Planet Rock: The Album

For its time I’m sure it was revolutionary, but hasn’t aged all too gracefully. Obligatory fuck Bambaataa

Oh lord was this one FUNNY. Just a bunch of dudes messing around with rhymes and sound effects and thinking they sounded AWESOME. like who hasn't been there

Pretty good old school stuff. Sorry to hear about Africa Bambaataa 😑

Of all the genres that compose electronic music, it must be said - sadly - that electro has aged rather poorly. The Rowland just doesn't sound as cool as it did in the 80s. That being said, Planet Rock still does. It's not greatest record you'll hear but it's suitable amounts of fun. Does the job.

Incredible album! Truly essential and genre-defining electro and hip-hop here. Bummer I've got to separate the art from the artist though, considering the absolute piece of shit Afrika turned out to be.

I lost count of how many samples I recognized from artists influenced by this album. So yeah, you can really hear the influence this album had on music. That said, it also shows its age, hip hop has progressed exponentially since this came out. It’s still a fun album, but not one I’ll probably listen to again.

OH SHIT! BIG DAWG *JUST DIED!!* And left behind a very complicated legacy of sexually assaulting several individuals (I won't get into that though because I don't feel obligated to, and I don't particularly want to either), in between all that "z-z-z"-ing. But anyway this jawn's pretty dope. Very high energy, earlier-era hip-hop that I like a lot, and obviously INCREDIBLY influential. Like, you can hear callbacks to Bambaataa in a lotta places, such as the outro on one of the songs on Things Fall Apart by The Roots, or the intro to one of the songs on Labor Days by Aesop Rock, both making use of the iconic "z-z-z-z-z" ad-lib on Planet Rock. And even with the quality of some of the songs, that is the real draw here. All these songs have a hand in creating the foundation of so many parts of hip-hop. You can hear Beastie Boys in here, you can hear NWA in here, you can hear OutKast in here, pretty much any high-energy hip hop song can be traced back in some way to this album. And the songs are solid too. Obviously "Planet Rock" is a classic, but "Searching For The Perfect Beat" ain't too bad and "Frantic Situation" is a banger too. Overall it's not anything special without context, but I added an extra 0.5 for how much history and influence it has (I almost added one whole point! But that would be excessive). Pretty cool album.
8.3/10

I have to admit that the labels “hip hop” and “electro” really put me off these days—there’s so much trash listed under those categories...
Fortunately, there are exceptions, and Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force are somewhat among them. The singles compiled on Planet Rock are still too monotonous for my taste, but the beats are OK, the synth tracks show a certain musicality and are even good in parts, and the rappers have a lively yet laid-back vibe (and don’t just try to cram as many words as possible into the shortest amount of time) . Of course, that’s far too little for a must-hear album, but it’s enough to land it in the “nice-to-know” category.

There might be some mid-1980s context that I’m missing that makes sense of Planet Rock, but I struggle to find anything redeeming about it. It is compositionally poor, never managing to coalesce around a pleasing melody. The vocals and samples are frequently at odds with each other. It’s zany, rambling music which never gets to the point. It grates and frustrates from beginning to end.

something between weird and cool

I know it all began here- nothing that came after it would be the same..def a compilation and not an album where it feels disconnected and outlet meant for DJs.

Until the second half of the album where it really picks up.

Old school hip hop that, unfortunately, just isn't my thing. Cool to see one of the albums where the genre started, and cool to hear the original Renegades of Funk (Rage Against the Machine did an amazing cover of it), but yeah. Way too dated for my tastes.

Pladder

1001 Albums Vol. 0026: Planet Rock: The Album
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Introduction: Twenty-five albums completed. I haven't even made a dent on this project as of yet, but I'm still proud of myself nonetheless. I've decided that I will be making one change with the achievement of listening to twenty-five albums. I'm no longer going to be putting the word "Score" after each song. I think that one using this site should be smart and knowledgeable enough in music to know what I mean when I put "3/10" or "10/10" next to a song. It's a simple change, but still convenient nonetheless. Anyway, that aside, what grand album awaits me for hitting the milestone of twenty-five? Well...um...I actually have no idea. What the hell does Planet Rock even mean? Is this going to be some Gustav Holst inspired project? Is this going to be some huge concept album that tries to portray each of the planets but in the form of rock music? Well...this is actually a hip-hop album. What the hell? Oh...I get it...the artist, Afrika Bambaataa released an extremely popular and well-regarded song by the name of Planet Rock and decided to feature the name of that song in an album. Of course...that isn't misleading in the slightest. I mean, for a second I thought I was about to listen to a whole goddamn movie soundtrack or something. Anyway, that said, this album, released by Afrika Bambaataa in 1986, is apparently considered to be an extremely influential hip-hop album. Why? I don't know yet. Seriously, who the actual hell is this guy? You cannot tell me you've heard of this man's name before this point....Anyway, um...apparently this is actually a compilation album as well? Now, now, now, hold on. I think that we can all agree on the fact that a compilation album making this list is kinda crazy, right? I mean, I've seen people who have had problems with live albums being included on the list. I myself really don't have any problem with live albums. They can be extremely influential and have great material in their own rights. But a compilation album? I mean, that's like if The Beatles were to put every single song that people consider to be their best into one compilation album and the list were to include only that. No Abbey Road, no White Album, no Revolver. Point is, a compilation album is kinda ridiculous...actually it's really ridiculous....Alright, anyway, I'm getting very off topic. I'll just put my negative feelings aside towards this album for now. Now, I will say, I have actually never heard any hip-hop related material from the 80's. The earliest hip-hop material that I've heard were all released around the early to mid-90's, so hearing material released nearly a decade earlier should be pretty interesting...actually really interesting. I'm curious if there's going to be any form of 80's-like pop present on this album. Will there be anything that gives off the vibe of Rock, Disco? Let's just get into it and see, I guess.
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Track 1: Planet Rock: 9/10
Track 2: Looking For The Perfect Beat: 7/10
Track 3: Renegades Of Funk: 7/10
Track 4: Frantic Situation Score: 5/10
Track 5: Who You Funkin' With?: 6/10
Track 6: Go Go Pop: 4/10
Track 7: They Made A Mistake: 4/10
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Conclusion: Well...this was quite the album....Sorry, compilation album. Yeah, this was quite the compilation album. The first song was pretty great and the two that followed weren't all that bad. but the second half of the album was just a complete atrocity. This was seriously a compilation album too? Are those not supposed to like...feature some of the best material that a band has put out? Well, there are plenty of compilation albums that don't do that, but you can clearly tell that this one was trying to. I mean, the literal title of the album is the group's best and most famous song. How the hell can a band genuinely be this bad? Okay, anyway, what about the actual album itself? Well, like I said in the intro, this is a hip-hop album. It's an 80s hip-hop album too which seemed pretty interesting since I had literally never heard hip-hop from the 80s before. That being said, there's a pretty good reason as to why. At least, if this album were to speak for all of 80s hip-hop, then there's a pretty good reason as to why I've never heard it before. That reason being...this is literally the most dated thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Everything here: the instrumentation, the lyrics, the vocals, all sound so incredibly dated to the point that it actually kinda blew me away while listening. Just everything about this album and its sound screams 80s. Hell, even the album cover screams something you would see in the 80s. This entire album is so dated to the point where it's almost comical. Seriously, I'd recommend giving this thing a listen just to hear how unbelievably dated this album is. Now, with that major critique out of the way, what about the album's music? It's dated....Okay seriously though...there's a lot of usage of typical hip-hop sounds, synths, alternating vocals...synths, drum machines...synths, and so on. This fact stays pretty consistent across the entire album. The instrumentation really doesn't change up all that much, just the various melodies that each song provides. There are some undoubtedly good uses of this instrumentation across the album, such as the sonic wall that is Looking For The Perfect Beat, but there's a lot of bad, bland, and boring usage of it too. Again, a lot of that may have to do with the datedness of the album, but I digress. Overall, the best way to describe the music of this album is as if 80s synths, drum-machines, and hip-hop collided into one to create this mess that just doesn't feel right. I will say, the music did have a very futuristic vibe to it at certain points. You know, you're walking in a city at night with flying cars over your head and streets lit by neon signs, that sorta vibe. That vibe that it gave off was unique and cool, but that vibe is also undoubtedly something that screams 80s as well. It's honestly kinda crazy to think how far hip-hop has come since this album's release...Anyway, there is some kinda cool blending between genres like funk and techno as well, yet hip-hop is obviously the most prominent genre of music you'll find on this album. Um...I guess the instrumentation itself is pretty well-produced and well-performed by the band....I have to give compliments to this album where I can....Well, I guess the only other thing to really mention regarding this album's music is that it's...pretty poorly written at times. There are some songs where the music is well written, such as Planet Rock and the progressive vibe it gives off, but majority of the time the music simply feels directionless and becomes boring by the end of a song. This overall feel may be due to a lack of additional instrumentation, random vocals that alternate between left and right channels, or even simply switching up the melody mid-song as is seen on the closing track. Yeah, this album is not looking good, is it? Now, with the dated as hell music aside, what about the lyrics and general themes that the album presents? Hip-hop is known for pretty poetic lyrics comparable to that of folk. Surely this album must have some great messages, right? Well...it's pretty mixed. The album has this overall theme of serving almost as a "party album". A lot of songs on here attempt to either be or simulate the type of music one would hear at a late-night party or something of the like. This, of course, leads to lyrics that feel...pretty odd to listen to in a critical sense. Like, some of these songs would serve as great things to play at a party, especially the title track, but it doesn't feel as if the lyrics were written with any intention other than that. Now, on top of that, there are some songs on this album as well that just feel...either stupid or self-indulgent when regarding their lyrics. Looking For The Perfect Beat literally talks about what it describes...except it claims that the song itself is the perfect beat. I mean, there is literally a line in that song that goes like this: "Afrika Bambaataa, I possess the perfect beat." ...Come on....The song isn't even that good too...besides the point. There are also a lot of self-inserts into each song as well which just feels a bit weird to hear across the entire album. Anyway, overall, the lyrics of this album are absolutely not its strongest point. What is this album's strongest point? Well, the vocals are actually pretty damn good. The rapping is simply just so tight, the way it works around with the beat of the songs works as well, and the singer's voice is simply pretty good as well. I mean, the rapping is just...pretty good. There's not that much more to say about it other than what I just did. Now, can the same thing be said about the entire album? Well, no, absolutely not. The production and writing is dated as hell, the lyrics are alright at best, and I personally don't ever want to listen to most of this album ever again. That being said...I can...unfortunately understand why this album is considered to be extremely influential both in the hip-hop and electro music scenes. There was undoubtedly a lot of creativity, such as the blending of various genres, that went behind this album at the time even if they can't entirely be heard nowadays. That being said, this status of being influential doesn't save this album from being bad. That factor does save this album from being my lowest rated yet, but that factor also doesn't save it from being tied with my lowest yet. (Reevaluated and have decided to move this album up from a 5/10 to a 6/10. I've warmed to it slightly)
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Planet Rock: The Album: 6/10
Song Average: 6/10

I’m at a 3.5 that I’d like to keep there, but I’ll bump down to a 3, though I do think it could get up to a 4 if it hits a little nicer on another day.

Off the gate, I’d be remiss to not mention Afrika Bambaataa’s sexual abuse allegations; they suck, he REALLY sucks, & the whole thing is sad & deeply disappointing. That said, I’m judging the music & not the man, and for as much as he sucks, this does feel like it probably introduced a lot of production tricks into hip-hop that would permeate & evolve throughout the decade & beyond, so as a piece of musical history of sorts, I can’t in good faith just slap this with a 1 because of one guy’s horrific stuff. Besides, he’s one of just 5 people on the album, so I’m willing to give the other 4 their due instead of him.

As far as the album itself goes, this is sort of a time-traveling journey from 1982 to 1986 with the tracks that are on here, and a genuinely cool look at how production in the genre shifted over such a short time. If you listen to “Planet Rock”, for 1982, it’s probably kinda revolutionary. However, it feels very tame by modern standards, with party vibe lyrics, a solid drum beat & some 808s involved. There’s some really empty segments in there where the soundscape is JUST the percussion, and those moments of emptiness stick out when so much of rap is about filling the soundscape at all times. As the tracks move forward in time, those production quirks start to fill out & feel more modern, and by “Go-Go Pop”, there’s genuinely early elements of New Jack Swing being integrated into the mix. It’s just really cool to listen to.

It’s also just not as compelling as I’m making it out to be; the novelty of the tracks here comes in hearing the production shift over time, and while there are some good tracks here (I think most of the first 5 tracks are pretty good, save for “Frantic Situation”), they overstay their welcome in ways where you’re kinda just left stranded with the beat & a sort of loop to the flow with a different flavor in the lyrics & vocals. They don’t really bother me, but the 5-7 minute runtimes on a lot of these tracks feel unnecessary, made to pad out the album. Obviously, I get it; I don’t think these were made for radio consumption if being played on a cassette or vinyl or a CD. They’re made for actually partying to, and that means making these the extended versions to fill time & fill the air. I do think it suffers as an album experience because of it, though.

Hence, the bump down to a 3 – it’s really not a bad album, and for as much as I’m giving it, I do think it’s worth listening to just to hear some fun production shifts over time. I can understand people going as high as a 5 here, and while I don’t think I’ll get there, there’s a decent chance this album could hit a 4 for me someday if some of the later tracks click a bit more nicely.

*Old school hip hop can sometimes sound repetitive and while this isn't immune from that, there is a nice variety and Planet Rock is an all time banger

funkiness of this album is off the charts.

Ah man, I reeeeally hoped that this album would live up to the sensational album cover. There were moments in the first track, particularly with those cool synths where I thought it matched well - but then it just goes on waaay too long. Then the following tracks tend to go on way too long as well. It becomes so repetitive within each individual track, and you end up feeling bored - which really does feel like a betrayal on what's seemingly promised with the album cover.

Like others, I had no idea Renegades of Funk was a cover by RATM. It goes to show what a cover can be when you do something completely different, but have it still in keeping with the spirit of it.

2/5. It really has aged poorly.

I assume that for the time period when this was made, this would be really impressive. And it is very catchy. There are some production things I don't love, but I think that's just a limitation of the technology at the time. I get what they were trying to go for. It would get a 3, however reading the other reviews talk about how he's a massive pedophile makes it lose a point.

A compilation album on the list? A nice collection pulling together 4 years of Afrika Bambaataa 12" singles and showing us the best of early hip-hop. Arthur Baker is prominent on the early tracks using beats that he would use elsewhere (yes, I'm looking at you New Order).