G. Love and Special Sauce

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that's a hella something idk i recommended it to my friend she doesnt like blues nor hip hop good luck for her wish or smth i also like the icelandic bonus shop with the pig ya know its fun ok bayie

It’s not really my thing but I suppose it’s alright.

No comprendo que sea uno de 1001 discos que tengo que escuchar antes de morir. Repetitivo y aburrido. En sus mejores momentos me recuerda a los peores de Gorillaz o Jamie T. Sin más.

I appreciate the blend of genres. And that's a nice drum sound. Beyond that, I'm a struggling to find the positives; definitely of a time and a place. The vocal delivery became grating a few tracks in. 2

What sounds in the description like two of the four horsemen of the musical apocalypse – rap and blues (the other two being country and techno... or was it country and reggae?) – is in reality an incredibly dull, remarkably sluggish and lacklustre album. I’ve no idea why this ended up in the ‘1001 Albums’. Is it because of ‘Cold Beverage’, which, according to Wikipedia, became a ‘college radio staple’? What’s next? ‘Popular in Polish sausage adverts’? Dull, just plain dull.

I’m at a 4.

I couldn’t quite grab the vibe through 3 of the first 4 tracks. “The Things I Used To Do” felt a little too broad lyrically as an opener with his looser vocals throwing me off, “Blues Music” had some slightly plain instrumentation that took away from his flow, & “Eyes Have Miles” felt just a bit too stream of consciousness for my tastes. The first track that really clicked for me was “Garbage Man”, just because it found a consistent theme to talk about & the Beck-esque qualities within felt good to listen to. Once this album hits “Baby’s Got Sauce”, it finally finds itself, or at least for me, it found a more relaxed vibe that was much easier to bounce with. This album’s mistake early on is an inability to properly marry the energy of both blues & hiphop, with some tracks leaning more towards one than the other. I think it finds that balance on “Baby’s Got Sauce”, but it also clicked with me because it just has sort of a Sugar Ray vibe to it that I like.

The stretch of this album that really won me over, however, was “Rhyme for the Summertime” through “Shooting Hoops” – the ‘Mac Miller freestyling his way through a Tiny Desk concert’ energy this album gives off is at its most potent through this stretch. “Rhyme for the Summertime” is just a stream of consciousness about a nice summer day, “Cold Beverage” is a goofy yet catchy love letter to iced drinks that I appreciate in the middle of this heatwave, & “Fatman” is… a touch shame-y, but the storytelling of this guy being more obsessed with finishing his food than finishing a car sale is just kinda funny to me. “This Ain’t Living” has a lot of cool perspective shifts while advocating for a better quality of living for all, “Walk to Slide” is about a man with so much swagger that he can brighten up a rainy day just by his presence alone, & “Shooting Hoops” is just a fun track about basketball in a way that’s tailor-made to my interests.

The album does sort of stumble to its early woes after that with “Some People Like That” not being quite as compelling (although chill), & with “Town to Town” being far too narratively loose to craft the picture he’s trying to paint of the moon being his only constant in a lonelier time. “I Love You” is a good raw closer though, with all the little flaws giving it an intimacy that just kinda fits. As a whole, I’d say this album took a bit to win me over, but once it found its groove, it flows much better than its earliest efforts. As always, first impressions are the most potent, and that’s likely why this has a 2.72 on the site, as this album just doesn’t quite make a great first impression. Combine that with the runtime, some tracks that do feel a bit pointless compared to traditional rap (if it weren’t for my enjoyment of early Mac Miller, I’d also be complaining about ‘Cold Beverage’ as a nothing track, believe me), and a soundscape that doesn’t really shift that much throughout, it would be easy to paint this in a much worse light.

However, for my tastes, I’m just a sucker for good useless conversation in music when it’s done to a catchy enough beat, and since G. Love & friends found a way to make the things we take for granted sound compelling, I found myself enjoying this. It’s not consistently strong enough to get up to a 5 (although some of those earlier tracks are clicking a little more now), but I’d say it’s solid enough to earn a 4. There’s not really a bad track here. Do I think I HAD to hear this before I died? Jury’s out. I’d prefer if Mac were here, especially with “The Divine Feminine” or “Swimming”, but given that he was a fan of these guys, I’m glad to have heard a band that inspired him.

vrlo loš znak prije slušanja: nema torenta za ovaj album na rutracker.org, a oni obično imaju fakat sve živo i jako su strastveni oko svega toga. mislim da vrlo često imaju i znatno manje popularne cd-e, tako da ovo nikako ne sluti na dobro... našao na jednoj drugoj stranici, skida se, vidjet ćemo...

da, uglavnom je zakurac

If I opened the CaseLogic CD case in your car in 2002 and saw the whole Sublime discography, I know this CD was right there behind it. Maybe even that Fun Lovin’ Criminals CD too. You’d probably go on to tell me about how your stoner older cousin, or your middle-school best friend’s older brother, turned you on to them and how it reminds you of fun times like [insert story here about smoking weed in someone’s basement in middle school]. I love that for you, but let’s move on, yeah?
…Or maybe I’m just assuming all Sublime/G. Love fans are just like my highschool girlfriend.
Anyway, I don’t think we need Sublime, G. Love, AND Fun Lovin’ Criminals on this list. Certainly, if there’s a fourth thing, we don’t all need to hear that one before we die. It feels like a whole lot of investment in a niche corner of the music world that most people really shouldn’t have to make. Maybe let’s all listen to August And Everything After by Counting Crows instead, and contemplate what that says about the monoculture and life in the mid-90s.

In 2008 I bought tickets to a G Love & Special Sauce show mainly because I wanted to see the opening act, the John Butler Trio. I had absolutely no idea who G Love was at the time. Almost 20 years later and I honestly remember very little of that show. I do remember enjoying the show enough that I found a copy of this album and listened to it quite a few times afterwards, but neither G Love nor John Butler have remained in my listening rotation.

For some reason, I wasn't really expecting this album to hold up after all these years, but I actually really enjoyed listening to it again today. I get how some people would dislike it, but I really enjoy their blend of laid back, spoken word hip-hop over blues riffs and jazzy drums. It does lose a bit of steam in the last few tracks, though.

Overall, is it a masterpiece? No, but is it a fun listen? Absolutely!

My copy of the book refers to G. Love & Special Sauce as a break away from the stigma revolving around Vanilla Ice when it comes to white hiphop. As a certified quirked up white boy myself, that didn't happen in this album. It's the lamest hiphop I've listened to in my experience with this challenge.

Listen, it's fine. It's OK. But I didn't like it and it's too long, but it didn't offend my ears. I wasn't grooving, so I'm gonna give it a 2 instead of a 3.

Ok so I am completely unfamiliar with this but I have seen the cover like a million times. I am already turned off by the name and the cover. G Love and Special Sauce is up in the running for the worst band name of all time. Top 3 at least. And the cover is super contrived and stupid. Something a 13 year old would think makes him look cool.
Ok. So I appreciate the laid back sound on this album. But it's just not good. Baby's Got Sauce may now be the worst song I've ever heard. Like, what the hell man? Who thought that was a good one and decide to include it on the record? However, great bass throughout which oddly doesn't sound out of place. I was glad when this was over, 2.25/5

College-rock/rap. Happy Mother’s Day yawl. Anyway this album is pretty wack. I wish it wasn’t. It’s just that it’s this like really blasé, low effort bluesy alt-rock, and the vocalist is sooooooo uninteresting. Just this dubiously Ebonic white guy spitting nothing bars about nothing. Flow’s awful. Not much stands out. Sounds like Jack Johnson. Or Jason Mraz. Which is exactly what you don’t want to sound like, mid-aughts adult alternative. But hey, even though it kinda sucks, at least it’s not super long, right? RIIIIGHT? I can’t with this project man. I’m sorry.
4.7/10

A lot of emotion tied up in this one. I saw G Love at the Riv in Chicago on Halloween in 2001.

Felt like the world was coming apart, I walked in and heard Mike Doughty playing songs from Skittish - I love Soul Coughing - and then this crazy fun show with the band dressed like pimps.

I get that this isn't for everyone but it really takes me back. Listened to the live set today, so cool.

Chill

Is this a good album? Nope. But I like this album. Very reminiscent of Beck but not as good. The bass is the instrumental highlight here. Favorites are Baby’s Got Sauce, Blues Music, and Cold Beverage.

The Arc of 'must be nice to be a man and making boring music just because you can' goes on and is going to wreck.

Ok so I literally thought of this album cover this evening. what...

You could draw a line from blues to hip hop and this record does its best to merge two of these forms together. I like the result; as if 60s blues rock was sampled. Lyrics are 🌽 but at least G. Love’s committed to the vibe. (3.5-4)

It was okay! A fun way to spend an hour, but not itching to return to it. Happy to have given it a go and to know a band I didn't before though! :)