About this item

"Check Your Head" brought the Beastie Boys crashing back into the charts and into public consciousness on its original 1992 release. Following "Paul's Boutique", the Beasties had repositioned themselves as a lo-fi, alt-rock groove band. They had not abandoned rap, but it was no longer the foundation of their music, it was simply the most prominent in a thick pop-culture gumbo where old school rap sat comfortably with soul-jazz, hardcore punk, white-trash metal, arena rock, bossa nova, spacey pop, and hard, dirty funk. On "Check Your Head" turned toward primitive grooves they played themselves, augmented by keyboardist Money Mark and co-producer Mario Caldato Jr. Music was the message, and the rhymes, which had been pushed toward the forefront on both "Licensed To Ill" and "Paul's Boutique", have been considerably de-emphasized (only four songs - "Jimmy James," "Pass the Mic," "Finger Lickin' Good," and "So What'cha Want" - could hold their own lyrically among their previous work). The focus is on the music, mood, and even the newfound neo-hippie political consciousness. As much as "Paul's Boutique", this is a whirlwind tour through the Beasties' pop-culture obsessions, but instead of spinning into Technicolor fantasies, it's earth-bound DIY that makes it all seem equally accessible - which is a big reason why it turned out to be an alt-rock touchstone of the 90s, something that both set trends and predicted them.

TRACK LISTING

Jimmy James 3:14
Funky Boss 1:35
Pass The Mic 4:17
Gratitude 2:45
Lighten Up 2:41
Finger Lickin' Good 3:39
So What'cha Want 3:37
The Biz Vs. The Nuge 0:33
Time For Livin' 1:48
Something's Gotta Give 3:28
The Blue Nun 0:32
Stand Together 2:47
Pow 2:13
The Maestro 2:52
Groove Holmes 2:33
Live At P.J.'s 3:18
Mark On The Bus 1:05
Professor Booty 4:13
In 3's 2:23
Namasté 4:01