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Urban75 Album of the Year 1994

stavros said:
OK, I gave Illmatic a listen the other day, knowing I love it already, and I'll try to explain why. Firstly it's only 40 minutes long, very short for a hip hop album, and so it doesn't drift. There's also a consistency I like, with no one outstanding track dominating the others. With Jeru's The Sun Rises... I like it all, but I get especially excited for Come Clean.

I always tend to think that hip hop albums work best with a single producer (early Wu, Snoop and Dre, the first two Beasties albums), because there's a constant theme. Despite Illmatic having numerous people twiddling the knobs, Nas himself maintains a rhythm that I think makes the album work like a cohesive whole.
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Yeah it's very no nonsense... Pure..... I gave it a relisten too and it sounded lean and fresh, particularly next to what else was going on .... No gimmicks, no skits, heads down.... Definitely one for purists.
I don't really notice when the producers switch, I think the beats are consistent too
 
Nobukazu Takemura - Child's View
I heard of this guy when Aphex Twin remixed Let My Fish Loose. The albums is a very listenable bit of nu-jazz / lounge.
 
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As well as Lifeforms FSOL released the initial [black version] of ISDN in 1994. The full release in 1995 [white version] had a slightly different track listing. A collection of live recordings of some of the Future Sound Of London radio shows for various stations, slight bit more of a trip hop / jazz feel to this one.
 
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stavros said:
OK, I gave Illmatic a listen the other day, knowing I love it already, and I'll try to explain why. Firstly it's only 40 minutes long, very short for a hip hop album, and so it doesn't drift. There's also a consistency I like, with no one outstanding track dominating the others. With Jeru's The Sun Rises... I like it all, but I get especially excited for Come Clean.

I always tend to think that hip hop albums work best with a single producer (early Wu, Snoop and Dre, the first two Beasties albums), because there's a constant theme. Despite Illmatic having numerous people twiddling the knobs, Nas himself maintains a rhythm that I think makes the album work like a cohesive whole.
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Yeah, suppose this probably is just one of those things of individual taste that's hard to put into words or rational argument. Agree that it not being overly long and bloated is definitely a point in its favour, but having gone back and listened to Illmatic and 6 Feet Deep a bit this week, I still just get that feeling of "fuck yeah this is so good" from the first bars of 6 Feet Deep and Illmatic doesn't spark the same reaction. Suppose lack of skits is another point in its favour, but the Gravediggaz album manages to keep it down to one and, impressively, it is actually quite funny.
 
ska invita said:
Can anyone work out what year we started doing these decade review threads? belboid?
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This was the first one:

www.urban75.net

Urban75 Album of the Year 1967

I know it's traditional to wait for the end of the year for polls, but I think we are on fairly safe ground with this one. Usual rules apply*, except I can only be arsed to read your Top 10's, so don't bother with more than that. It's a bumper year for albums, as bands finally worked out how...
www.urban75.net www.urban75.net

though there seems to be a 1957 one as well. Possibly started after (I could check but I'm procrastinating as it is).
 
maomao said:
This was the first one:

www.urban75.net

Urban75 Album of the Year 1967

I know it's traditional to wait for the end of the year for polls, but I think we are on fairly safe ground with this one. Usual rules apply*, except I can only be arsed to read your Top 10's, so don't bother with more than that. It's a bumper year for albums, as bands finally worked out how...
www.urban75.net www.urban75.net

though there seems to be a 1957 one as well. Possibly started after (I could check but I'm procrastinating as it is).
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Thanks.... I don't think I took part in that round m.. Just looked at some of my early lists, I don't think I'd make the same choices now..... We're going to have to go around again ;)
 
Little Axe- The House That Wolf Built

On-U Sound production with Skip McDonald and Adrian Sherwood in a tribute to Howling Wolf

 


In 1994 Ghanaian Ata Kak self released a cassette of his music, Obaa Sima, mixing house, rap and highlife. He made 50 copies and sold about 3, the rest getting spread around friends and families.

That could've been an end to it except Awesome Tapes From Africa founder Brian Shimkovitz bought a copy at a roadside stall in Ghana in 2002. He eventually tracked down Ata Kak and rereleased the album in 2017 to far greater success, leading to Ata Kak playing Glastonbury that year.

It's excellent.
 
Tranquility Bass – Broadcast Standard Issue No. 1.

.An EP unfortunately so it doesn't count however its great . Cantilla is a downtempo classic and I just can't get enough of They Came in Peace mixes. Always thought Kandel was underrated as an artist.

 
Fez909 said:
Doesn't work as an album, though it is. It's just straight up bangers.
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The curse of proper dance music albums... after 4 minute mark I start shouting at the tune to get mixed :D

Im half way thought that African Dream album you posted < loving this, great find. Eightball is a great label, Ive never mined it, need to do that
 
The first Palace Music record I bought. Didn’t like it and sold it. I was a knucklehead because about 15 years later I bought a second hand cd and liked it.

 
The first 2 officially released Reggaeton albums from Puerto Rico:

Playero DJ – 37 Underground



The Noise – Original Underground



At this point the name 'reggaeton' hadn't really stuck to the music, it still being called 'underground' or 'perreo'. The scene developed amongst poor black people in Puerto Rico (Panama claims to have originated the sound in the late 80s) with DJs mixing hip hop and dancehall beats for MCs to freestyle over in Spanish. The dembow riddim from Steely & Clevie's Poco Man Jam soon became the backbone beat.

Cassettes circulated but these two albums were the first to get an actual release. I don't speak Spanish, so have no idea what the lyrics are but they were notorious for including violence, sexism and homophobia. The Pueto Rican authorities were appalled and clamped down on the scene. Areas where it was popular were targeted for police raids, shops selling the music were raided and cassettes seized under obscenity laws, baggy clothing was banned from schools. None of which dented it's popularity. The sound spread to the white youth, politicians used the music in their campaigns, it became less wild.

Fast forward 10 years and Daddy Yankee (who is one of the MCs on 37 Underground) broke through internationally with his worldwide hit Gasolina, between 2018 and 2020 Luis Fonsi's Despacio was the most streamed video on YouTube and reggaeton is now a regular feature at the Grammy awards.
 
Spandex said:
The first 2 officially released Reggaeton albums from Puerto Rico:

Playero DJ – 37 Underground



The Noise – Original Underground



At this point the name 'reggaeton' hadn't really stuck to the music, it still being called 'underground' or 'perreo'. The scene developed amongst poor black people in Puerto Rico (Panama claims to have originated the sound in the late 80s) with DJs mixing hip hop and dancehall beats for MCs to freestyle over in Spanish. The dembow riddim from Steely & Clevie's Poco Man Jam soon became the backbone beat.

Cassettes circulated but these two albums were the first to get an actual release. I don't speak Spanish, so have no idea what the lyrics are but they were notorious for including violence, sexism and homophobia. The Pueto Rican authorities were appalled and clamped down on the scene. Areas where it was popular were targeted for police raids, shops selling the music were raided and cassettes seized under obscenity laws, baggy clothing was banned from schools. None of which dented it's popularity. The sound spread to the white youth, politicians used the music in their campaigns, it became less wild.

Fast forward 10 years and Daddy Yankee (who is one of the MCs on 37 Underground) broke through internationally with his worldwide hit Gasolina, between 2018 and 2020 Luis Fonsi's Despacio was the most streamed video on YouTube and reggaeton is now a regular feature at the Grammy awards.
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Reggaeton is popular in Portugal , far more popular than reggae itself.
 
Fez909 said:
Great Deep House album that still holds up today. I only became aware of it a few years ago and still play it out regularly


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following on from this nice little mix of Eightball Records tunes from 1994 here, including an African Dream tune:


Wall Of Sound– Penetration
Child Of Slan– Always Say Ever (Forever Jazzy Mix)
Ebony Soul– I Can Hardly Wait (Eightball Vocal Mix)
Groove Thing– Jazzy's Nice Thing 1
The Funky Fusion Band– Soweto Stomp
The Girl!– Fired Up (Fired Up Dub)
Joi Cardwell– Goodbye (New Vocal Mix)
Robert Aaron– Sax In The Ozone (Safe Sax Mix)
Lectroluv– Dream Drums (Junior Vasquez All Over The Sound Factory Mix)
Lectroluv– The Difference (Of A Different Funk Mix)
Wave– Enjoy Life (Surreal Mix)
The African Dream– African Spirits
Tiny Bubbles– The Hands Of A Raindrop (Erotic Club Dub)
250 Lbs. Of Blue– Risin' To The Top (Stand, Rise-N-Clap)
Lectroluv– Struck By Luv
 
I don't like Portishead.

They were amazing and interesting and really represent that mid to late 90's period where things got more experimental and explorative again.

I'm glad they existed, but it's music that tells me how to feel. And I don't want that, it doesn't feel earned.
 
Knotted said:
I don't like Portishead.

They were amazing and interesting and really represent that mid to late 90's period where things got more experimental and explorative again.

I'm glad they existed, but it's music that tells me how to feel. And I don't want that, it doesn't feel earned.
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Yeah I found it too depressing. Its brilliantly put together of course.. File under music flatmate kept playing and annoyed me :D
 
For the Spandex lover amongst us Enuff Z'Nuff released 1995 (in 1994), as did Tuff and Bang Tango.

For full on metal/rock though Korn released their self titled album, Kyuss released Sky Valley, Machine Head did Burn My Eyes, and then Marylin Manson, Megadeth, Motley Crue, Nailbomb, Pantera, Prong, Soundgarden (super unknown) and Therapy all turned up too.

Am loving the variance of the different styles of music that people are posting. I'm guessing we were at an age whe. We were fully focussed on our own tribes :)
 
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