New Album Review - The Observer 23/05/2004

[Parkey]

Album review from the Observer newspaper (UK);
Observer Review (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/reviews/story/0,13875,1219495,00.html)

Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs

A back-to-basics approach suits these eloquent veterans, says Luke Bainbridge. (Capitol, £13.99)


There's something slightly disconcerting about rappers reaching the ripe old age of 40. A hip hop generation ago, 40 was just the size of bottle that wannabe B-boys slugged from. Now, as hip hop reaches its late twenties itself, its early protagonists are inevitably nearing the wrong end of their thirties. OK, that's a slight disservice to the Beasties - they're not quite over the landmark age hill; but they've certainly got a good view from where they are. No longer the bendy punk-rappers of yesteryear, slightly wizened where they were once wiry, not even these boys can hide from adulthood any more. All the more refreshing, then, to hear them sound as invigorated and energetic as ever after their six-year hiatus. After 1998's Hello Nasty - slightly disappointing, despite notching up nearly four million sales - and the subsequent tour, they were forced to close their uber-cool record label Grand Royal in 2001 due to increasing debts, then built their own studio in Manhattan where To The 5 Boroughs was recorded. Then, of course, came 9/11.
Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D were all at home in downtown Manhattan on the morning of 11 September 2001, and the knock-on effects and American's reaction to them pretty much form the basis of To the 5 Boroughs. Their most politicised album to date, it's littered with a cluster bomb of verbal attacks on Bush and his administration - 'We've got a President we didn't elect/ The Kyoto treaty he decided to neglect/ And still the US just wants to flex,' ('Time to Build') - and on America's foreign policy - 'I'm getting real tired of the situation/ The US attacking other nations,' - but thankfully this doesn't descend into simple ham-fisted disses and, more importantly, doesn't disrupt the flow of their triangular rhymes. Such sentiments are also countered by the album's second lyrical thread - their celebratory, unshakeable belief in the unity and diversity of New York - 'Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten/ from the Battery to the top of Manhattan/ Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin/ Black and white, New York make it happen,' - best typified by 'An Open Letter to New York': 'Dear New York, I hope you're doing well/ I know a lot has happened and you've been thru hell.../ Dear New York, I know a lot has changed/ Two towers down but you're still in the game.'

Not that every track comes laden with a message - there's still plenty of room for their trademark light-hearted quick-fire rhyme exchanges, not least on the single and opener 'Ch-check It Out' and old-skool dancefloor filler 'Triple Trouble' - 'If you wanna know the real deal about the three, well let me tell ya, we're triple trouble y'all.' Plus a huge spectrum of references cultural (Herman Munster to Cirque du Soleil) and musical - 50 Cent's 'In da Club' to Dolly Parton's 'Nine to Five'.

The return to a pre-Check Your Head approach is emphasised by the downing of tools in favour of predominantly programmed beats which, stripped back with a heavy bottom end, give a real old skool feel.

They may have always been Manhattan boys, formed in Greenwich Village back in 1981, but everyone knows the Beasties' best record is their LA album - the sun-drenched funky goofball rap of Paul's Boutique. Now, with To the 5 Boroughs, they've gone and made an album worthy of NYC. And in doing so defiantly proved that, like New York, they are very much still in the game.

[Parkey]

they gave it 4/5 by the way

[Rodie]

After 1998's Hello Nasty - slightly disappointing

I stopped reading after that

[mixmastermike]

me to

i guess the man has got no taste

[splatter-house]

I stopped reading after that

Hello Nasty was definitely my least favourite album, but I agree that PB is untouchable

[abcdefz]

Album review from the Observer newspaper (UK);
Observer Review (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/reviews/story/0,13875,1219495,00.html)

Beastie Boys: To the 5 Boroughs

Their most politicised album to date, it's littered with a cluster bomb of verbal attacks on Bush and his administration - 'We've got a President we didn't elect/ The Kyoto treaty he decided to neglect/ And still the US just wants to flex,' ('Time to Build') - and on America's foreign policy - 'I'm getting real tired of the situation/ The US attacking other nations,' - but thankfully this doesn't descend into simple ham-fisted disses and, more importantly, doesn't disrupt the flow of their triangular rhymes.... 'Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten/ from the Battery to the top of Manhattan/ Asian, Middle-Eastern and Latin/ Black and white, New York make it happen,' - best typified by 'An Open Letter to New York': 'Dear New York, I hope you're doing well/ I know a lot has happened and you've been thru hell.../ Dear New York, I know a lot has changed/ Two towers down but you're still in the game.'



Um..... am I the only one who thinks this does sound ham-fisted? The album already sounds dated, and it hasn't even come out yet... hmmmm......

[Rich Cheney]

I stopped reading after that

People, you need to realize that alot of folks, like myself, think Hello Nasty was sub-par.

[Michelle*s_Farm]

People, you need to realize that alot of folks, like myself, think Hello Nasty was sub-par.

Not sure if I am correct about this: People who dislike Hello Nasty appear to dislike experimental music (e.g., Buffalo Daughter, Cibo Matto, Kraftwerk etc.), electronica sounds (e.g., Chemical Brothers), and Dub (Lee Scratch Perry) mixing it up with the hip hop stylin' of the Beasties. I like it, but I would not enjoy every LP to do this. Indeed one thing I like about the Beasties is that they attempt to design each album so that it has a unqiue flavor, trying to avoid a carbon copy of the previous LP. This must be challenging to say the least. I hope they accomplished this once again with the T5B's. We will find out soon enough.

[cj hood]

People, you need to realize that alot of folks, like myself, think Hello Nasty was sub-par.


i agree........too rehearsed!!

[Rodie]

Not sure if I am correct about this: People who dislike Hello Nasty appear to dislike experimental music (e.g., Buffalo Daughter, Cibo Matto, Kraftwerk etc.), electronica sounds (e.g., Chemical Brothers), and Dub (Lee Scratch Perry) mixing it up with the hip hop stylin' of the Beasties. I like it, but I would not enjoy every LP to do this. Indeed one thing I like about the Beasties is that they attempt to design each album so that it has a unqiue flavor, trying to avoid a carbon copy of the previous LP. This must be challenging to say the least. I hope they accomplished this once again with the T5B's. We will find out soon enough.

I agree, I love electronica, maybe that's why HN is my favorite album.

[Parkey]

I love electronic stuff and have a genuine love of experimenal/avant garde music ranging from pretty straight laced stuff like Autechre, LFO through to VVM, Kid 606, Jen Jelinek, Bogdan Razcinski etc. Having said all this I think HN was not a strong album. It had some really great tracks and was still head and shoulders above most stuff, it didn't have the same impact or cohesion of their other stuff.

[Rich Cheney]

Not sure if I am correct about this: People who dislike Hello Nasty appear to dislike experimental music (e.g., Buffalo Daughter, Cibo Matto, Kraftwerk etc.), electronica sounds (e.g., Chemical Brothers), and Dub (Lee Scratch Perry) mixing it up with the hip hop stylin' of the Beasties. I like it, but I would not enjoy every LP to do this. Indeed one thing I like about the Beasties is that they attempt to design each album so that it has a unqiue flavor, trying to avoid a carbon copy of the previous LP. This must be challenging to say the least. I hope they accomplished this once again with the T5B's. We will find out soon enough.

Good observation, let me clarify why I was disappointed with Hello Nasty.

Experimental, Electronical music is fine when it's done right. "And me" is a good example of an electronical/experimental song done right. No gripes there, although the Fatboy Slim Body Movin remix has to be the most monotonous song I have ever heard.
Dub Music - Love it, Lee Perry is indeed a legend "ackee and codfish", should I say more? Dr. Lee PHD was not album worthy, It's like Elton John and Billy Joel collaborating and coming up with Cry me a river.
Attention Deficiency Syndrome Beats - The Move switches up so much that everytime I start to feel a beat it changes to another beat, I just couldn't follow it with a steady head bob.
Picture This - The flattest voice I ever heard on a production album.
Lyrically the entire album falls short, only occasionaly due the Beasties show their brilliance, other times their adding filler upon filler.
The overall sound just seems very generic as if like it is too clean.

I'm not trying to be a hater nor a critic just sharing my opinions, I think the new song is brilliant, and the samples I heard of the new album have me floored. I just feel that no real effort was put into Hello Nasty and most of the album content was b-side material.

Thanks for listening.

[OldskoolWarrior]

i'm thinking about this section:
Plus a huge spectrum of references cultural (Herman Munster to Cirque du Soleil) and musical - 50 Cent's 'In da Club' to Dolly Parton's 'Nine to Five'.

whats the connection with 50 cent?(i cant stand this man)

[Parkey]

I was wondering the same. I think they may rap the 'Go Shorty' bit which 50 Cent also used but is by no means his.

[abcdefz]

I think Hello Nasty is the best thing they've done. PB nips at its heels, and CYI is close behind that.

[OldskoolWarrior]

i'm pretty sure that beasties make fun of his style and try to beat him with intelligent and funny lyrics. everbodys knows that beastie boys hate 50 cent and gangster things.

[tha funk freaka]

hello nasty was a good surprise to me.it was probably the best rap CD of 1998 so i cant believe that it was disappointing..

[Jiberish]

I don't have a Beastie Boys album I don't love, but I have 1 or 2 I don't listen to as much. HN is one of those. I like every singl song on it. Really. And I think it's some of the best hip-hop they've ever made (next to PB). BUT, It's too long, to schizo, and the only album that it flows better then is IC.

In my opinion the Beasties have made three perfect records. LTI, PB and CYH.
one pretty fucking good record. IC
And one excellent (perfect being better then excellent) record. HN.


I would love to say TT5B is another perfect record. From what I've heard so far, it very well could be.

[GeminiFreak]

I stopped reading after that



WHAT>?????????????? DUDE, PLEASE FOR THE SAKE OF LICKING THERE ASSHOLES, BE REAL. I LOVE THE BOYS, THAT ALBUM WAS GOOD ,,BUT NOT GREAT.

[pwp]

its true...Hello Nasty selling 4 million copies was the work of a marketing genius. Hype, I reckon, like the Beastieography on MTV in late '97. The fact that TT5B has been 6 years coming will only exemplify this hype factor. BBC radio 1 over here in the UK is plugging the boys like I've never seen them plug any band before!

[roosta]

Personally, i think Hello Nasty is a great album, but i aint go no problem with someone saying its slightly dissapointing. I mean its only slight....


And Hello Nasty is the bomb

This is a good review too.......

[SleeveZipper]

well i like HN (a lot), i can feel y'all saying it is to polished up or something. It isn tmy favourite, but still beats every other rap record from that time till now. To me all the BB albums are things i hear again and again, but for albums from Eminem or something, i like em 1 or 2 months and then i'll forget about it.

The only so versitile and always bringin shit that makes you wanna listen to it for years is OutKast. (im only talkin but hiphop)

I didnt HN was disappointing, but i can imagine people think so.

peace out, frieden aus, vrede uit

[pesto pizza]

the beastie boys album in greatness order 1.paul's boutique 2.check your head 3.licensed to ill 4.hello nasty 5.ill commuication.

[roggerz]

Having said all this I think HN was not a strong album. It had some really great tracks and was still head and shoulders above most stuff, it didn't have the same impact or cohesion of their other stuff.

I agree, there's about five tracks off HN that just get skipped if i'm hyping myself up to go out... Dedication, for instance can become annoying. Having said that I think HN wasn't a strong BEASTIES album - which doesn't make it a bad album amongst it's peers.

[abcdefz]

I think Hello Nasty is their best journey. PB is a party, which is great; but with HN, you don't end at the same place where you began.

There's a reason why "To All the Girls" basically loops that record. HN is just a more adult album.

[MIKE 2tha D]

I like hello nasty, maybe one of my favs, and to prove the point, i like electronica style music (chemical brothers, aphex twin, etc)

[marsdaddy]

I think Hello Nasty is their best journey. PB is a party, which is great; but with HN, you don't end at the same place where you began.

There's a reason why "To All the Girls" basically loops that record. HN is just a more adult album.I think the only thing that detracts from PB's greatnes, is the "To All the Girls" loop..oh, and "Hey Ladies" :o.

You're right, PB is less adult than HN, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it? PB is miles more adult than LTI, though that in itself doesn't make it better, to me. To me, what makes PB their best album is the layers of sounds, innovative samples, and goofy rhymes. Also, what they did with PB can probably never be replicated, since samples didn't have to be cleared, at that time.

I like HN, but I agree with much that has been said here. It is the least played of my Beastie collection. Also, I realized recently that one of the reasons I like LTI so much is that it takes me back to that time in my life. Many of the songs, and particularly the rhymes, are not that great. "...I did it like this, I did it like that, I did it with a whiffle ball bat."

[Parkey]

explain the link between electronica and HN. I just don't see it

[DandyFop]

I think what you need to remember is that for some people, the greatness of an album takes a while to understand. My love for the Beasties albums has switched around over the years as I delved deep into each one - first it was PB, then HN, now CYH.

Depending on what this guy who wrote the interview is like, maybe he's only listened to it a few times and didn't have the chance to develop the appreciation for it like some of us have.

Either way, I think it was a good review. Not only looking at the album, but looking at the place the guys are in their career, and the changes they've gone through from when they've started.

[paul jones]

I think what you need to remember is that for some people, the greatness of an album takes a while to understand. My love for the Beasties albums has switched around over the years as I delved deep into each one - first it was PB, then HN, now CYH.

Depending on what this guy who wrote the interview is like, maybe he's only listened to it a few times and didn't have the chance to develop the appreciation for it like some of us have.

Either way, I think it was a good review. Not only looking at the album, but looking at the place the guys are in their career, and the changes they've gone through from when they've started.
well put DF!

Reviews are not to be taken seriously or should harm your love for the sounds the Beastie Boys make.
Mark Beaumont of the N.M.E. crucified their recent London show. Journalists are just jealous people who have no talent other than putting fancy words together and mimmicking each other's styles and qoutes.

they are in some ways as bad as politicians.

[Jiberish]

well put DF!

Reviews are not to be taken seriously or should harm your love for the sounds the Beastie Boys make.
Mark Beaumont of the N.M.E. crucified their recent London show. Journalists are just jealous people who have no talent other than putting fancy words together and mimmicking each other's styles and qoutes.

they are in some ways as bad as politicians.


I think what you may mean is Critics are just jealous people with no talent. Journalists, for the most part, are very talented wordsmiths. The critcis are the one (usally, not always) who ctitique things because they can't get thier own careers off the ground.

[Parkey]

music journalists are normally failed musicians.
bitter.

[abcdefz]

I think the only thing that detracts from PB's greatnes, is the "To All the Girls" loop..oh, and "Hey Ladies" :o.

You're right, PB is less adult than HN, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it?



Not necessarily, but, for me, it affects its repeatability. It's got basically one mood that shifts a few degrees here and there, but that's it. Granted, it does it in an astonishing way, but it's still more of an amusement park ride than a companion.

I can throw on HN and hit repeat and I'm fine for the day, because it's really diverse. I think it shows respect for the audience, also, not to assume they can't handle the journey and the shifts. I think it's a beautifully modulated record, and really rich.

PB is rich in ambition and it packs a ton of stuff in.... so I think we're arguing Citizen Kane vs. Magnificent Ambersons, here.

[Parkey]

Check Your Head is their best album.
Discussion over :)

[romanpetr]

Check Your Head is their best album.
Discussion over :)

(y) This is a good resume after all fabrications!

[Parkey]

(y) This is a good resume after all fabrications!
I trust you agree! :D

[PaddyBoy]

Check Your Head is their best album.
Discussion over :)

Well, in my opinion, Pauls Boutique is the best album but Ill Communication has the largest share of the best songs. What do you make of that huh?

[Parkey]

Well, in my opinion, Pauls Boutique is the best album but Ill Communication has the largest share of the best songs. What do you make of that huh?
Outside. Now!

[marsdaddy]

I think the saying goes...

Those who can do, those who can't write.

[balohna]

I love HN, it was my first Beastie Boys album and at first I was just listening to their typical hip-hop stuff, but after a while I got into the other stuff. HN is probably number 4 for me overall, but that's just because PB, CYH, and IC are better. Not because it's sub-par.

[milkboy009]

After 1998's Hello Nasty - slightly disappointing

Yea, what an idoit, that Shit was live as fuck. I've never been close to slightly dissapointed with any BBoys CD

[abcdefz]

I think the saying goes...

Those who can do, those who can't write.


I like:


Those who can't do, teach; those who can't teach, teach gym.

[Parkey]

I like:


Those who can't do, teach; those who can't teach, teach gym.
:D

[abcdefz]

Those who can't do, teach; those who can't teach, teach gym.



Woody Allen/Marshall Brickman -- Annie Hall, I believe.

[DJ Otis the Cat]

Paul's Boutique is untouchable. But this new skool is the hot shit.

They never fail. A big fuckin what's up to new York. I live that thing everyday lookin at the hole where the towers were. Word.

[Boss Hoss]

Yea, what an idoit, that Shit was live as fuck. I've never been close to slightly dissapointed with any BBoys CD

jesus christ, calm down he only said it was "slightly dissapointing"