Bongo Rock (album)
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| Bongo Rock | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Studio | Can Base (Vancouver, Canada) | |||
| Genre | Funk[1] | |||
| Length | 33:17 | |||
| Label | Pride/MGM | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Incredible Bongo Band chronology | ||||
| ||||
Bongo Rock is the debut studio album by Incredible Bongo Band, released in 1973.[2] It peaked at number 197 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart.[3] It includes the band's version of the Jerry Lordan-written song "Apache", which is among the most famous breakbeats.[4]
Michael Viner, who was an executive at MGM Records, started the project Incredible Bongo Band.[5] He was asked to provide music for the soundtrack of the blaxploitation film The Thing with Two Heads; he and Perry Botkin Jr. recorded the songs "Bongo Rock" and "Bongolia".[5] After that, they decided to create the album Bongo Rock.[5]
Production
Bongo Rock was recorded at Can Base Studios in Vancouver, Canada.[6] It contains performances by percussionist King Errisson and drummer Jim Gordon,[7] as well as multiple musicians including Joe Sample, Glen Campbell, and Harry Nilsson.[8]
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [5] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | [1] |
Jeff Tamarkin of AllMusic stated, "Interesting as it is to hear how the bongo-centric beats were toyed with by the hip-hoppers, the original recordings stand up on their own as classically kitschy cheese-rock."[5] He added, "Bongos aren't the only sound heard, naturally, and fans of both lounge-rock and that crisp, reverby guitar sound prominent in old spy movies and Ventures records will dig what the IBB were all about."[5] Alan Ranta of Tiny Mix Tapes commented that "'Apache' may be the most recognizable, but there is still a rich field of extractable samples to be had for the next generation."[1]
Legacy
Bongo Rock was included in the book The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion.[8] It was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[9]
In 2006, Will Hermes of The New York Times called the album "one of the musical cornerstones of rap."[7] He added, "While it's hard to measure these things accurately, it is certainly one of the most sampled LP's in history, if not the most sampled."[7]
Dan Forrer's documentary film Sample This tells the story of Michael Viner and Incredible Bongo Band.[10]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Let There Be Drums" | 2:41 | |
| 2. | "Apache" | Jerry Lordan | 4:53 |
| 3. | "Bongolia" | Perry Botkin Jr. | 2:15 |
| 4. | "Last Bongo in Belgium" |
| 6:55 |
| 5. | "Dueling Bongos" |
| 2:58 |
| 6. | "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" | Doug Ingle | 7:43 |
| 7. | "Raunchy '73" |
| 3:24 |
| 8. | "Bongo Rock '73" | 2:39 | |
| Total length: | 33:17 | ||