Heart Of The Congos (studio album)
by The Congos

Heart Of The Congos by The Congos
Year: 1977
Overall rank: 990th   
Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 266 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1977 (23rd)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (205th)
Award Top 1,000 albums of all time (990th)

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Product Details
Availability

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eBay
Heart of the Congos, The Congos 1992--CD
Condition: Good


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Heart of the Congos [VP] by The Congos (CD, May-2005, 2 Discs, VP Records) NEW!
Condition: Brand New


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HEART OF THE CONGOS - The Congos Black Ark 1978 2nd Pressing Green & White label
Condition: Used

$350.00


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The Congos bestography

Heart Of The Congos is ranked as the best album by The Congos.

The Congos album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (990th)
Heart Of The Congos
Lower ranked (16,319th) »
Congo Ashanti

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Feb
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Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy play R.E.M.
The Fillmore, San Francisco, United States. United States
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03
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19:30
Roomful of Teeth
University at Buffalo - Slee Hall -, Buffalo, United States. United States
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Jan
08
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20:00
Dexter and The Moonrocks
Baltimore Soundstage, Baltimore, United States. United States
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Heart Of The Congos track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
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1.
Average Rating: 85 (57 votes)Comments: View 1
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2.
Average Rating: 81 (45 votes)Comments: View 1
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3.
Average Rating: 82 (43 votes)Comments: View 0
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4.
Average Rating: 82 (44 votes)Comments: View 0
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5.
Average Rating: 81 (42 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 80 (41 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Average Rating: 80 (41 votes)Comments: View 0
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8.
Average Rating: 81 (39 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Average Rating: 83 (43 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Average Rating: 82 (40 votes)Comments: View 0
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Heart Of The Congos rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 990th | 1970s rank: 205th | 1977 rank: 23rd

Heart Of The Congos collection

Heart Of The Congos ratings

Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 266 votes)
   Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 266 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 !
12/07/2025 19:43 Exist-en-ciel   4,26270/100
 
10/100
 !
11/23/2025 07:19 NYAndreas   1,43243/100
 
65/100
 !
06/19/2025 20:28 Elauqsapid   2,71564/100
 
60/100
 !
05/28/2025 17:04 marcoserra1966   72358/100
 
80/100
 !
05/26/2025 15:47 dukeboxkool   1,97772/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.5/100, a mean average of 77.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.7.

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Heart Of The Congos comments

Showing all 10 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
50/100
From 10/10/2022 22:59 | #290349
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/03/2021 12:50 | #265658
Grande material de roots reggae! Mestres!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 03/20/2018 17:46 | #211347
Entrancing and gentle but a bit repetitive too.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (0 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 11/29/2017 17:45 | #202325
An excellent record. Brilliantly crafted reggae which is almost hypnotic at times in it's delivery. It maybe slightly overlong but it's a small quibble. All in all, a good album. Totally underrated.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (1 helpful | 1 unhelpful)
From 05/16/2014 17:55 | #111988
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -4 votes (0 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
From 03/19/2014 02:09 | #106803
Fantastic

Reminds me of Christmas!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -1 votes (1 helpful | 2 unhelpful)
From 03/01/2014 21:59 | #105042
As NoWaxJim says this is 'unmitigated genius'! A great album far ahead of its time.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 12/14/2013 16:28 | #97586
Good stuff. Make sure to only get the blood and fire reissue of this as others have shoddily reproduced sound compared. The blood and fire one is deleted though I think but worth getting as far superior sound wise. Made iTunes refund me when I got a poor version of this. Grat album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 02/27/2013 23:59 | #66428
What is most incredible about this album is how otherworldly and full sounding it is given that it was recorded at Black Ark Studios, a 4-track studio with notoriously basic equipment. This is Perry's greatest achievement and - without meaning to do a significant disservice to the band, whose vocal harmonies and rootsy themes are timeless, and were entirely necessary in coaxing this stunning work from Scratch - The Congos are cogs in a much more impressive machine.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 10/03/2011 19:21 | #28003
Why no-one else has seen fit to comment on this work of unmitigated genius is beyond me. I've got 3 things to say about this LP - 1. it's one of the only JA LPs you can listen to from start to finish and think "you know what, this is an album, not a collection of singles with a few fillers chucked in" (Jamaican music has NEVER been album-focused, but there's some gems around if you look hard enough, this being the prime example). 2. If you ever need evidence that Lee 'Scratch' Perry is a visionary and the most important thing ever to happen to Jamaican music (bar perhaps Coxsone Dodd) here's your proof. and 3. if your knowledge of 'reggae' (horrid word) goes no further than 'Bob Marley', I strongly suggest you whack this on, pump it up, lie back and let it soak in. It will start you on a wonderful, fulfilling journey, trust me...
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +17 votes (17 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1977
1. Rumours by Fleetwood Mac
2. Animals by Pink Floyd
3. Marquee Moon by Television
4. Low by David Bowie
5. Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols by Sex Pistols
6. Aja by Steely Dan
7. The Stranger by Billy Joel
8. Exodus by Bob Marley & The Wailers
9. "Heroes" by David Bowie
10. The Clash by The Clash
11. Trans Europa Express by Kraftwerk
12. Pink Flag by Wire
13. My Aim Is True by Elvis Costello
14. Lust For Life by Iggy Pop
15. Out Of The Blue by Electric Light Orchestra
16. Talking Heads: 77 by Talking Heads
17. Rocket To Russia by Ramones
18. Suicide by Suicide
19. Bat Out Of Hell by Meat Loaf
20. The Idiot by Iggy Pop
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