| Licensed To Ill | 1986 |
| Paul's Boutique | review #2 | 1989 |
| Check Your Head | 1992 |
| Some Old Bullshit | 1994 |
| Ill Communication | review #2 | 1994 |
| Hello Nasty | 1999 |
| The Sounds Of Science (box set) | 1999 |
The Beastie Boys are pretty much the greatest rap combo of all time. I like pretty much everything of theirs that I've heard, and I've heard a lot. I don't even like rap music that much, and most rap metal does about as much for me (which is to say, NOTHING!), but these guys got it right. How? First of all, the group consists of 3 excellent rappers in Ad Rock, Mike D, and MCA. They can twist words and phrases in ways that most people can't even imagine. The alternation of their voices, all of which sound unique, keeps the songs fresh. Secondly, their lyrics are excellent. From immature to dead serious, from goofy to political, from chasing after girls in a sexist haze to "This disrespect to women has got to be through", they've covered all kinds of ground lyrically, keeping the words fresh, funny, and ultimately very entertaining. Thirdly, and most importantly, they wouldn't settle for doing the same old tunes over and over. They've branched out from punk rockers to soul grooves to straight ahead old school rap to all kinds of great stuff, but they've kept it all mixed up with their distinct personalities. Their albums almost never get boring, even when they're pulling out in every imaginable direction. The Beastie Boys are a very respectable band, which is more than you can say for the nearly interchangeable rap-metal and gangsta-rap guys out there.
--Philip Maddox
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COMMENTS
[email protected] (Andrew McQuillan)
Y'all should review Check Your Head.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party), Brass Monkey, Girls. LOW POINTS: The New Style, Slow Ride.
I can't even imagine what sort of impact the Beasties' full length debut must have caused back in 1986, as if there's one thing this album doesn't have in spades, its' subtletly. Basically, what you get is 13 tracks of the Boys (Ad Rock, Mike D and MCA) belting out obnoxious to the extreme, but often hilarious, rhymes that boast about their lyrical skills (example in "Time To Get Ill" - 'I got more rhymes than Phyllis Diller!') and their 'love' for girls over samples from whatever albums they could steal from. Needless to say, this makes for a very... interesting effect in places. There are certainly quite a few lyrical charms throughout, the most prominent of which seem to be Mike D. introducing himself practically every time he steps up to the mike, and the almost endless references to White Castle. While the guys are white rappers to the core, they also throw in hints here and there of their rock background, like the samples of Zeppelin ("Rhymin' And Stealin'" and "She's Crafty"), and CCR (the aforementioned "Time To Get Ill", which also adds the Green Acres and Mr. Ed theme songs!) plus they enlist Kerry King of Slayer to add metal riffs to two of the stronger tracks on side two.
The impact is felt almost immediately in the aforementioned "Rhymin' And Stealin'", where they quickly start boasting about their rapping and sampling talents almost as if they were pirates looting on a ship, and that attitude never lets up for the rest of the album. Things do get really inconsistent from there, however. First off, look at the year this was released. Predictably, along with some of the lyrics, the drum machines and other sounds they throw into the groove based numbers ("Slow And Low", "Posse In Effect" and the otherwise fairly interesting "Paul Revere" and "Hold It Now, Hit It!" - I like that almost jungle style rhythm after the refrain) make much of the album sound dated and noveltyish to the extreme. Other songs like "The New Style" find the Boys getting way more to the irritating and whiny than funny side, especially since the interesting music isn't there, and "Slow Ride" (which, of course, has a sample from "Low Rider") doesn't seem to have any kind of structure or interest to it at all. Kinda fillerish.
Thankfully, there are enough great moments throughout the album to make it a fairly enjoyable listening experience. Of course, the Beasties score most when this humorous attack is backed up by interesting music, as on the xylophone groove of the near-classic "Girls", which has several priceless rhymes and a charming little melody. The horn-filled party song "Brass Monkey" is also a riot, with one of the more unforgettable choruses here. And of course, the two 'metal' tracks, especially "You Gotta Fight For Your Right (To Party)", are winners. Yeah, that one may be extremely overplayed, but it deserves it - somehow, the Beasties' immature rapping style over a great riff produces spectacular results, especially when its' infectious. In the same style, "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" is a little cliched for me to love it that much, but I still dig it. So thanks to the better moments here, the Boys do show signs of immediate success, though their potential would be fulfilled in a more inventive way on subsequent albums, like the next one.
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COMMENTS
[email protected] (John Schlegel)
This album is pure, unadulterated crapola. I know it was released as a joke, but I don't buy into the goofy, fun sort-of vibe attempted here. I don't find "Girls" amusing; I think it's annoyingly mousy and stupid. "Brass Monkey" is the only song on this record I used to like, and I don't like that song anymore. Don't get me wrong; I respect the Beasties, and I think they produced some fairly creative and infectious material later in their career. But I still think they're inconsistent and overrated. On a more positive note, I LOVE "Intergalactic"--but do keep in mind that pop music was intolerably dreary in 1998, so that's not saying a whole lot.
(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: High Plains Drifter, The Sounds Of Science, Shadrach, Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun. LOW POINTS: the second half of B-Boy Boullbaisse.
The Beastie Boys get even more interesting on us! Of course, their style was already pretty unique in the first place, what with the way the guys alternated together as they boasted over a bunch of rhythms and samples, but they figured out an even cooler way to expand on it. While Licensed To Ill sounded very suspiciously like a novelty record, and it often sounded instantly dated with its' 1986 style drum machines passing off as 'grooves' for the songs, this one goes way beyond that in terms of scope. Sure, in a lot of places, The Beasties' raps aren't any less obnoxious than they were before, but their wordplay has gotten even more hilarious and clever as they drop all sorts of references and boasts here. And the music that's backing them up is densely layered with a ton of samples and effects, a few of them obvious, but a lot of them seem to have been lifted from obscure (or not so obscure) funk and rock records, or even movies in places (like the Jaws theme or the shower music from Psycho!)
No doubt, on an album like this, it's not so much about the actual songs here as it is about the sound and the way the group delivers their raps. But still, I would be hard pressed to find an individual song here that's all that weak. Okay, maybe the closing "B-Boy Boullbaisse", a 12 and a half minute medley of unfinished songs, is somewhat excessive - the individual parts here aren't bad, with just as many interesting nuances as the others, but the whole thing is so fragmented that it honestly gets really tiring for me to listen to once it makes it about halfway through. But other than that, this stuff is fun - what's most striking about these pieces is that the Beasties sample really funky and incredibly catchy basslines and/or riffs to rap over, and the effect is wildly entertaining, right from the first full-length song "Shake Your Rump" (the ending chant's a little annoying, but the rest of the song is addictively groovy, and I particularly love how one of those basslines underpins the 'hi I'm Mike D. and I'm back from the dead' line).
I won't really go into a lot of examples of samples and the most clever instances of wordplay, because that's part of the fun of listening - there's so much going on lyrically and musically that you can catch something new every time you hear it. I'll name some of my favorites here, though - "High Plains Drifter" is absolutely top notch, boasting some of the most clever and hilarious, mostly crime-related, lyrics here (and who else would rhyme 'cellular' with 'the hell you were'?) over an extremely infectious delivery, "The Sounds Of Science" grooves on a bouncy sort of bassline and rhythm as the Beasties throw out all sorts of funny science-related imagery (and pronounce 'knowledge' as 'kuh-nowledge'!) and proceed to rock out on a certain famous Beatles riff that you might know, and "Shadrach" is the most impressive funk track on the bunch, with another fantastic bassline and more lyrical cleverness (this time based on religion, heh), and "Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun" is about as good as the more metal songs on Licensed in quality, as it has a slow, threatening riff and delivery that works exceptionally.
And I haven't even mentioned the 'single' yet! "Hey Ladies" is actually one of the few songs on here that isn't based on some sort of awesome bassline, but it's nearly as addictive, as the chant of the title is strangely catchy and likeable in an obnoxiously funny way, and has more amusing boasts throughout ('I got more hits than Sadaharu Oh', or the Japanese baseball home run leader), so I dig it. Hmm... what else? "What Comes Around" is in a sort of singalong kind of vein, "Eggman" is another tight funk-based number, the really interesting storysong and/or character sketch "Johnny Ryall", with its' extremely familiar guitar riff that I can't quite place, is a heck of a fun listen, and even two of the lesser funkier tracks like "3-Minute Rule" and "Car Thief" (which continues the 'crime' theme in a few of the tracks, and is built on some weird-ass electronic noise) are still interest holding displays of soundscapes and rhymes.
Surprisingly, at the time it was released, Paul's Boutique wasn't exactly a household name or any kind of commercial success, but has now rightly been hailed as a pioneering, visionary effort in hip hop, and even inspired layered alternative stuff also produced by The Dust Brothers like Beck's Odelay (which this album puts to shame in many, many respects). The only things holding it back from a higher grade are that some of the material isn't really too memorable or brilliant on their own, and the final fragmented song collage drags, but still, this is a very solid 8, and it is certainly one of the most interesting albums rap has ever produced.
Considered by quite a few people to be the pinnacle of the Beastie Boys' careers, it's pretty hard to refute that argument. I'm listening to this album right now, and I'm noticing something - there is not ONE weak song on the entire album. Every song has something interesting going on. Almost every song on this record features a fantastic, groovy, danceable bass line that absolutely rules. Even when there is no big bass line, like on "Hey Ladies", the groove is still fast and excellent. Plus, the lyrics on here are hilarious! The Boys drop references to Bruce Willis, Chuck Woolery, "Maggie's Farm", "Up On Cripple Creek", lyrical samples from Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz" and the Ramones' "Suzy Is A Headbanger", and all kinds of interesting stuff to pull you in. Quite an interesting little record, and it deserves the reputation it's earned over the years (though I actually do like Hello Nasty a little bit more, but that's me).
Let's talk highlights for a moment. First of all, "The Sounds Of Science" starts off with a slow, menacing bass line before switching into a fast, hyper-rapped section that sounds suspiciously like it was sampled from... nah, I'm not gonna tell you. It's too much of a cool surprise. It rules. The heavy metal rap of "Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun" is loud and proud, an excellent tale of life and crime on the street set to a killer riff. "Shadrach" has an awesome bass line and lyrics comparing our boys to a certain famous biblical trio, and it rocks, featuring some of their best boasts ever (Always go out dapper like Harry S. Truman/I'm madder than Mad's Alfred E. Neuman). The crime story of "High Plains Drifter" is hilarious, ending in the aforementioned "Suzy Is A Headbanger" sample. The biggest hit single, "Hey Ladies", is great, too, boasting a great groove and more funny lyrics ("Me in the corner with a good looking daughter/I dropped my drawers and it was 'Welcome Back, Kotter'"). I could go on. Almost every song scores. Not quite a 10, but close. A very, very good album. Give it a try, won't you?
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Something's Got To Give, Pow, So What'cha Want, Jimmy James, Stand Together. LOW POINTS: None.
The Beastie Boys found a really neat style on Paul's Boutique that they understandably could have chosen to keep replicating and building on for the rest of their career. So what do those three lovable guys who used to sing about brass monkeys, girls, and parties do? Completely reinvent themselves again, of course! And contrary to what some might think, I find the direction they take on Check Your Head even more intriguing than Paul's. Basically, what the Boys do for the first time since their early recordings is actually make the radical move of picking up their instruments and actually playing them, then record a whole album's worth of material that covers an interestingly diverse ground. Yeah, at the core it's grounded in hip hop, but there's a good helping of funk and jazz influenced workouts (several of them in instrumentals), as well as a bit of punk, soul-styled grooves, atmospheric spoken word tracks, more rock based moments, and so on. Very nice.
The one thing that many seem to love about the Beasties which is really not anywhere near as apparent here, though, are the hilarious, interesting lyrics, and while I guess a good dose of those brilliant one-liners and interplay are missed (I barely even notice the lyrics on here as a whole, actually), the music more than makes up for that shortcoming for me. What's also interesting to note is that, with some minor exceptions, there really aren't a lot of sample driven moments here either, which pushes things even further away from the last album. I don't really mind, though, as several of the grooves on here are awesomely addictive and catchy, even the shorter ones like the singalong soul of "Lighten Up" and "Funky Boss" really get under your skin with their repetitive chants and fantastic rhythmic approach, and the boys let you know they intend to drive the album with this approach right away on the opening "Jimmy James", which might have slightly more emphasis on rhymes than most, but what I really remember is that great bassline and the subtle twists in the background noises and such.
Elsewhere, there are a heck of a lot of tracks here on this one (20), and while I won't go through everything, nor am I crazy about all of them (single "Pass The Mic" and "Professor Booty", even though still fun and groovy while they're playing, don't really strike me as much of a memorable listen), I can definitely find something to like about pretty much everything included. There's more fun in the flute sample-led "Finger Lickin' Good" (whose main hook and rhythm there really stick in your mind, almost a precursor to the next album's "Sure Shot") and more charmingly bratty stuff such as "Live At PJ's", sure, but I'm more impressed with several other tracks that show growth and (gasp) maturity in songwriting. Don't tell me they could have ever pulled off a song like "Something's Got To Give" during the 86-89 period - it's basically a slightly Eastern influenced (in the backing vocals) repetitive chant that really sucks you in due to its' trance like atmosphere. I'm not even sure what it does that's so special to make it my favorite, but it's extremely memorable and has a welcome subtlety nothing they did had before.
Even when they're not exactly subtle, like on the punk-styled "Time For Livin'", the results are excellent - listen to their approach to that particular style, with its' fast-paced vocal attack and tightness, or the most popular song here ("So What'cha Want") and tell me that you don't hear anything that rap-rock, or nu-metal, or whatever, owes a lot to. Actually, "So What'cha Want" goes pretty far beyond what most of that stuff usually does - with its' thudding, intense rhythm (which in itself propels the overall picture here), distorted vocals and the way they're delivered, it provides a foundation for something in your face, and don't forget the electric guitar breaks and opening organ swirls, both of which provide a brilliant touch to the whole song.
You know what's also brilliant on this album? The almost porn-movie style instrumental (not that I'm really an expert in the field... honest) "Pow", which has an irresistibly funky groove that is so unbelievably good it could get just about anyone on the floor dancing, with great fast bass work and an effective slowed down ending. I also approve of "Groove Holmes", another bass/organ workout that convinces me the idea of the Beastie Boys doing an album featuring this stuff is pretty neat overall. Other surprises include "Stand Together", with its' almost dissonant horn in the beginning, providing a very neat twist to an almost jazz-styled rap rock song to make it another minor highlight, and by the time the spoken word closer "Namaste" hits (which finds the Beasties getting introspective and mellow on us) you know that creative growth has settled in. An all-around excellent album that I actually think surpasses the last one in quality, but that's just my perspective. Not quite brilliant, mostly due to unmemorability and a few unassuming moments, but still a pretty impressive, and creative, work for the 90's all the same.
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Get It Together, Sabotage, Sure Shot. LOW POINTS: B-Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak, Bodhisattva Vow.
Since Check Your Head established a newfound popularity for the Beastie Boys after the commercial slump of Paul's, I guess they felt the need to 'build' on that direction. The result was another commercial success, but for me at least, this is a big letdown after the last album, partly because it seems to coast on that style so blatantly without being as interesting or memorable (i.e. they throw in way too many funk/soul instrumentals that don't have nearly the variety or power of their counterparts from before, and there's also an overkill of distorted vocal pieces and even less interesting lyrics than before). Ill Communication is also frustrating because it seems to be one of the most inconsistently frontloaded albums ever made. The first seven songs on here are usually pointed out as one of the most classic stretches of Beasties' history, and for the most part, I'm going to have to agree with that asessment, but I will not agree with the greatness of the rest.
Let's concentrate on what is awesome, though. The opening "Sure Shot" is one of the classic examples of both the alternating rhymes between the Boys and their neat, catchy approach to rhythm (that drum sound they get on here, and throughout a lot of the album, is so cool!), with an infectious repeated flute sample. There's also the even bigger success of a single in the fantastic "Sabotage", which finds the band at their hardest rocking and in-your-face ever. It's been overplayed on MTV and radio, definitely, but the incredible driving, catchy power it has via the intense chugging riffs and loud, abrasive vocal approach makes it yet another classic. To a slightly lesser extent, there's the killer old school funk of "Root Down", another catchy delight with a vintage awesome bassline, an adrenalized hardcore punk tune in "Tough Guy", and a fun instrumental interlude in "Bobo On The Corner".
But topping them all is the brilliant "Get It Together" (featuring a cameo from Q-Tip), a candidate for the single catchiest and funniest rap song ever written. It's got an amazing groove and addictive hook going on (which becomes even more powerful when the beat drops out), and a whole supply of cool flowing one liners not seen since Paul's Boutique - 'well I freak a funky beat like that shit was in a blender', 'I eat the fucking pineapple Now and Laters', 'listen to the ladies come on and let me spawn', 'I'm like Ma Bell, I got the ill communications', etc. Have the Beasties ever written anything better than this one? I don't think so. Of course, I don't think they've written much worse than the irritating distorted vocal fest of "B-Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak" either, but hey, that's how the album's inconsistency goes (that same inconsistency also obscures such lyrics in the mix as 'and like the Knicks I got game like I worked at Hasbro' - as a commentator pointed out on the Prindle site, that's a double simile! How cool is that???)
After those first seven tracks, though, I'm at a loss to call anything on here really great, or memorable for that matter. There's nothing really that bad here (except maybe the Buddhist chanting-laced song suite "Shambala" and "Bodhisattva Vow" near the end), but virtually the entire second half is just background noise to me. The sound is still cool like it was on Check Your Head, but it's still background noise nonetheless. Like I said, way too many soul instrumentals that all sound alike, and only "Futterman's Rule" (with a great distorted bass sound and chord progression) comes halfway close to their triumphs in that department, while out of the rest, only isolated moments amongst the numerous unassuming stuff here are memorable (the depressing violin in "Eugene's Lament", the interesting tempo shift of the "Tough Guy" rewrite "Heart Attack Man", and the bassline to "Alright Hear This"). I can still give the album a low 7 because the high points are so unbelievably good, and the weak stuff isn't so much bad as it is pointless, but I'm wondering whether or not people who call this a great Beasties album put too much emphasis on the quality of the first half while not paying much attention to the second.
This album is best known for containing the biggest hit to come out of the Beastie Boys, the chugging, suspenseful, awesome "Sabotage", complete with a funny, groovy, typically Beastie video. Great tune, but then again, you probably already know that if you've watched MTV in the past 8 years. It's the sixth song on here, and all of the first seven songs basically sound that good. You might know "Sure Shot", featuring a cool, repeated flute sample and some great beats, in the best tradition of the Beasties. "Root Down" was another minor hit, featuring an AWESOME bass line and catchy chorus (trust me, you'll be singing "How we gonna kick it/Gonna kick it root down!" for weeks after hearing it).
"B-Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak" is a groovy, distorted rap tune, "Tough Guy" is an exciting hardcore punk number (clocking in at under a minute), "Bobo On The Corner" is a supremely funky instrumental, and "Get It Together" just rules. Have you ever heard that song? It's got this awesome moog groove, cool samples, and a hilarious guest rap from A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip. "I Eat the fuckin' pineapple Now And Laters" is great, and there are few boasts better than "Like Ma Bell/I got the ill communication". Aw man, rap can't get much better than those first 7 tracks.
Unfortunately, though, that's where the album starts to fall apart. Remember how I described "B-Boys Makin'" as a groovy, distorted piece? It's not bad, but it's the weakest track of the opening 7 (because the distorted vocals kinda get in the way). This style is repeated throughout the album ad nauseum. Tunes like "Flute Loop" and "The Update" and "Bodhisattva Vow" just aren't interesting at all, and there's no real reason to ever hear them. Plus, the go completely overboard with the soul instrumentals here. The instrumentals on Hello Nasty worked because they were all different sounding, funny, and dripping with originality. These instrumentals have none of those qualities; they're all identical to each other, cliched, and deadly serious. Yawn. None of the last 13 tracks on this album stand out for me at all. Well, maybe the other hardcore punker, "Heart Attack Man", will draw your attention, but by the time you get to it, you probably won't care. This album's worth it for those opening 7 tunes, but you may as well just turn it off after that. Hello Nasty pulled these guys out of their slump in a big way.
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COMMENTS
[email protected] (Andrew McQuillan)
Damn right about 'Get it Together'. Kick ass shit.
(reviewed by Philip Maddox)
Wow! 22 tracks on this one, almost 70 minutes of music, it's a rap album, and every songle track sounds different! OK, their rapping style remains constant on all the tunes they rap on, so you can easily tell it's the Beasties throughout most of the album, but the music and beats are all startlingly different. And, though a lot of people think that this variety kinda sucks and doesn't work, I actually enjoy every last track here. Of the more Beasties styled tracks, the opening 1-2 punch of "Super Disco Breakin'" and "The Move" are sure to get you excited, with their fast beats, rapid gear shifting, and cool effects to get you into the music. The hit single "Intergalactic" was huge, and it should have been. Fantastically catchy. "Unite"? "Remote Control"? "Electrify"? "Three MCs and One DJ"? Great songs, all. It's classic Beasties rap, played perfectly. Oh, and I HAVE to mention "Putting Shame In Your Game", a slow, awesome groove with one of the coolest arrays of sounds and beats are slapped together to fuse into a great song.
Where a lot of the controversy around this album lies is in the totally non-Beasties styled tracks. Lounge jazz tunes like "Picture This" and "I Don't Know", carousel music on "Song For The Man", free styled reggae on "Dr. Lee, PHD", and some bizarre stuff like "And Me" and "Instant Death" that I can't even classify. For me, though, the only weak track in this bunch is the kinda pointless "shout out" list of "Dedication". I love the rest of these tunes, especially "Song For The Man", which really grooves, "Instant Death", which is really weird, bizarre, and downright CREEPY ("Please let me die an instant death"), and "Dr. Lee, PHD", which most people seem to hate, but I sure don't. It's simple, repetitive synth groove which can really MOVE you if you're in the mood (not move as in "break down in tears", but move as in "groovin' on the dance floor"). This is a great album, and I actually like it better than their more widely cited Paul's Boutique, though that's just me.
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