Perfect Beat / Imperfect Life

It’s easy to do the math. I’ve been collecting music for half a century. It’s no wonder that the heroes of my musical youth are starting to become extinct. And they don’t even have to die young anymore. Now it’s Bambaataa’s time to permanently relocate to Planet Rock.

May he rest in peace. And in reflection, one might need to add, looking back not only at his musical legacy but also at the things that threw a big dark shadow over it. Decades of molestation and abuse of minors – that’s much more than a blemish, even on the record of a musical legend.

What made the legend is – obviously – the title track. “Planet Rock” sounds like almost nothing else at that point in time – except for Kraftwerk, for obvious reasons. Who would have thought that early Hip Hop would get a huge burst of innovation from a group of nerdy white dudes from Düsseldorf. But taking inspiration from “Trans Europe Express” and “Numbers” was a genius move.

Part of the genius will have to be attributed to the producer of this milestone track, Arthur Baker. How much he and his partner John Robie defined the sound of the major tracks on “Planet Rock – The Album” becomes evident when the personnel changes. The last three tracks were produced by Doug Wimbish, Keith LeBlanc and Skip McDonald, and they are only loosely related to the hits that inhabit the A side.

It’s not like these three tracks hadn’t been produced with competence and care. But they are already hinting at a problem that troubled later albums by Bambaataa – a tendency to incorporate all kinds of influences into his productions and losing coherence and clarity of concept on the way.

Sure, it’s a good idea to invite Melle Mel to the party on “Who You Funkin’ With?”. Makes huge sense. And yet… the track doesn’t really come from Planet Rock, it sounds way more like being influenced by what happened between the title track and the release of this album several years later. Def Jam had released milestone albums, Kurtis Blow had entered the scene, and all of them had this super raw and stripped down sound, not much more than beats and rhymes. The producers probably would have been wiser to keep this track raw – it does way too much, especially towards the end.

Similar challenges need to be attributed to “They Made A Mistake”, a track that is performed by M.C. G.L.O.B.E. and Pow Wow. Another attempt to adapt to the Hip Hop styles of the mid-90s with an attempt to add some beef to the bones. At the time of the release of this album, Hip Hop and Rap had progressed beyond what Bambaataa and his colleagues had to offer.

And then there’s “Go-Go Pop”, a collaboration with Trouble Funk. I liked the whole Go-Go thing, and I once saw Trouble Funk live on stage, it was a super energetic and sweaty night, tons of fun. Trouble is, though, that Go-Go never took off. Just like it doesn’t take off here. Trouble Funk don’t get to pump the track up with their full percussive power, their horns stay at home completely. And the lyrics… A girlish singer suggests to “go to the go-go”, an idea that Bambaataa and his friends happily support. “Let’s go to the go-go” they keep echoing. Party all night long. Electro and Go-Go just don’t go-go together.

There’s no telling how Bambaataa’s musical path had progressed if he had decided to stick to what made him a legend. If he had decided to keep close to Arthur Baker. “Planet Rock” is a milestone. “Looking For The Perfect Beat” not much less than that. In my musical upbringing, “Perfect Beat” was more impactful than “Planet Rock”. The beats. The chants. The synths. It was bare and funky, it was electronic and epic, there was an idea and it could be felt as much as it could be heard. Beat this!

“Renegades Of Funk”? Well. The selection here is the Latin Rascals remix. These two guys were a tiny bit famous for a while, mostly because they did a well known remix for “Axel F.” I would have preferred the less cut-copy-paste-infested original. Comparing this track from 1983 with the last three tracks of the album that are from 1986, it is obvious that the magic of the Soul Sonic Force was mostly in its beginning – a sentiment that is similarly applicable to “Frantic Situation (Frantic Mix)”.

I have no idea when and how I came across this album. What I know is that right around the time I prepared for graduation some Bambaataa was played at the club I hung out at whenever I could. It’s where I first heard “The Message” first, and the follow-up “Message II (Survival)” with Melle Mel & Duke Bootee, I liked that much more than part one, and I am quite sure they sometimes played some Jonzun Crew and Newcleus. Wikki wikki!

All of that music owes a lot to Bambaataa. He’s the originator, no doubt about that. The man himself owed the world a lot too. Explanations. Apologies. Atonement. Instead, he didn’t even show up in court when the case was made against him. The organization he founded, the Universal Zulu Nation, had no choice but to disassociate itself from Bambaataa. Now he’s gone, and maybe the death of Florian Schneider in 2020 deserves more mourning than the passing of Lance Taylor.

Release for review:
AFRIKA BAMBAATAA & SOULSONIC FORCE – PLANET ROCK • THE ALBUM – TOMMY BOY – TBLP 1007

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