| The Beatnigs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 1988 |
| Recorded | 1988; Dancin' Dog Studio, Emeryville, California |
| Genre | Industrial hip hop, political hip hop, experimental rock, spoken word |
| Label | Alternative Tentacles [1] |
| Producer | The Beatnigs |
The Beatnigs is the only album by the San Francisco band the Beatnigs, released in 1988. [2] [3] It combined punk, industrial and hip hop influences. [4]
Michael Franti wrote all of the lyrics to the songs; he also played bass. [5] The album was produced by the Beatnigs. [6] An enclosure explaining the origins of the band's name was included with the album. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [8] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10 [9] |
Spin wrote that the album mixed "the Last Poets’ severe rhetoric with the horrific industrial grinding of Einstürzende Neubauten." [10] Trouser Press said that "this striking San Francisco quintet explodes in a tight and danceable riot of industrial percussion, vocals and tape manipulations." [11] The New York Times called the album "a powerful conglomeration of taped sounds—speeches by Malcolm X, for instance—industrial noise made with saws, sirens and oil drums, and a conventional rhythm section." [5]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide called it "the most interesting and innovative album any of Franti's three groups has made, loaded with sonic twists and turns." [6] The Spin Alternative Record Guide deemed it "an angrier warm-up to De La Soul a year later: choppy beats mingled with inflammatory news items, goofy how-to spiels, exhortations from Malcolm X and others, and twisted loops of electro-industrial din." [9]
All songs written by the Beatnigs.
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