that you listen to once and then never think about again. Well, it was an interesting listen at least. Standout tracks are Buffalo Gals, Punk It Up, and World Famous.

A conceptual piece as much as a recording of music, Duck Rock represents Malcolm McLaren's insistence that he was at least as much a creative drive as the bands he (mis)managed, and that the ideas behind the music were usually far more important than the music itself. So yes, very meta. I should explain a bit of history as to the genesis of this album, or, if you will, what Malcolm did after what Malcolm did next. The Sex Pistols' film, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, sought to present McLaren as the great Svengali not so much managing a band as forming a sculpture from living people, his campaign of cynical bad taste revealing the hypocrisy of the industries in which he traded. But before its release, John Lydon had quit the band onstage, sick of, amongst other things, the attempts at manipulation by the manager. Later, Steve Jones and Paul Cook had wised up to McLaren and walked out themselves, leaving Sid Vicious to his nihilistic death-spiral. With the Sex Pistols defunct and McLaren having lost control even of the aspects that were legitimately his, he retreated to his beloved Paris to score softcore pornography with African music. Whilst there, he developed two very dubious ideas. The first was to form a new band, but this time with people more easily manipulated. The second was to continue the aesthetic of shock and bad taste, but this time based on underage sex. To combine these two ideas in a really, really grim fashion, he founded the band Bow Wow Wow with a 14-year-old singer, Annabella Lwin (he was also managing Adam Ant around this time, and the rest of Bow Wow Wow came from former Ants). In McLaren's ambition, Bow Wow Wow were to represent both a bitten thumb against the gloom of PiL, Joy Division and their ilk, with a return to bubblegum pop infused with African polyrhythms (stick a pin in that for later), and also an overt statement that pop surreptitiously trafficked in imagery of sexualised children (think Britney Spears in the Baby One More Time video, an example McLaren would certainly have proposed himself). That is, McLaren saw himself as merely saying the quiet part loud. You may think, with real justification, that McLaren had already crossed several lines with this use of paedophilic conceits, but he stomped ever further onwards. At one point he ordered the band to take Lwin's virginity in order to make her more compliant (they did not), he had the band recreate Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe for an album cover, which involved Lwin stripping naked, and he talked about founding a magazine which would serve as a Playboy for children, to be called Playkids and later Chicken. Despite all this, Bow Wow Wow never quite became a succès de scandale like the Pistols, and so McLaren became bored of the group. Believing that Lwin was inadequate as a spokesperson for his schemes, he decided to forgo the chores of managing a band and make an album of his own. One point to note about McLaren's work is his skittishness, his tendency to fire out ideas continually without developing them further. This often resulted in half-baked takes mashed together, as McLaren would flit from pirate clothing to Appalachian square dancing. Duck Rock was originally conceived to exploit McLaren's grasshopper nature by incorporating the multitude of ideas that appealed to McLaren at that time, such as Cuban rhythms, Cajun, Soweto, scratching, hobo iconography, skipping, and Puccini (the working title was Folk Dances of the World). Crucially, McLaren enlisted the then-hottest producer in pop, Trevor Horn. On paper, the two men should have found each other detestable: McLaren saw the pop Horn specialised in as safe and passionless, whereas Horn had always thought Never Mind the Bollocks was all artifice, a studio creation by the producer with no authenticity whatsoever. However, both charmed each other and were genuinely engaged by each other's ideas and suggestions. McLaren and Horn wanted to travel the world recording, well, world music, but slim finances meant that they had to make do with just South Africa and (thankfully for the project, highly multicultural) New York. This focus (well, as much focus as you could say a project of this nature could have) begat the hip-hop/world music fusion we have here. What is McLaren's role in this album? A legitimate question. It's oft tricky to discern what McLaren's impact on a song is. McLaren was in no way a musician, and was so rhythmless that Trevor Horn resorted to beating out the rhythms on McLaren's chest as he sang. Indeed, a more accurate accreditation may well have Horn's name alongside McLaren on the cover. Horn found that McLaren's lack of expertise (or even competence) enabled Horn to indulge himself in seeing what the studio could do. In fact, the whole album can be considered an indulgence. McLaren's compulsive flicking between whatever ideas he fancied at that instant is indulgent. Attempting to weld together musical traditions of several cultures separated by continents is indulgent (also, there's a slight, sour resonance between McLaren's use of African music and how European scholars used to label African art as "primitive art"). Asserting that the music is the least important part to your record is indulgent. Believing that the youth of the world would turn your way when you click your fingers is indulgent. A critical person would say it's also delusional. But aside from that, Duck Rock, as much as it is a conceptual piece, is also a recording of music. And as that, separated from McLaren's artsy shenanigans, it's rather good. Remember that indulgence usually brings pleasure, if the occasional stomach-ache. The attempt to swipe music from all around the world does make the album feel vast and ardent. Employing then-nascent hip-hop techniques does feel visionary. Seeking a music beyond the battered stencils of rock and pop does feel laudible. Of course, the attempts to innovate in 1983 inevitably leads occasional moments to sound passé in 2022, so Duck Rock settles at 4 stars. Maybe 20 years down the line, the dissipation of time will make Duck Rock sound as alive as a teenager, but maybe not. I'm not Nate Silver, am I? NoRadio, signing off.

Certainly never would've guessed that this guy was British. Obatala and Legba were pretty great. For some reason the tracks with vocals were all underwhelming for me.

Having skipped out on this for two weeks - life generally having got on top of me - I come back to this after being recommended the absolutely dismal Urban Hymns by The Verve. Well. Is this seriously from 1982? Like seriously? And from the former manager of The New York Dolls and The Sex Pistols? Wow. This album is piggin' great. It comes at you from every direction - hip hop, hodown, electronic, African - it's all over the shop, yet still completely coherent and cohesive. I'm genuinely impressed.

Hell no

Started out just sort of meh for me and then I feel like it got progressively weirder, and not in a good way.

Weird stuff, man.

Nope.

Kinda kitschy, but the grooves, tunes and especially bass lines are worth almost every minute. I enjoyed it despite my dim expectations. (prior listen)

Little too eclectic for me - didn't seem to have a thought out theme

Malcolm McLaren doesn’t add a whole lot. Most of what’s worthwhile here is better appreciated from the original sources. Hip-hop is a very misleading description for what this is—mostly a compilation of music stolen from different African musicians.

- Weird proto-rap - The fact this album came out as early as it did is incredible, and gives it an extra * for me - Fav songs: Buffalo Gals, Double Dutch

This is a wonderful album.

Not as whacky or obnoxious as I expected, quite holiday vibez actually. The original round the outside, round the outside!

What the hell was that? Certainly not a traditional album but I couldn't not like it

This was such a unique album i didn’t know what to expect. Each song was different than the next.

Really an interesting album. Pretty eclectic blend of genres including hip-hop, world music, and avant-garde sampling. Very ahead of its time for 1983. Pretty fun listen.

This album was one of my gateways into hip hop. A classic, with a star-studded cast. This listen through I found the eclectic nature of the various styles a little jarring in places, but it sounded revolutionary at the time. I’d give this 5 stars just for the joyous bounce of Double Dutch, but this is still a great listen and a hugely influential album.

There's so much more to this album than simply Buffalo Gals and a song about skipping. It's rich in styles, piecing together different cultures and seeing where it takes you. Yep, Malcolm was the great magpie. A musical thief who lifted other ideas for his own benefit. But he had the vision to look a little further afield whilst others stayed at home. I had no idea Thomas Dolby was involved in this. The best album artwork ever?

Ooh boy this was a mixed bag. At times I couldn’t stand this, but some tracks were pretty good. Nothing was a knock out.

Really not my jam

Jaren '90 hip-hop, maar nummers als "Double Dutch" doen me dan weer aan Paul Simon denken. Interessant album met heel diverse muziekstijlen. ***

Recognized several jams but it was a hard listen

This shit is nuts. Love it

Exactly what I’m looking for an in album and exactly what I hope for Every single day when I load up this website. Thanks.

Sound like a lot of samples and a little early rap

Two buffalo girls gets two stars

Un peu all over the place

Merengue is a really strong track. but oh my god the rest is so incoherent. i like good plunderphonics and this is not an example of that. Duck for the oyster is one of the worst songs I've had to hear this year. 3/10

Weird time

Influential in its day for bringing hip hop to a wider audience in the UK. Today it feels like a very strange mix but then Mr McLaren never did worry about convention

Duck Rock was surprisingly interesting, sounds very much more 90s than 80s and more American than it is. Double Dutch is a cracker of a track, the rest is solid-to-good, 3/5 please.

Now this I enjoyed much more than I expected. Had heard of McLaren because of the Sex Pistols and Vivienne Westwood stuff, but didn't know that he'd released anything under his own name. Not sure how much of this is actually him, but it's a bizarre mix of sounds and styles that fits together pretty well and is a really fun listen. The radio presenter schtick is a nice touch the first time, but it gets a bit wearing after 40 minutes... Does not sound British at all, he's borrowed sounds from everywhere (sometimes without crediting the people he's borrowed from). 3/5, it's really fun.

Not my style, would not listen again

Super eclectic. Some hip-hoppy, some almost mariachi, some more punky. Definitely a good ride

Duck rock Cool album cover. I liked a lot of the music, it was kind of all over the place. Felt like an eclectic radio show ( I liked that it had the team supreme radio show bits tying it together and the weird square dancing lyrics throughout). I wonder how much of a role musically McClaren played (curator? Producer? Singer?). I saw it said on Wikipedia the boyoyo boys were uncredited for “double Dutch”. It sounds similar to the boyoyo boys tune that Paul Simon wrote “gumboots” to. I hope everyone involved got their dues- is he just singing over other peoples songs and adding some keys/ synths- like what is going on on “Merengue” did he just add that vocal and name it Merengue?? I liked punk it up I’d be curious to learn more about this album, how it was made, cultural context etc.

Nothing memorable about this album to me. Also apparently the “songwriter” got sued for not giving credit to the actual songwriters and musicians. Lame.

I wasn’t insulted by this but that’s all I can say.

Felt like I was listening to alien trying to emulate earth music but not in a negative way

interesting. I thought I was going to hate it but it was ok

In early 1983, I was crazy about breakdancing. The only thing left in life (having satisfied my parents by being admitted to the most selective * secondary school in Nigeria **) was to become a professional breakdancer. To throw shapes. To have the MC hail me by name (what happened to MCs, actually?). To be an associate member of the Rock Steady Crew (and for a while, in a ghoulish extension of the rumour that Crazy Legs had broken his neck doing a headspin, a full member.) Anyways, all I did all day was to to watch pre-MTV videos incorporating breakdancing in one form or another. Bits of Herbie Hancock's 'Rokit'. MJ backsliding in 'Billie Jean'. Kraftwerk's 'Tour de France'. (Tour de France's video, as far as I recall, does not have any breakdancing. But there was an alternative clip that they showed on telly sometimes, that scene from Breakin', Shrimp with the broom. It moved me to tears every time. Tears of rage and frustration, mind; he was so good, I was so...not.) And Malcolm MacLaren and his All-Stars' 'Buffalo Gals'. MacLaren was a thieving magpie. But (and I'm not sure whether this is to his credit or not), he never denied it. And (and this is to his credit) he was usually very curious, and thus creative w/r/t what he was thieving and repositioning. In '83, this song was kind of like Gaga's Let's Dance 25 years on. Dazzled by the video, I never really considered the song on its merits at the time. But unlike the song that launched a thousand to the power of a thousand Little Monsters, 'Buffalo Gals' is actually good. Very good. As too is Duck Rock. It's belongs to a narrow and narrowing school of inquisitive pop, made by people who have large egos, great memories, and enough bluster about them to get crazy great things funded and made. (Damon Alburn is another example. And to be clear, this is intended as the highest praise possible). * At the time. Also depends on how you define the word "selective" ** I thought I had satisfied my parents. [Hollow/bitter laugh]

just interesting as fuck😂

Early african / hip hop integration - a punk / hip hop Graceland - a pleasant discovery

This is a really odd mix… not very cohesive but full of some great eclectic bangers. Can see how this was considered extremely influential!

Much better than I had imagined

Some good beats but weird wedding DJ shoutouts

Funny album. Quite hard to decide if I like it or not but it's fairly pleasant to listen to.

Sounds like the Disney version of works music, but I feel better towards it

Punk it up, jive my baby, duck for the oyster are personal highlights, quite a fun album, sounds very dated

Another "refreshingly ahead of it's time" LP. Good to hear the influential mix of hip hop, sampling, afro beats, but I'm not going to listen again.

This album is ridiculous. Basically just makes a mediocre song from many genres

I’m glad this helped to bring hip-hop to Britain, especially as early as 1983, and a lot of the songs are catchy to be sure, but I simply cannot like this album because Malcom is such an awful person. Some people say he’s a genius- he’s a genius alright, he was genius enough to realize he had no talent himself so he stole the talents of others and put his name on it. First it was the Sex Pistols, now it’s black artists. While listening to this album, the whole time I’m thinking “who did he steal this from” and that we should just be listening to the original albums instead. I recognize that all music is essentially stolen, but it’s important to give the influences their due. McLaren had no intention of ever doing that.

What a unique album. Strange blend of hip-hop and some pseudo-Calypso/tribal? Then it basically ended with a hoedown... I just don't know what to make of it. Would definitely listen again.

wack sound

A record from 1983 that sounds like it sampled every hip hop album since 1990. Then it has some caribbean vibes and African influence to boot. What a wild ride.

Jeez this album sucks, I was gonna give it 2/5 but the last track reminded me of why this album sucks. It makes me gag.

Very little joy with this one.

Literally no idea what I listened to

Maybe it’s Cuase I was working but was not a fan

When I first heard the 2 singles from the the 80s I thought it was a bit of a gimmick. . In retrospect it is way ahead of its time transposing Soweto rhythms with hip hop and Art of Noise dynamics. A solid 4 for its sheer exuberance. (And i usually hate 80s albums)

Never heard of them before. I liked it.

What a wild mix of genres…. Buffalo Gals is classic.

What a delightfully wacky record... loved it.

This was very interesting! I listened to this while running errands in my car, over the span of two days. It was fun and engaging to have on. This isn't the type of thing I normally listen to but I enjoyed it. It was so musically dense, I feel like I need to listen to it again at least once.

cool

Weird that this was mainly nerdy white Brits introducing me to this music way back then. Listening back now it's well produced, clean, marshmallowy and very 80's. Still, it's pretty good and certainly made a splash in 1983. It's a corny, catchy collection stolen from other continents and is a one-off oddity of Hip Hop, Latin and African beats. This chart captures moments like this. It's a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 just to irritate the baby chick zoomers who give this one star.