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Track Listings
| 1. Obatala |
| 2. Buffalo Gals |
| 3. Double Dutch |
| 4. Merengue |
| 5. Punk It Up |
| 6. Legba |
| 7. Jive My Baby |
| 8. Song For Chango |
| 9. Soweto |
| 10. World's Famous |
| 11. Duck For The Oyster |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Before I heard African dance rhythms in popular music, before I heard Paul Simon's 'Graceland' and before I heard anyone 'scratching', this album brought these (and hundreds more) sounds and influences together in this incredible album.
Not only does it feature classic McLaren tracks of the time (especially the smash hit Buffalo Gals), but it also features most of the members of the yet to be formed Art of Noise (including Trevor Horn as the producer).
This is an extraordinary album and anyone interested in the beginnings of pop/world music crossover, hip-hop, scratching or sampling should listen and learn.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Duck Rock from 1983 still sounds fresh and relevant. It's a brilliant fusion of world & roots music, scratch and sampling techniques, dance beats, pop hooks and rock riffs. The mainly instrumental Obatala opens the album on a moody mid-tempo note; based on a drumming style from the Dominican Republic, the languid track has snippets of a female vocal far in the background. Legba is similarly atmospheric but based on Cuban beats and purely instrumental whilst Buffalo Gals is an expertly arranged feast of samples, scratching, percolating rhythms and solo & massed vocals.
Four songs are inspired by and employ musicians from South Africa, three from the Zulu culture and from the Shangaan (Tsonga). They are (1) the uptempo Double Dutch, one of the most melodious tracks with various forms of backing vocals (2) the fascinating hybrid Punk It Up, a song about The Sex Pistols sung in English and Zulu with pennywhistles and gospel backing vocals, (3) the tuneful Jive My Baby Jive with its great interplay of male and female vocals and hypnotic beat. Shangaan township music is represented by (4) the buoyant Living on the Road in Soweto, an example of a popular style also present on Paul Simon's Graceland.
Another one with a pronounced African influence is Song For Chango, a combination of chanting & Afro-Cuban rhythms. The fast-paced and polyrhythmic Merengue takes the listener back to the Dominican Republic, and is vaguely reminiscent of some of the styles that Kid Creole & The Coconuts experimented with. Duck Rock concludes with Duck for the Oyster, a vibrant finale based on the Appalachian square dance with inspired fiddle playing. What makes it all the more charming and cohesive is the voice of a DJ and the callers that give it the lively feel of a radio show. Malcolm McLaren proves himself to be an excellent stylist on this innovative and well-produced album. Duck Rock is a joyful musical tour through Africa and the Caribbean.
Four songs are inspired by and employ musicians from South Africa, three from the Zulu culture and from the Shangaan (Tsonga). They are (1) the uptempo Double Dutch, one of the most melodious tracks with various forms of backing vocals (2) the fascinating hybrid Punk It Up, a song about The Sex Pistols sung in English and Zulu with pennywhistles and gospel backing vocals, (3) the tuneful Jive My Baby Jive with its great interplay of male and female vocals and hypnotic beat. Shangaan township music is represented by (4) the buoyant Living on the Road in Soweto, an example of a popular style also present on Paul Simon's Graceland.
Another one with a pronounced African influence is Song For Chango, a combination of chanting & Afro-Cuban rhythms. The fast-paced and polyrhythmic Merengue takes the listener back to the Dominican Republic, and is vaguely reminiscent of some of the styles that Kid Creole & The Coconuts experimented with. Duck Rock concludes with Duck for the Oyster, a vibrant finale based on the Appalachian square dance with inspired fiddle playing. What makes it all the more charming and cohesive is the voice of a DJ and the callers that give it the lively feel of a radio show. Malcolm McLaren proves himself to be an excellent stylist on this innovative and well-produced album. Duck Rock is a joyful musical tour through Africa and the Caribbean.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By H. Lindsay
Format:Audio CD
Cast your mind back to the heady days of 1983 and realise that this was the album that brought African and so World Music to the masses. Mclaren toured the ghetto areas of America collecting hip-hop music, spicing it up with help from Trevor Horn and artistes later to go on to form The Art Of Noise, before crossing the atlantic and taking tracks from South Africa's shanty towns and tribal areas. The result is an album which digs deep into cultural roots and fuses the rhythms with modern day beats and instruments. From the opening tribal rhythm of Obatala through the commercial Buffalo Gals this album takes you through Cajun to the pure Zulu jive music of Soweto before coming full circle back to the USA with the hillbilly-style Duck Rock.
Many of the commercial artistes who appeared in the mid-eighties - Bhundu Boys, Johnny Clegg and Hugh Masakela owe a lot to this album for opening up their style of music to a wider audience.
Paul Simon? He came along a few years later with Graceland... but McLaren got there first.
Thoroughly recommended to anyone as a starting point for the music of other cultures..... with a lot of rhythm thrown in.
Many of the commercial artistes who appeared in the mid-eighties - Bhundu Boys, Johnny Clegg and Hugh Masakela owe a lot to this album for opening up their style of music to a wider audience.
Paul Simon? He came along a few years later with Graceland... but McLaren got there first.
Thoroughly recommended to anyone as a starting point for the music of other cultures..... with a lot of rhythm thrown in.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Proper music
I originally had this album in the ninety, but some how got mislaid I it was so good to locate
Published 4 months ago by Andy
5.0 out of 5 stars
I defy you to not dance to this!
I bought the vinyl 'x' years ago and just kept playing and playing..... but with the sands of time it drifted away into the sunset of my collection. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Mr. Clive L. Knight
1.0 out of 5 stars
duck rock
this cd is not good do not buy this cd it is a rip of
Published on 10 Sep 2010 by enyo
5.0 out of 5 stars
African & Caribbean textures
Duck Rock from 1983 still sounds fresh and relevant. It's a brilliant fusion of world & roots music, scratch and sampling techniques, dance beats, pop hooks and rock riffs. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2009 by Pieter Uys
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tasty blend!
Released in 1983, Duck Rock has passed the test of time with flying colors. It's pure genius, a brilliant fusion of world and roots music, scratch and sampling techniques, dance... Read more
Published on 9 Aug 2009 by Pieter Uys
4.0 out of 5 stars
Seamless blend of world, pop and rock music
Duck Rock is pure genius – a brilliant fusion of world and roots music influences, the scratch and sampling technique, dance beats, pop hooks and rock riffs. Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2002 by Pieter Uys
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