G. Love & Special Sauce - G. Love & Special Sauce

With Beck's unexpected commercial breakthrough, everyone's suddenly interested in a new kind of music best described as "slacker-rap." Although it uses the sing-song cadences of hip-hop, it's the polar opposite of gangsta rap; in both its laid-back delivery and self-deprecating lyrics, slacker-rap acknowledges vulnerability and failure. It was done first and best by Washington's Basehead, but it gets an invigorating twist on "G. Love and Special Sauce," the eponymous debut album from this Philadelphia trio.

G. Love not only looks like Michael Stipe, but he has the same mealy-mouthed vocal delivery. If Stipe ever decided to record his first rap album with an unplugged blues trio, it'd probably sound a lot like "G. Love and Special Sauce." Recorded live with no drum machines, samples or overdubs, the album creates a fresh, distinctive sound with its odd blend of lazy rapping and funky acoustic blues. Unfortunately, G. Love's absurdist observations on life aren't as funny as those by John S. Hall of King Missle, and the laid-back minimalism of the music wears thin after a while. Only "Baby's Got Sauce," which boasts a pop hook and a valentine to a domineering woman, holds up on repeated listens. --Geoffrey Himes Amazon.com

One of the best for a mellow mood...

This was the first G. Love CD I heard, and it got me hooked. It is perfect for chilling out on a rainy day on your front porch. April 15, 2008

Can't help but move.....

I was re-visiting some older CDs & put this back on my playlist. Heard this CD at a party in '95 and bought it the next day. The chorus & street rhythms still sound new, and the great production helps bring out the downright cheekiness which makes you want to dance.

Stand outs:
This Ain't Livin'
Cold Beverage (GREAT chorus)
Baby's Got Sauce
October 7, 2006

Best G. Love and SS have to offer

This is still one of my favorite albums. I thought that G. Love was an aquired taste sort of band, but my girl seemed to like them when we saw G. open up for a very dissapointing Dave Matthews Band. Oh yeah it's that easy. September 15, 2006

Awesome!

G. Love and Special Sauce is a fresh breath of summer air. I think this album is perfect for summer! It has the roots of classic jazz and original hip-hop style mixed together to perfection. I love it! June 6, 2006

Modern day blues...

What I like most about G. Love is that he was one of the few artists in the mid 1990's who had the guts to put out an album that was so faithful to the blues yet created something new by fusing it with a hip hop attitude and delivery. I have always felt that some of the elements of rap were present in popular music as far back as the lyrics of Chuck Berry, but G. Love took the setting of bluesmen like Son House and combined it with rap, ultimately creating a new genre. I read an article where he stated he only played the oldest Dobros he could find to give the music an authentic feel, and it definitely worked. He also displayed a knowledge of blues history and manages to name many of the key players in blues history from 1920-1970 in a verse of "Blues Music". I can listen to this disc all the way through without skipping anything; the grooves they laid down are infectious. This CD always makes me feel like I'm on the back porch in the summertime. If you like that feeling, this one is for you. November 17, 2005

More reviews at Amazon.com ...