Duck Rock

Eh interesting

All that scratching is making me itch

"Duck Rock" is an album from impresario (love that word) Malcolm McLaren. He is credited as a singer and figure caller though. This album mixes styles from South Africa, South and Central America, the Caribbean and the US (hip hop, country). The musicians included Trevor Horn (beats, mixing), Anne Dudley (keyboards, strings), J.J. Jeczalik (synthesizers) and Thomas Dolby (keyboards). Horn, Dudley and Jeczalik were recording The Art of Noises' first album "Into Battle with the "Art of Noise" at the time in a side studio and you hear a lot of what I would call Art of Noice music throughout. Also, The World's Famous Supreme Team, rappers/DJ's Sedivine the Mastermind and Just Allah the Superstar, contribute in songs and between songs. Somehow uncredited but just as important is the South African group Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. The songs they are involved in are some of the best on the album. This album was very influential in world music and hip hop. It is a great album, tons of fun. Every song changes style to some extent but flows throughout very nicely. The first single and biggest song on the album is "Buffalo Gals" which has rapping, scratching, back-up female singers and a rapper calling a square dance. Sampled and influential in the future to/by Neneh Cherry and Eminem. "Double Dutch, the third single, has South African beats, Malcolm McLaren doing the singing/calling and Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens supplying the back-up singing. This song would not sound out of place on Paul Simon's "Graceland." Speaking of Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, they take the lead on the second single and my favorite song on the album, "Soweto." This is a very happy-sounding song. It is South African in style but I thought I heard a Caribbean vibe. Just an incredible chorus going by the Mahotella Queens. And how can I not mention the last single, "Duck for the Oyster," in which McLaren is calling a square dance and it sounds like it belongs on a chipmunks album. This is a totally ridiculous song yet I loved it. Do-si-do anyone? This was a blast. I had no idea what I was in for. The hip hop, world music and country-tinged music all combined perfectly fine.

13th July 2022 Listened while in the office. Had book club in Hyde park in the evening. Actually really enjoyed this, it was like leaving some random radio on for an hour. Great fun.

I really liked this album, the concept worked really well, and the transition between american radio DJ conversations and music from many different genres was cool. This album reminded me of 'Songs for the Deaf', probably just because of the radio chatter between songs. Last song was a weird one (Duck for the Oyster), a weird squaredancing jaunt. The weirdest thing though was the constant reference to callers into the show as 'female', lol there are so many better words to use!

Enjoyed this kind of all over the place. Buffalo Gals is so recognizable because of all the samples in hip hop and rock Fave tracks: “Jive My Baby” “Buffalo Gals”

Broad spectrum of genres crammed onto a single album. Somehow works

I've told anyone who cares to listen that my favourite genre is Soweto music from the 80s / 90s. As such, this album had me excited and clicking around to find some ZAR tunes to intersperse with the songs on Malcom's LP. I also learned the proper name of the genre I like is mbaqanga. I'll forget that by tomorrow. Wiki says he didn't give credit to Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens for vocals. It's more than just vocals isn't it?  It sure sounds like Mahathini's lead guitarist Max Mankwane's licks on Double Dutch.  (Listen to Gazette by Mahlathini and you'll see what I mean.) I suppose David Birch, the only guitar player credited, could have played this style of guitar. He lived in South Africa and was John Lennon's cousin so he has the resume / lineage to have studied and learned the style. A moderate amount of rapping comes out to play on World Famous and is well received.  To close,  Duck for the Oyster brings out the fiddle and gets the ole barn floor  rockin. Finally, the faux radio show clips are kinda fun. This was bizarre but it's my kind of bizarre.

I was thinking as I listened to one of the songs, this sounds a lot like Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. And of course, it was. At times, this seems like a collection of African Music vs a MM LP, yet he doesn't credit the original musicians. If you were to compare this to efforts we received by Byrne/Eno or Moby, (who do credit the original artists) they used only snippets of the original material, completely transformed them so that the accompanying instrumentals could stand on their own. MM doesn’t do much to the original tracks and his actual “original" compositions sound like square dances.

I was really happy to see this record appear on this list because it was such a huge influence on developing my musical tastes, I particularly love the ambient/tribal sounds of Obatala and Legba. This was made years before Paul Simon (similarly stole from South African musicians) but I won’t go there. This is also worlds away from the Sex Pistols and it is one of the groundbreaking records that ushered in hip hop, even though the scratching and lyrics are pretty dated. McLaren gets an extra point for recruiting some top shelf talent - Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley, and JJ Jeczalik who would go on to form the 80s seminal group, The Art of Noise, and also notable pop culture artist Keith Haring for the album cover.

1.75

The Svengali of the Pistols and British punk goes solo. First time of listening to this and certainly surprised at the content. Starts with the Vangelis-esque "Obatala" which is a bit of an earworm to be honest, slowburn and quite ethereal really. Surprising start. "Buffalo Girls" much more recognisable, Malc jumping on the Hip Hop bandwagon before it went mainstream. Linked of course to the next track "Double Dutch" which where the most popular singles from the albums.

V enjoyable! Would be a great album to pop on at a party. Just fun and unexpected.

3 1/2

I really enjoyed this album. It's a shame it's credited to Malcolm McLaren given that he did fuck all, isn't a musician, and is a bell end.

Can’t work it out. I kinda really admire it and it’s properly uplifting but I just can’t ever imagine choosing to listen to it again. It’s the exact reason why I thought Id do this though as have never come across it previously!

Not particularly entertaining. I'd rather hear an album performed by ducks, a concept album about ducks or maybe the sounds of ducks being hit with rocks before going back to this again. It wasn't particularly long, but its runtime felt double what it actually is. I just don't see why I should give a damn about this. There's so much better that could be on this list instead.

It’s a bit like an art installation rather than a bunch of songs, which makes sense - but I didn't expect this from the mentor of the Sex Pistols.

Une radio libre très drôle et animée. Difool nous accompagne de 21h à minuit sans qu'on ne voie le temps passer. Les différentes parties de la soirée sont toutes aussi divertissantes les unes que les autres : Romano et Cédric nous offre d'abord un hilarant clash de la drague avant que Romano ne monopolise l'antenne pour son célèbre top bug. Il enchaînera avec le problème du mois tandis que la Marie nous parlera du pénis en forme de robinet de son compagnon. En bref, un excellent moment.

Je n'ai rien compris au concept de cet album. Dans un premier temps, un auditeur vient nous raconter un problème sentimental l'opposant à sa camarade de classe, afin de rechercher des conseils sur comment gérer cette situation. Dans un second temps, la Marie nous raconte la fois où complétement émechée, elle s'est endormie sur son partenaire sexuel de l'époque. Enfin, le Top Bugs de Romano nous est présenté sur la fin de l'album, provoquant une floppée de rire au sein de la radio libre. Vous comprennez maintenant qu'il me fût difficile d'y voir clair, dans le doute j'accorde donc la note de 3/5 pour être sûr de ne pas me tromper.

This was an interesting listen but can't say I'd listen to it again.

An interesting contemporary/world music album that put together a whole bunch of sounds and evoked a feeling of whimsy. Not a favourite, but could potentially have a couple of tracks on as background music. Best: Merengue Worst: Duck for the Oyster

Pretty much what you’d expect from 80s Malcolm McLaren. He led the way on many ways, but his own offerings were never as good as the work of others he produced. It’s an ok album to have on in the background, but doesn’t grab your attention in any way.

E ovo je iznenađenje - nekako svjetska glazba, a da mi se sviđa. Dakle ide pod albume što zvuče kao radijska postaja, kao da je radijski album. Najmanje mi se sviđaju hip hop elementi, ali zato je ostatak dobar - ali nije dovoljno za četiri jer je dosta uzjeban, ne znam šta pokušava album biti po vrsti.

A bit different with some world music and hip hop but not for me I wouldn’t listen again

Skrýtið og skemmtilegt. 11 ára ég var boppandi eins og ég veit ekki hvað.

This was tough to listen to, gave it 2 stars cause I did save one song off it

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.

who else wants to eat mushrooms and stay up until 1985 to catch the 4am show?

This was too off-putting for me.

Bit o' this, bit o' that.

All over the place some of it liked some I wasn't so fond of but this was definitely a ride.

avant-garde early hip-hop? hip-hop to play for your parents? i don't know what genre this album is. i like it though.

Didn't feel it.

Love a good production showcase

Really wanted to like this because the title is exceptional but sadly, for the most part, I really didn't.

Un album de plein de genre qui est pas pire. Cependant jen ai assez. 3.10

I don't think album is made for me. I don't super like all the sounds on it. I think it's interesting to hear buffalo gals, and now to have some frame of reference for where the trailer park girls go round me outside on without me comes from. Pretty funny. But yeah, this shit feels like a Musical Safari.

This album contains music from South Africa, North, Central, & South America, and the Caribbean, all compiled together with an underlying hip-hop vibe by Malcolm McLaren. This album is credited as bringing hip-hop music to a wider audience in the UK. It is a great collection of world music mixed with hip-hop, released during the early years of that music genre. I didn't really care for any of the songs, but overall the music was interesting. I believe that if I was from the Caribbean, South America, or South Africa then I would like this album a lot more.

Really liked it. Good for late-night listening.

Sounded like zydeco. Didn’t grab me

1st one has a nice drum beat but annoying that same word repeated over and over. 2nd all over the place musically lot of sampling. I wasn't expecting a rap album if that what this is? 3rd song. Just sounds like a bunch of random stuff was sampled together. Not enjoying the vibe of this at all. Early 80s hip hop that just doesn't sound like its a serious composition.

Ehh… this one was weird. A bit everywhere. The problem with a lot of the songs is they’re just a bit… annoying. I imagine the spoken sections don’t age well through multiple listens. There’s some nice instrumentation but I’m not gonna sit through one of these songs for it. I had to ask myself if this was some kind of satire at one point. The two nicest tracks are, consequently, the instrumental tracks. Gonna give this an extra .5 stars for em, as they’re generally pleasant. This isn’t my worst two stars, but it’s gonna be a 2.5 from me

This is pure garbage

I don't like it.

Corny but interesting.

No thank you

N sei o q dizer kkkk sério

I know this came out before it but this is just a worse version of Graceland with some dodgy rapping thrown in for good measure.

Silly.

1001 Albums Generator Day 8 Firstly, Keith Haring painted the pink background of the sleeve, and yesterday marked 32 years since he died. He was just 31. If you only have a few minutes to spare, don't read my waffle, go and look at some of his work instead. Duck Rock makes me think of Malcolm McLaren as a rock ‘n’ roll fan who was slightly too young for the first wave. It was the era before pirate stations, when radio meant The Light Programme, so it would have been big brother music. It wasn't until he was 18 that Radio Caroline and Radio London started up, and I can only imagine how exciting that was. Perhaps as a teenager he shared singles with friends, and went to pubs that turned a blind eye to hear local bands who’d got hold of an import no-one else had to cover in their set. By the time of the British Invasion, maybe there was a new confidence among British pop fans that they too could innovate and take the lead but, even for The Beatles, there was nowhere more fascinating than America. When Malcolm visited New York and saw first-hand that pop was being reborn he wouldn’t have wanted to miss out again. With the samples of the World’s Famous Supreme Team woven through the music, Duck Rock captures some of the excitement at the beginning of the rap era with the feel of a lovingly compiled mixtape. The blend of diverse traditions – funk, mbaqanga, toasting etc – unpicks some of the threads of the culture McLaren was exploring. The addition of merengue, square dance and his own fake American accent emphasises the sense of an outsider looking in, trying to take in the whole city at once, and understanding hip-hop as a folk-dance culture while trying out something that could easily have sounded as corny as H-E-double-hockey-sticks. The mix of a white country tradition with Black South African music reminds me of the blend of televangelists’ frenzy and west African funk on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, but with a less anthropological and more playful feel. Of course, McLaren was always a provocateur, and for him the appeal of piracy was in the romance of rebellion and the celebration of theft. Never being in an underdog role, that pretty much always led him to some degree of exploitation. His advocacy of home taping through Bow Wow Wow is defensible; his ideas about “noble savages,” treatment of Anabella Lwin and the abandoned Chicken magazine much less so. Duck Rock brings up some huge issues with ownership and authorship in the emerging “world music” market which were already present in folk and blues and continue to be discussed with regards to hip-hop today. There’s also the question of how much McLaren had to do with this record musically. Vocals aside, I imagine him as the forerunner to Paul Morley in the Art of Noise, suggesting the concept, sitting in the studio chatting excitedly with Trevor Horn about their favourite records and then letting him get on with it. For a record made by a super-producer team, it has the feel of something a friend made for you by hovering over the pause button, and perhaps that’s where McLaren earned the credit he is due.

its a bunch of 80-90 hip hop beats 2.5

A truly unusual album, with a mix of genres. Great fun.

It's not bad but there is no way I could possibly take this seriously.

Up until this album the only hip hop I had heard Rapture by Blondie and a few Sugarhill and Furious Five tracks. OK I was not quite 10 but for this lanky carnival barker who was told was someone important, it was time to give this genre a listen. It was also my first introduction to so called world music as well, years before Paul Simon colonised the genre. Having said that, I am taking a star off for McLaren and Trevor Horn's failure to credit Boyoyo Boys or Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. Anyway great album, essential really because of the fact that the same guy who a few years earlier was marketing Punk bought Hip Hop to a wider appeal. I was lucky to pick this up on vinyl a few years ago so am pretty happy with that

Not great

real melting pot - kudos to it, but i'm unlikely to go much deeper on it

Almost feels like a parody of international radio. This album is like listening to GTA World Radio where the DJ talks over the entire song with nonsensical hype. I like the world music itself, but I'm not sure how to listen to this. Messes with my ADHD.

Not a fan of music like this, but I enjoyed the sounds!

Quirky & a bit patchy - the singles were great.

Wasn't too sure about this at first but it turned out to be a solid fun album. Once it got going it reminded me a lot of street festivals/carnivals I had been to in my youth with all the exhilaration of the communal party atmosphere that they had. Really didn't like that last song 'Duck for the Oyster' but the rest of the album I would happily listen to again.

Buffalo Gals is obviously catchy, and Double Dutch was a cool jam. Jive My Baby got me feeling the sunshine. But I can't listen to a whole album of this stuff. Especially all the "radio program call in" gimmicks, that got old fast.

Issues with cultural appropriation aside, ‘Duck Rock’ is that strange blend of hip hop, Latin, South African and Caribbean rhythms, silly Malcolm McLaren lyrics, Bronx DJ radio show snippets, and square-dancing music you never knew you needed in your life until now.

Colorful

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.

Okay, so - fine. Early 80s hip-hop with a little island vibe - I can dig it. Hearing the source of Eminem's "two trailor park girls" hook was cool. But, overall - whatever. This isn't really my genre, but - even so - it certainly doesn't measure up to Grandmaster Flash and those who (imho) really popularized the genre.

not my cup of tea

Not really for me, but gotta give em a point for combining styles

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

A couple of catchy tunes I'll save to my Playlist but other than that, he's more of a footnote than a musical milestone.

Vast van een genialiteit waar ik geen weet van heb.

Dit begon nog best aardig, maar het einde niet kunnen halen. Klonk wel als een album waarvan veel gesampled is en een grote invloed was voor velen.

Teveel een carnaval voor mij.

Als ik DJs tussen de muziek door wil horen praten en over de telefoon met luisteraars suffe dingen wil horen bespreken, dan zet ik Q-music of 538 wel aan. Maar dat doe ik nooit want ik heb daar een hekel aan.

Ik heb zelfs getwijfeld over vier sterren 😱. Er zitten echt een paar erg leuke nummers tussen. Hoera voor energieke, vrolijke muziek in donkere tijden!

Loooooved it. In my top 5 so far

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

This one's a bit of a mystery. I knew Malcolm McLaren's name as a promoter/manager (e.g. Sex Pistols, Bow Wow Wow) - was totally unaware he released music? I had to read about this one as to what makes it worthy of *the list* - "bringing hip-hop to a wider audience in the UK" is one, which ... ok, decent reason but maybe I had to be there. There's definitely a strong African-beat influence and perhaps is/was an early blending of music genres; not hard to hear that. Unfortunately to me a lot of it ends up sounding like giant sample patches for the first Korg keyboard I bought. Or mid80s Sesame Street music. It's not bad. Just not much in the way of songs and doesn't really hold up for me - kinda boring and not very memorable. 3/10 2 stars.

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

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

Yes! Easy 5. Especially listening to it on duckduckgo. Problem is - this is an album of carefully crafted transitions that need to be fully appreciated on hard media, not via YouTube with ads dividing every fucking track. Keep that in mind while experiencing this album in a format that's kind of antithetical to it.

5.0 - Fucking SHIT, why am I JUST discovering this album? It's a non-stop party with the most stylish flair courtesy of the early 1980s, back when British gay culture was probably peaking (on that count, only time will tell). And, just WOW, the radio samples are INCREDIBLE. Even if this album is baldfaced English cultural appropriation, I give Malcom McLaren a huge pass for rearranging so many elements and creating a BULLWHIP of a record!

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

Sample music can be great, but quite rarely. I don't get what vibe this was going for other than annoying

Interesting and diverse mix of styles from MMcL, throwing everything against the wall. Some of it stuck, though.

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

keep the rock in the duck please

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.

Have to confess, I only had time for a quick skimming thru this album. I liked the African music bits, but the DJ nonsense and 80s hiphop bits sounded really dated, and overall it just felt like one big mess.

Pretty good, something I hadn't heared much of before

Eh

Second listen. 2/5 first time. Such a mix of different styles throughout the album. It's kind of distracting. Buffalo Gals is definitely semi-classic. The scathing was definitely the thing back in the early 80s. Double Dutch seems like a good island calypso song. Someday this might be more than 2/5 for me, but not today.

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.

Listened to 2 songs, didn’t like it.

Ehh... I guess it was kinda cool but it ultimately didn't do anything for me

Wiki have this listed as novelty, I struggle to see how they get to that. There were hints of grandmaster flash and Herbie Hancock through the album. I’ve heard Double Dutch many times in the past as a single but never ventured into the album, I didn’t know what I was missing Wasn’t keen on duck for the oyster and Obatala didn’t really seem to fit into the album well but the rest of them I could get into and liked

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.

Couple of tracks sound like a piss-take but the album accidentally includes some good tunes. 2 stars.

Wtf... Sikke en mærkelig blanding af hiphop, reggae og alt mulige genrer i en store pærevælling. Måske et par enkelt ok numre, men virkelige ringe og underligt

1983 Hip-hop

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.

A really fun sounding album. Very dancabke

I had heard of one song. Not a bad album. 2/5.

Weird but impressive album for 1983, world music, hip hop, and all kinds of unique elements ahead of their time.

Weird, unsettling, fills me with an impending sense of pending doom. Much like the sting of an Irukandji. Some of it seems to fall into the realm of what Talking Heads were doing around the same time with the world music integration. I imagine I would've absolutely frothed how weird and abstract it was given the benefit of time, space and place but here and now it doesn't sit right at all. *shudders*

Mostly forgettable tracks with some interesting features. Really not like any albums I've heard before, even though most of the songs sounds pretty similar to each other. It's a mixture of world music combined with McLaren yelling random stuff. I think most of the songs would be better without him.

I’m not sure how important this album was in the timeline of what was going on when it came out, but I feel like it captured an environment pretty well. Very cool and interesting throughout.

Really random but I liked it. Apparently the guy was also the manager of the Sex Pistols

Interesting mix of styles, but pretty fun.

The first song really doesn't prepare you for what you're going to listen to. Although some of the album is interesting to listen to, it's just world music, but it has a bit of an identity problem in that it's world music with confusing genres mixed in, such as country or rap. It doesn't make too much sense and drags the album down significantly. Favorite track: Obatala

Not my kind of music. Turned it off after maybe 4-5 songs.

It's okay. I'm not too interested in this album. Some of the elements come together quite nicely, but I really don't care for the skits. Highlights: 1, and 2.

Malcolm McLaren's Duck Rock is definitely an interesting record, but it's just... so.... weird? I am a bit torn on my rating, as I couldn't say I loved any track, but I did not outright hate anything either. If the whole record could be like the extremely catchy tunes on World's Famous, I would have loved it. 2/5.

Malcolm McLaren was wrong to not give fair credit to Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens, because they absolutely make this album. The music is so fun and funky that it makes me want to get out of my chair and dance. I could have done without all of the radio interludes, they make this record extremely dated (and a little creepy to be honest, got some rapey vibes from the announcer). All in all, a fun record, but I'd only ever go back to listen to some select songs: Buffalo Gals, Double Dutch, Punk It Up and Duck for the Oyster. Favorite Song: Double Dutch Least Favorite: Jive My Baby

There were some good beats

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

love this old freewheelin experimental shit. can recognize the avalanches / the books in here

Not a fan

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

Definitely original, liked the first few songs than got a little weird.

This was released in 1983??? This is like a decade before its time. Holy shit.

this is groovy as all hell - what even?? crazy stuff!

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.

DJ album, not really my vibe, but can see them laying the groundwork for beastie boys and others

Weird!!!

Repetitive and from another culture and time and was t my thing.

Sem sombra de dúvidas o album mais aleatório que eu já ouvi e um dos mais divertidos.

O sofrimento é imensurável, ouvir isto foi terrível. Não existe um fio condutor neste álbum, nem sei quais são os músicos no álbum, isto começa com música eletronica, chato, depois vai para rap, por muito tempo, depois música brasileira e termina com música tribal e no meio disto tudo fala de uma Supreme Team. E realmente nada é bom, não sabes para onde vais e nunca é nada de bom. O álbum é tão inconsistente que nem tenho bem por onde pegar nele, o raciocínio fica esfarelado pela falta de lógica no álbum. Acho que vou terminar aqui que isto parece um turbilhão. Nota: 3/10 06/06/2024

Favourite Songs: Double Dutch & Jive My Baby

The opening track sounds like something playing in the little China section of Epcot. I obviously loved it. I had to Google what year Paul Simon's Graceland came out after hearing 'Double Dutch' (1986, 3 years after this) because this definitely sounds like an influence. 'Soweto' is my favourite track which again mixes that world music sound with a driving guitar riff.

It was probably ground breaking at the time of release and introduced different musical styles to new audiences but in terms of quality it's not doing much. How is Malcom McLaren credited with this album? It's a compilation.

Not 100% sure what I listened to here. Best track: Buffalo Gals

Might have been evolutionary for hip hop, but not my jam.

A festival of cultural appropriation! This was a really surprising album and I really enjoyed it! Best song: Double Dutch

Frustrating mix of styles in a very 80s package, pretending to be a radio show

Not a fan

A strangely enjoyable listen!

Surprisingly great. Not like anything I've ever listened to before but I was into it.

Que experimentação maluca!

World music explotaition de la máxima calidad. Curioso que el My Life in the Bush of Ghosts de Brian Eno y David Byrne sea considerado una obra de arte y este está medio olvidado, yo lo percibo como que lo consideran vulgar. Parten de lo mismo, anglosajones tomando la música del tercer mundo para hacer lo que se les da la gana con eso. Brillante resultado. Malcolm era un wey que hacía arte a partir de su gusto, y este disco demuestra que su gusto es impecable. Sí, familia, el gusto existe, no se crean esas patrañas que dicen que no. Aquí hay merengue, rap de la escuela de tus abuelitos, electro, pop africano, collage, found sounds.

Interesting mix of African music and old school hiphop

I was not ready for how diverse this album was going to be, wow. Never had heard the name before. A lot of these tracks I don't think I would ever particularly want to return to but it's interesting enough. I liked the skits tying things together like it's a radio broadcast. There are some BAD songs on here though. Duck for the Oyster, Punk It Up and Merengue I felt were particularly weak.

Felt like I hit the button from play music to play radio?! Especially when looking at the album cover. I did have two tracks I liked: Obalata and World famous. Did not understand this album, was it just music put together for a audience that loved a DJ? I did not appreciate the collage of tunes My guinea hens loved Duck for the Oyster.

I like the whole radio station you drop in your fave folks thing, but not so many catchy songs

Pretty cool, feels like i’m Listening to a weird independent radio station. Last song is pretty bad tho.

Idk if this was intentional but I can't look at their album cover and not see a geoduck. This was enjoyable! Not something I'd usually listen to or actively seek out, but fun. Think the DJing took a sec to get used to and I still think it's a bit weird, but I came around. Groovy beats. Solid 4

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

Shite

What a strange album. I didn't really get into any of the songs, but it was pretty fun to listen to

Desconcertante. Me parece interesante la propuesta ecléctica, aunque llega a sacar de onda que no siempre se mezclan los ritmos muy orgánicamente que digamos, de repente tuve que parar Song for Chango para asegurarme de que no tenía dos canciones superpuestas por accidente en otra pestaña. Canción que más me gustó: Jive my baby, tiene una ondida buena ondita. Mood: en té de tila y espresso al mismo tiempo

Wild and fun. I don't think I've ever heard an album quite like this one. A breath a of fresh air

All that scratching is making me itch. Not sure what's going on here. May be exploitive.

Un poco mezcla de estilos, entre folk, algo de electrónica, ritmos variados. Poco definible el disco. Y le falta pegada y muchas cosas. Prescindible.

I don't want to give the excuse that this didn't land because I'm British; but this bland country-rock simply didn't connect with me at all. Boring music, boring lyrics, happy to see the back of this - my Steve Earle comments, but the app glitched. Duck Rock - this was an unexpected joy. Who knows how much of that old charlatan McLaren's input actually made it to the record? Should I care? This is a kaleidoscopic blending of all kinds of influences, yet sounds surprisingly coherent. Love it!

This is classified as Hip/Hop but I can barely hear it. Not saying it's a bad thing because I really liked the album. I also liked hearing the part Eminem sampled as well as the Run The Jewels sample, but overall, this album was super funky and unique with every song. The little quips where the people were calling in reminded me of Kurupt Fm (People just do nothing) when they would have their little conversations on the songs, but I didn't really like those parts in this album. My favorite tracks were Buffalo Gals and Merengue (especially how fast-paced that song was, made me wanna hit the Me te llamo Latin jazz Tony K Dort dance). Yoooo, this album would be wacky after hitting a spliff (drooling emoji).

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.

the 80s produced music way better than this shit

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.

This one was very interesting. I’m not one for skits but this one did capture early radio stations I heard growing up. I liked the music once it got started. Solid album.

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

This is the first album that I don't know either the album or the artist and I'm pretty glad for that. I have a hard time listening to this album because it's a British white guy appropriating musical styles from South Africa, Central and South America, and hip hop. The Wikipedia notes mention that it was influential in making hip hop popular in the UK. It's not even that great a representation of any of those styles. It's pretty difficult to listen to a lot of these albums with a musical appreciation and NOT think these things. I didn't even make it through the whole album I was so annoyed.

Wow, what a ride! World music put together in the finest way. The hip hop seems out of place with 2021 eyes, but overall, the album is really fun and enjoyable, and I’m shocked at this man’s early exposure to African music, 4 years before Paul Simon’s Graceland.

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

Wow, this was a cool change of pace. A bit of world music, mixed with our first venture into hip hop. Very rudimentary hip hop, but it's a start. Oh but of course our first "hip hop" album would be British. I really dug the opening three tracks. I had no idea Eminem sampled "Buffalo Gals," but now I know. It also sounds like El-P may have sampled part of that track on Killer Mike's "Go!" but it's not quite the same. Anyway, the album lost steam for me after the first few songs, but it's still a cool cultural and historical piece. It's weird that this is partially classified as a "novelty" album, but I guess it makes sense to ease '80s Brits into hip hop lest they lose their lunch. Favorite tracks: Obatala, Buffalo Gals, Double Dutch. Album art: Really cool and creative. An insanely tricked-out boombox. I love the colors and design of this one a lot. 3.5/5

Kinda loved this? Feels waaay ahead of its time for 1983, but maybe I’m just out of the loop. The only thing I can compare it to are moments from The Avalanches. Feels like an interesting collage, but unsurprising to read that none of the African musicians were credited. (Shocking)

Interesting...

Pleasantly surprised

70s hip hop, has a song eminem referenced

I didn't really care for this. Most songs were just one simple groove with one line repeated over and over again. It reminded me a bit of the Talking Heads, without the captivating lyrics and quirky vocals. 2 stars.

This is an interesting mix of styles. I don’t really know what I expected it to be, but it’s more diverse than I expected.

legit. probably some complications with attribution etc, but the sound biz is so good on my earholes.

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.

quirky

all over the place, all of it bad

This is a fun album. Combining old school hip hop with world music. "Buffalo girls" and " Double Dutch" are really fun songs.

Old school hip-hop/electronic. Almost sounds like a mixtape. Mainstream hip-hop definitely pulled tracks from this album.

I can't say I enjoyed this, but I understand why it was historically significant and why it was sampled so much. I'll enjoy the sampling, but I'm never returning to the source material.

Some interesting music on this. Multiple genres and some just outright kooky. Definitely unique.

Important to hip hop but all over the place

I had high hopes for this album, but it was not very good.

Interesting very interesting...

intro dialog is annoying but the music is great; interesting variety

Great mix of worldly songs

Meh.

interesting album, quite diverse, has an eminem sample

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"

Plays like a bizarre radio show, and as that it's pretty good. However, it's unfortunate that the obviously best cut is also the one which seems to be stolen. I don't like to think too much about the historical context when listening to an album, and it especially rankles to defend intellectual property, but failing to credit artists is crossing a line. There's also so little Englishness here: Perhaps it would feel less artificey to me if McLaren leaned into that a bit more. Or maybe I'm just trying to mask my love for more English music.

7/10 FT: Buffalo girls

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.

only notable for me is the one eminem sampled im sorry

Album title is unrelated to the rest of it. at first I thought this was new age.... but then it became a mix of african tribal music, caribbean & latin jazzy numbers, 80s scratching/hip hop, country/dance hall stuff, disco.... and it was mixed as if it was a radio show, with "call in now!" samples. by the end I was bored of its shtick. Not knowing what was coming next didn't make me curious - it just made me roll my fkn eyes. There should be a rule against joke albums being on the list. But hey, at least I heard it before I die, right? 2/5.