HARD... RAW... DEEP... FUNK: Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock (1973)

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock (1973)


















"Unlikely godfathers of hip-hop, the Incredible Bongo Band was a revolving-door group of studio musicians led by bongo player Michael Viner, who by day worked as an executive at the MGM label and ran its short-lived Pride subsidiary. Viner had worked on Bobby Kennedy's ill-fated presidential campaign before entering the music industry as a talent scout and A&R man in Los Angeles. By the early '70s, he was successful enough to start his pet side project the Incredible Bongo Band, taking unused studio time to record percussion-heavy instrumentals and pop covers with African and Latin influences. He placed two songs on the soundtrack of the 1972 B-movie The Thing With Two Heads, released on Pride, and the following year issued the first Incredible Bongo Band full-length, Bongo Rock, which reportedly featured a guest spot by Ringo Starr. Viner's funked-up version of the Shadows' "Apache" went on to become one of hip-hop's earliest breakbeat staples, as first-generation hip-hop DJs Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash came to rely on its percussion breaks to get block parties moving. "Apache" went on to provide the basis for the Sugarhill Gang's hit of the same name, and stands as one of the most sampled tracks in hip-hop history."
allmusic.com

Tracklisting

1. Incredible Bongo Band - Apache (4:53)
2. Incredible Bongo Band - Let There Be Drums (2:41)
3. Incredible Bongo Band - Bongolia (2:15)
4. Incredible Bongo Band - Last Bongo In Belgium (6:55)
5. Incredible Bongo Band - Dueling Bongos (2:58)
6. Incredible Bongo Band - In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (7:43)
7. Incredible Bongo Band - Raunchy '73 (3:24)
8. Incredible Bongo Band - Bongo Rock (2:39)
9. Incredible Bongo Band - Kiburi (Pt. 1) (2:17)
10. Incredible Bongo Band - Sing Sing Sing (4:16)
11. Incredible Bongo Band - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (4:03)
12. Incredible Bongo Band - Wipeout (4:32)
13. Incredible Bongo Band - When The Bed Breaks Down I'll Meet You In The Spring (2:35)
14. Incredible Bongo Band - Pipeline (3:55)
15. Incredible Bongo Band - Okey Dokey (2:52)
16. Incredible Bongo Band - Sharp Nine (3:16)
17. Incredible Bongo Band - Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley (2:45)
18. Incredible Bongo Band - Apache (Grand Master Flash Remix) (7:29)
19. Incredible Bongo Band - Last Bongo In Belgium (Breakers Mix) (6:29)

Incredible Bongo Band - Okey Dokey

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