566. Afrika Bambaataa And The Soul Sonic Force - Planet Rock (1986)
















Track Listing

1. Planet Rock
2. Looking for the Perfect Beat
3. Renegades of Funk
4. Frantic Situation
5. Who You Funkin' With?
6. Go Go Pop
7. They Made a Mistake

Review

This album might seem somewhat outdated to be in this list right next to the Beastie Boys, but it is a compilation of earlier singles, the title track is from 1982, for example, making it particularly impressive.

Even this outdatedness isn't too bad, however, as it is still a musically very strong album, the complexity of the samples used for example, and the way in which they are used are a refreshing contrast to Puff Daddy's school of sampling-by-raping, in this sense it is more akin to music like Beck's brilliant use of samples in Odelay than what happened with later hip-hop.

This is a really good album, even if it is a strange addition to the list which according to the editors does not contain compilations, this is a particularly worthy one, as it contain tracks that are not part of any album. Good Stuff.

Track Highlights

1. Planet Rock
2. Lookin' For The Perfect Beat
3. Go Go Pop
4. Renegades Of Funk

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The song "Planet Rock" was one of the earliest hits for hip hop and remains one of its pioneering recordings. The single's liner notes credit Kraftwerk with the song. In creating the track, portions of Kraftwerk's "Trans Europe Express" were used, along with portions of songs by Captain Skyy and Ennio Morricone. Rather than sampling these works digitally, the phrases were re-recorded in the studio. "Planet Rock" is also cited as the first electro funk record. "Renegades of Funk" was covered by Rage Against the Machine on their Renegades album.

Shorter edited version of Planet Rock: