Six years after "Hello Nasty", an older, wiser and entirely essential Beastie Boys re-emerged with "To The 5 Boroughs", a passionate love letter to NYC written in the wake of 9/11. As usual they deliver their irrepressible tag team rhymes, mixing up celebrations of their home city with witty put downs of George W and his policies, and of course their usual stoopid bragging, but this time dropping them over stripped down backing tracks, that give a nod to the past (check "Triple Trouble" with its Sugarhill Gang samples), while obviously being influenced by hip hop and R'n'B's more recent electronic styles.

This deluxe edition features 11 bonus tracks, including remixes and B-sides.

TRACK LISTING

1. Ch-Check It Out
2. Right Right Now Now
3. 3 The Hard Way
4. It Takes Time To Build
5. Rhyme The Rhyme Well
6. Triple Trouble
7. Hey Fuck You
8. Oh Word?
9. That's It That's All
10. All Lifestyles
11. Shazam!
12. An Open Letter To NYC
13. Crawlspace
14. The Brouhaha
15. We Got The
16. Brrrr Stick Em
17. And Then I
18. Now Get Busy
19. Ch-Check It Out (Just Blaze Remix)
20. Triple Trouble (Brainpower Remix)
21. Triple Trouble (J. Wizzle Remix)
22. Triple Trouble (Dexter's Triple Decollte Situation)
23. Triple Trouble (Graham Coxon Remix)
24. Rizzle Rizzle Nizzle Nizzle
25. MTL Reppin' For The 514
26. RRNN: Straight Outta Shibuya 

The latest edition in DJ Soopasoul's 'Soopastole Edits' series looks like it may fly off the shelves, and with good reason. The lead cut is not an edit per se, but rather a crafty, clever and expertly produced mash-up that places selected rap flows from the acapella version of Beastie Boys classic 'Ch-Check It Out' over a tightened up and fattened up rearrangement of MFSB's disco-era jam 'People All Over The World'. Sometimes these kinds of mash-ups can be messy, but this genuinely isn't, with the Beasties' vocals fitting the backing track like a glove. Over on side B Soopasoul shares his tweak of the MFSB track, which is entirely instrumental bar periodic use of the band's female backing vocals.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Check It Out People
B1. People All Over The World (dub)

NOT FOR SALE ONLINE - PRICE IS £117.99 - See Instore for ordering details...

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Beastie Boys’ multi-platinum album Check Your Head, UMC release a limited-edition reissue of the rare 4LP deluxe version of the album, originally released in 2009 as an artist store exclusive. The long out-of-print and much sought-after box set features the 2009 remaster of the original double album, plus two extra LPs of bonus content including remixes, live versions, and B-sides. All four LPs are pressed on 180-gram vinyl and housed in a fabric wrapped, stamped, hardcover case.

Originally released in April 1992, Check Your Head was a milestone for Beastie Boys on multiple levels: It was their first album to be produced, in its entirety, by Beastie Boys with Mario Caldato Jr. and to feature keyboard player Keyboard Money Mark, as well as the first to be recorded at the band’s own G-Son studios in Atwater Village, CA. Most significantly, however, Check Your Head marked the return of live instrumentation to the forefront and backbone of the Beastie Boys sound, with the bulk of the album featuring Mike D on drums, Adrock on guitar and MCA on bass for the first time since the band’s early 1980s hardcore punk recordings.

Vinyl reissue with two newly added bonus tracks, “Soba Violence,” and a rare cover of “Light My Fire.” Previously released on clear vinyl for Record Store Day 2021, this is the standard black 180g vinyl format.

Derided as one-hit wonders, estranged from their original producer and record label, and in self-imposed exile in Los Angeles, the Beastie Boys were written off by most observers before even beginning to record their second album - an embarrassing commercial flop that should have ruined the group's career. But not only did 'Paul's Boutique' eventually transform the Beasties from a fratboy novelty to hip hop giants, its sample-happy, retro aesthetic changed popular culture forever.

With the considerable help of Los Angeles-based production duo the Dust Brothers, the Beastie Boys helped redefine what sampling could be with this record. Snatches of familiar music are scattered throughout the record - anything from Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" and Sly Stone's "Loose Booty" to Loggins & Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance" and the Ramones' "Suzy Is a Headbanger" - but never once are they presented in lazy, predictable ways. the Dust Brothers and Beasties weave a crazy-quilt of samples, beats, loops, and tricks, which creates a hyper-surreal alternate reality, evolving into a wholly unique record, unlike anything that came before or after. It very well could be that its density is what alienated listeners and critics at the time; there is so much information in the music and words that it can seem impenetrable at first, but upon repeated spins it opens up slowly, assuredly, revealing more every listen. Musically, few hip-hop records have ever been so rich; it's not just the recontextulations of familiar music via samples, it's the flow of each song and the album as a whole, culminating in the widescreen suite that closes the record.

STAFF COMMENTS

David says: I don't want to come across all 'hip hop isn't what it used to be' BUT you can't listen to this without.
A: Dancing like a drunk uncle at a very funky wedding.
B: Smiling like you've got a winning lottery ticket in your pocket.

TRACK LISTING

To All The Girls 1:29
Shake Your Rump 3:19
Johnny Ryall 3:00
Egg Man 2:57
High Plains Drifter 4:13
The Sounds Of Science 3:11
3-Minute Rule 3:39
Hey Ladies 3:47
5-Piece Chicken Dinner 0:23
Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun 3:28
Car Thief 3:39
What Comes Around 3:07
Shadrach 4:07
Ask For Janice 0:11
B-Boy Bouillabaisse 12:34
59 Chrystie Street
Get On The Mic
Stop That Train
A Year And A Day
Hello Brooklyn
Dropping Names
Lay It On Me
Mike On The Mic
A.W.O.L.

Double LP gold here, The Beastie Boys finest fifteen tracks throughout their incredible career. This record features some of the best tunes such as ‘Fight For Your Right’ and ‘An Open Letter to NYC’ but is filled to the brim with all the best of beasties. The Beasties consistent 'triple trouble' MC style is the thread that runs through each track here, creating cohesion to this whole LP, which presents us with a great overview of their career so far.

TRACK LISTING

A1. So What'Cha Want
A2. Brass Monkey
A3. Ch-Check It Out
A4. No Sleep Till Brooklyn
B1. Hey Ladies
B2. Pass The Mic
B3. An Open Letter To NYC
C1. Root DowN
C2. Shake Your Rump
C3. Intergalactic
C4. Sure Shot
D1. Body Movin' (Fatboy Slim Remix)
D2. Triple Trouble
D3. Sabotage
D4. Fight For Your Right

Six years after "Hello Nasty", an older, wiser and entirely essential Beastie Boys re-emerged with "To The 5 Boroughs", a passionate love letter to NYC written in the wake of 9/11. As usual they deliver their irrepressible tag team rhymes, mixing up celebrations of their home city with witty put downs of George W and his policies, and of course their usual stoopid bragging, but this time dropping them over stripped down backing tracks, that give a nod to the past (check "Triple Trouble" with its Sugarhill Gang samples), while obviously being influenced by hip hop and R'n'B's more recent electronic styles.  Four singles were released from the album, "Ch-Check It Out", "Triple Trouble", "An Open Letter to NYC", and "Right Right Now Now", but it's very difficult to choose a favourite on this career highpoint.

TRACK LISTING

Ch-Check It Out
Right Right Now Now
3 The Hard Way
It Takes Time To Build
Rhyme The Rhyme Well
Triple Trouble
Hey F*?# You
Oh Word?
That's It That's All
All Lifestyles
Shazam!
An Open Letter To NYC
Crawlspace
The Brouhaha
We Got The

American bands have never gotten in the habit of their British counterparts, who tend to release lots of extended singles filled out with not-meant-for-prime-time experimentations. If the Beasties had gotten into that habit, this would be their B-side compendium. Originally released through the Beastie Boys' French fan club, The In Sound From Way Out! is a collection of the group's funky instrumentals from Check Your Head and Ill Communication, with a couple of new tracks thrown in. The Beasties have a flair for loose, gritty funk and soul-jazz, and the stuttering, greasy keyboards of Money Mark give the music an extra edge - he helps make the music sound as authentic as anything from the early '70s.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Ricky's Theme
A2. Groove Holmes
A3. Pow
B1. Son Of Neckbone
B2. Bobo On The Corner
B3. In 3's
B4. Eugene's Lament
C1. Futterman's Rule
C2. Shambala
C3. Transitions
C4. Sabrosa
D1. Drinkin' Wine
D2. Namaste
D3. Lighten Up

The joke of Licensed to Ill's cover - that the Beasties could crash their jet into the side of a mountain and keep on tickin' - serves as a good metaphor for a career that even some of their 1986 admirers thought might be over after the one-time-only shock of this full-length debut. That thousands of funk-junkie wannabes have since failed at re-creating its groove, breaking-the-law vibe, and ear-splitting mix of rock and rap is an even better joke. And funniest of all is the record itself, which packs dexterous boasts, aural puns, and lots and lots of yelling into a disc that can still be listened to with as much pleasure as it gave in '86.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Rhymin’ & Stealin'
A2. The New Style
A3. She’s Crafty
A4. Posse In Effect
A5. Slow Ride
A6. Girls
A7. Fight For Your Right
B1. No Sleep Till Brooklyn
B2. Paul Revere
B3. Hold It Now, Hit It
B4. Brass Monkey
B5. Slow And Low
B6. Time To Get Ill

The joke of Licensed to Ill's cover - that the Beasties could crash their jet into the side of a mountain and keep on tickin' - serves as a good metaphor for a career that even some of their 1986 admirers thought might be over after the one-time-only shock of this full-length debut. That thousands of funk-junkie wannabes have since failed at re-creating its groove, breaking-the-law vibe, and ear-splitting mix of rock and rap is an even better joke. And funniest of all is the record itself, which packs dexterous boasts, aural puns, and lots and lots of yelling into a disc that can still be listened to with as much pleasure as it gave in '86.

TRACK LISTING

1 Rhymin & Stealin 4:08
2 The New Style 4:36
3 She’s Crafty 3:35
4 Posse In Effect 2:26
5 Slow Ride 2:57
6 Girls 2:14
7 Fight For Your Right 3:27
8 No Sleep Till Brooklyn 4:07
9 Paul Revere 3:41
10 Hold It Now, Hit It 3:26
11 Brass Monkey 2:37
12 Slow And Low 3:38
13 Time To Get Ill 3:40

"Ill Communication" follows the blueprint of "Check Your Head", accentuating it at some points, deepening it in others, but never expanding it beyond the boundaries of that record. It was the first Beastie Boys album not to delve into new territory, but it's not fair to say that the band were coasting, since much of the album finds the group turning in muscular, vigorous music that fills out the black-and-white sketches that comprised "Check Your Head". Much of the credit has to go to the group's renewed emphasis on their rhyming; there are still instrumentals, but the Beasties do push their words to the forefront, even on dense rockers like the album's signature tune, "Sabotage". But even those rhymes illustrate that the group is in the process of a great settling, relying more on old-school-styled rhyme schemes and word battles than the narratives and surreal fantasies that marked the high points on their first two albums. With this record, the Beasties confirm that there is indeed a signature Beastie Boys aesthetic, with the group sticking to a blend of old school rap, pop culture, lo-fi funk, soulful jazz instrumentals, Latin rhythms, and punk, often seamlessly integrated into a rolling, pan-cultural, multi-cultural groove.

TRACK LISTING

Sure Shot
Tough Guy
B - Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak
Bobo On The Corner
Root Down
Sabotage
Get It Together
Sabrosa
The Update
Futterman's Rule
Alright Hear This
Eugene's Lament
Flute Loop
Do It
Ricky's Theme
Heart Attack Man
The Scoop
Shambala
Bodhisattva Vow
Transitions

"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

"Hello Nasty", the Beastie Boys' fifth album, is a head-spinning listen loaded with analogue synthesizers, old drum machines, call-and-response vocals, freestyle rhyming, futuristic sound effects, and virtuoso turntable scratching. The Beasties had long been notorious for their dense, multi-layered explosions, but "Hello Nasty" was their first record to build on the multi-ethnic junk-culture breakthrough of "Check Your Head", instead of merely replicating it. Hiring DJ Mix Master Mike (one of the Invisibl Skratch Piklz) turned out to be a masterstroke; he and the Beasties created a sound that strongly recalls the spare electronic funk of the early 80s, but spiked with the samples and postmodern absurdist wit that have become their trademarks.