The seven-times platinum album is one of the most successful albums of all time.
It was also was the definitive soundtrack to 1996 for those of us there.
On a personal note, in NYC you could not escape this album from the moment it was released. There was a huge marketing campaign (I can still see the sticker on my dorm room door), a ton of radio/club play and it felt like everyone (no matter their background or tastes) dug it. Today music is to striated, but in '96 the radio/MTV and word of mouth was still huge, in fact, The Score may have been the last pre-internet true behemoth record.
You can just say the song titles and will instantly know the songs, simply put it was and still is, a monster of an album. Shouting out the likes of Nina Simone, Cyndi Lauper album titles and Charmin toilet paper while sampling everyone from The Delfonics to The Flamingos to Little Feat to Eric B and Rakim to Dennis Coffey to most famously Bob Marley and Roberta Flack, the Fugees (and some producers) were well versed in song craft, but also brought their own swag to the show.
The trio of Pras, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill tapped into a magical mix of street and pop on this album that just connected unlike almost any other hip-hop record at the time, or since. They really never worked together again, and maybe didn't need to, as each had huge hits individually as well as varied career issues post Fugees.
Let's flashback to their heyday in 1996 though and enjoy this top to bottom classic album as The Score celebrates it's 30th anniversary.
Here are a few tunes to get you started:
No comments:
Post a Comment