Duck Rock

A contentious classic, Malcolm McLaren's DUCK ROCK has been controversial since its late 1982 release. Some feel it's an ahead-of-its-time cross-cultural document; others find it exploitative, and its creator--who barely appears on his own album, singing on only about a third of the tracks--an opportunistic huckster. That last is indisputably true, as his history with the Sex Pistols attests, but DUCK ROCK is a remarkable piece of work. Set up as a New York radio show starring the World Famous Supreme Team, the album intercuts the deejays' on-air patter with field recordings of traditional music made in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas. From the exciting and influential hip-hop square dance "Buffalo Gals," through the South African "Soweto" and "Double Dutch," to the breathless Latin "Merengue," the Trevor Horn-produced recordings are excellent, and the sonic juxtapositions are both thought-provoking and very funny.|