Incredible Bongo Band
http://www.mrbongo.com
styles: funk,
original breakbeat
others: James Brown
, Average White Band, Funkadelic, Sly & the Family
Stone
 Bongo Rock
Mr. Bongo, 2006
rating:
4/5
reviewer: filmore mescalito holmes
Do you know the name Michael
Viner? You’ll never forget it after you read this review. In a time long
ago, after promoting people like Ramsey Lewis and Woody Allen in LA, he
took a job as aide to Senator Robert Kennedy. Following Rob’s tragic
assassination at the hands of the CIA, Viner left politics to work for
Metro Goldwyn Mayer’s record company. There, he signed the Osmonds and
Sammy Davis Jr., for whom he produced “Candy Man” and other hits.
MGM also makes movies, so when cult b-movie The Thing With Two Heads
needed a couple tracks to score a tacked-on car chase, Viner hopped into
the studio with a few jam ideas and Academy Award nominee Perry Botkin Jr.
The subsequent “Bongo Rock” / “Bongolia” single surprisingly went on to
sell over two million copies in North America and provided the duo with a
little incentive. With unlimited studio time at his disposal, Viner formed
the only two Incredible Bongo Band albums out of sessions with Traffic
drummer Jim Gordon, bongo master King Errisson, Hal Blaine, Ringo Starr,
John Lennon, Glenn Campbell, Harry Nilsson, and anyone else who happened
to drop by. The albums didn’t come close to repeating the commercial
success of the first single, but that’s not where the life of these albums
ended.
In the mid to late ‘70s, Kool Herc found and looped the breakdowns of
“Bongo Rock” and their cover of The Shadows’ “Apache” for the New York
dance scene, making these the base for some of the first hip-hop tracks
ever produced. “Apache” has gone on to become one of the most sampled
songs in music history as it provided the backbone for hip-hop, breaks,
and influenced many other genres (seeing use from Coldcut, Goldie,
Jurassic 5, Sugarhill Gang, Massive Attack, and many others along the
way). So, yeah, Viner’s got himself quite the legacy.
This Bongo Rock re-release collects both of the legendary deep funk
IBB albums with a couple old school remixes, so if you’re looking to own a
solid chunk of music history, this is it. These original works have aged
gloriously and stand well on their own, even if you have no appreciation
for the genres they inadvertently helped create. “Apache” may be the most
recognizable, but there is still a rich field of extractable samples to be
had for the next generation. There may never be another album this far
reaching and significant again.
1.
Apache
2. Let
There Be Drums
3. Bongolia
4. Last
Bongo In Belgium
5.
Duelling Bongos
6.
In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
7.
Raunchy ‘73
8.
Bongo Rock
9.
Kiburi (Part 1)
10.
Sing Sing Sing
11. (I
Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
12. Wipeout
13. When
The Bed Breaks Down, I’ll Meet You In The Spring
14. Pipeline
15. Okey
Dokey
16. Sharp
Nine
17. Hang
Down Your Head, Tom Dooley
Your Tie’s Caught In Your
Zipper
18. Apache
(Grand Master Flash Remix)
19. Last
Bongo In Belgium (Breakers Mix)
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