This album has been submitted by a user and is not included in any edition of the book.
We Rock Hard is the debut album by the English electronic group Freestylers. It was their most commercially successful release to date. AllMusic describes the album as a run through of the band members' back catalogue, but it still showcases the classic big beat and breakbeat electronica that would remain the band's trademark sound along with ragga and dub twists. The Guardian noted: "They've got tunes like the British breaks scene has never had tunes, which gives their superb productions a sweetness grievously lacking at the more ascetic end of breakbeat."
Very late 90s UK break beat fare, and enjoyable listen though as typically with this kind of thing I find the repetetiveness wears thin at length. Guest artists and some credible rapping kept it on the brighter side of that flaw for me.
Initially, I was dreading over an hour of breakbeats and scratching, but in thinking of this LP as a documentary rather than an artistic statement I think I enjoyed it a bit more. DJing is such a masterful and underappreciated art, and having a collection of solid mixes is a great introduction and documentation of a niche genre. That being said, I was feeling the effects of the performance being flattened down to a 2D representation – the visual aspect of watching DJs move the faders and scratch with seemingly inhuman skill is what (to me) makes this kind of music so fun, so I fully understand if people finish this LP and feel burnt out and exhausted.
LOL imagine sitting through all the grimy 90s UK drum and bass shit in the original list, and thinking it needs more. 2/5.
I was a bit put off at first by the long run-time but I needn't have worried. I danced through the whole thing.
I toggled between like and love throughout this one.
Didn't hate it, some lovely bass lines
Breakbeat, big beat, electronic. Me ha gustado. Un 4.
Well, there was some breakin', some rappin', some breakin', some graffiti, some breakin', and then some Cylons! It has some very 80s throwback feels to it, and sometimes I really loved it!
Rating: 6/10 Best songs: Freestyle noize, Don’t stop
Mix of big beat and techno. Well produced. Some mc/vocals of straight forward hip hop and ragga/dancehall influence. Nothing more groundbreaking than Cold Cut did several years previously.
Kinda stuck in its immediate past.
fun 90s brit club music sounds like a ps1 racing game
This was pretty fun, if of a very specific era in time. Enjoyed this more than I expected to, although it really could have been shorter. Runs a bit far afield stylistically, but the beats pull it all together nicely. Fave Songs: Don't Stop, Drop the Boom, We Rock Hard, The Darkside, Breaker Beats
Wasn’t really thinking I needed to listen to more of this kind of thing, but I did really dig the grooves and it was fun to have on - great background music for doing other things. It was a little long and a little more of this than I need, and I’m probably not going to sit down and listen to it again, but there was some fun stuff to enjoy here.
Sounds similar to the various electronic/dance albums that we had on the list. There's a fun blend of voices and styles represented on here, and a lot of samples that I recognize. Pretty good album. This is only day two of the user picks, but I'm looking forward to finding the review for each album from the person that added it, that's my best bet at understanding inclusions like these (and more insight than we got for the albums on the actual list, though maybe that's in the book). Favorite tracks: Scratch 22, Drop the Boom, Don't Stop, B-Boy Stance. Album art: Pretty shitty if I'm being honest, looks like a flyer made by an afterschool "don't do drugs" PSA program. 3.5/5
Have we gotten any break type albums on this list?? Pretty wild that the variety only comes from the people listening to this list. This was a good album that had some great beats and songs. It did feel basic in some respects but I think that's just because it's from 1998 so it get's a pass. Now, it is British but I think that enhances this to see that those blokes were attempting some break work too. There is a song from Jet Set Radio Future by the Latch Brothers called "" that starts with them explaining "Four elements: There's DJ'ing, there's Breaking, there's Graffiti, and then there's the MC". We hear a similar list on Breaker Beat's Pt 1 as the announcer advises "there will be breaking, rapping, breaking, scratching, breaking, and graffiti" I thought it was pretty cool they counted all four of those elements, though I didn't hear as much of the MC on this album, lots of samples and call outs. Either way, I'm glad this one was on here!
Very good beat, but too repetitive for my taste, and the same rhythmic position can get tiring. But in general the tracks hold up well.
Eh, no thanks. 2 stars.
I despise this era of electronic lol. But this one wasn't terrible, though very, very silly 3 2
The whole is a bit monotonous. It was okay to be played as background music
Pretty basic
This was someone’s favorite album?!? Uhm alright, maybe they’re were a 90s break dancer. Idk but this album was pretty dated and overall lame. Just felt like a compilation of a bunch of beats with words thrown in the background. Listening once was tough. 2.9/10