Duck Rock | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 27 May 1983 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1982 | |||
Genre | World music, hip hop, novelty | |||
Length | 43:36 | |||
Label | Charisma, Island, Atco, Atlantic | |||
Producer | Trevor Horn, Malcolm McLaren | |||
Malcolm McLaren chronology | ||||
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Singles from Duck Rock | ||||
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Duck Rock is an album released by British impresario Malcolm McLaren. It was originally issued in 1983 by Charisma Records, Virgin Records, and Chrysalis Records, and later re-released on CD in 1987. The album mixes up styles from South Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the United States, including hip hop. The album proved to be highly influential in bringing hip hop to a wider audience in the United Kingdom.[ citation needed ] Two of the singles from the album, "Buffalo Gals" and "Double Dutch", became major chart hits on both sides of the Atlantic. Duck Rock was dedicated to Harry McClintock, better known as Haywire Mac. The album artwork was designed by Dondi White and Nick Egan, with the illustration by Keith Haring.
Guest musicians featured on this album include Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley, J. J. Jeczalik, and Thomas Dolby. Side recordings that Horn, Dudley and Jeczalik made in between takes of Duck Rock would eventually become the first album of the Art of Noise, Into Battle with the Art of Noise . Clips of the World's Famous Supreme Team radio show appear between songs, which made the album one of the earliest recordings on which members of the Nation of Gods and Earths appear.
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
RapReviews | 8/10 [6] |
The Village Voice | B+ [7] |
In a contemporary review of the album, The Village Voice 's Robert Christgau found that "McLaren knows how to record African music for Western ears, and the ebullient tunes he's collected here more than make up for his annoyance quotient", but also criticised McLaren and Horn for failing to give credit to the South African musicians involved in the recording, [7] such as Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens. The mbaqanga group the Boyoyo Boys took legal action against McLaren over the similarity of "Double Dutch" with its own hit "Puleng". After a lengthy legal battle in the UK, the matter was settled out of court, with payment made to the South African copyright holders, songwriter Petrus Maneli and publisher Gallo Music, but Horn and McLaren retained their songwriting credits. [8]
Duck Rock was ranked at number nine among the "Albums of the Year" for 1983 by NME . [9] The album garnered accolades from other publications in the years following its release. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic retrospectively reviewed it as "an amazingly eclectic collection of world music mixed with urban hip-hop". [5] In 2013, NME ranked Duck Rock at number 298 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [10] In 2018, Pitchfork ranked Duck Rock at number 200 on its list of the 200 best albums of the 1980s. [11] The album also received BBC Two's Critical Music label. [12]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Obatala" | Horn, McLaren | 4:17 |
2. | "Buffalo Gals" | Dudley, Horn, McLaren | 4:22 |
3. | "Double Dutch" | Horn, McLaren | 5:53 |
4. | "Merengue" | Horn, McLaren | 3:52 |
5. | "Punk It Up" | Horn, McLaren | 4:11 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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6. | "Legba" | Horn, McLaren | 4:03 |
7. | "Jive My Baby" | Horn, McLaren | 5:35 |
8. | "Song for Chango" | Horn, McLaren | 2:49 |
9. | "Soweto" | Horn, McLaren | 3:53 |
10. | "World's Famous" | Dudley, McLaren | 1:41 |
11. | "Duck for the Oyster" | Horn, McLaren | 2:57 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI) [19] | Silver | 60,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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