Why did Paul's Boutique not sell back in 89?

[paulb]

Why did it take 9 years before it hit platnium? Was the music not good back then? Honestly... can anyone tell me why? I think its their best cd, along with CYH.

Paul B.

[laurie_hammy]

Yeah ??? Everyone wasnt happy with it. Now people LOVE it. I have a video on like a little biography on them. And when they released Check Your Head, they were saying "I guess its the whole 3 album think" we make the 1st people loved it, 2nd they hated us, 3rd an now they love us again".

[gaselite]

I reckon it's because people thought they were a one-album-wonder with LTI and no one really took them seriously after that, because of the image they'd created with LTI, so when Paul's Boutique hit stores most people were probably like 'oh, yeah, those guys, they were pretty funny' and put the album back on the rack. Their loss though.

[laurie_hammy]

I reckon it's because people thought they were a one-album-wonder with LTI and no one really took them seriously after that, because of the image they'd created with LTI, so when Paul's Boutique hit stores most people were probably like 'oh, yeah, those guys, they were pretty funny' and put the album back on the rack. Their loss though.

That could be true dude. Good theory.

[mikizee]

i reckon the same things gonna happen with TT5B. alot of ppl including myself didnt like it, but now i think its fuckin hot! anybody agree? i think both albums are/were just ahead of their time.

[Weezman]

easy.... :rolleyes:





lack of press and marketing........ :(

rap was also going in a different direction.....same with CYH....everybody wanted to be a GANGSTA in the Hip-hop world. :mad:

My Beaties aint no half steppin' studio gangtsta's. :D

[Rich Cheney]

To know why it didn't sell was to know 1989.

[cj hood]

To know why it didn't sell was to know 1989.


1989, another number...word to the funky drummer?

[Michelle*s_Farm]

Why did it take 9 years before it hit platnium? Was the music not good back then? Honestly... can anyone tell me why? I think its their best cd, along with CYH.

Paul B.

It was because it contained too many samples. The critics loved PB for this reason recognizing the creativity, but the legions of LTI hard rock fans did not like the heavy reliance of PB on sampling (i.e., "too much hip hop" criticism by the rock masses). Many people at the time were pro-rock instrumentation and anti-sampling (essentially anti-hiphop). Those same people felt that sampling was distracting, not artistic, and stealing. Things have changed somewhat, rock fans are less sample phobic but there are still Beastie fans who do not like hip hop in general and prefer them to play instruments.

To each his or her own I guess.

[SILVERBEASTIE]

I reckon it was because the press and public in general were expecting another LTI type album...when they went in a serious direction, most didn't know what to make of it. I remember back when PB came out, I'm 37 now so I'm at an age of remembering the time it was released..I must admit, I was a massive fan of LTI..I heard PB when it was first released and really didn't like it..it took me till 98, when HN came out to really get back into them, so I went out and bought PB, CYH and IC all on the same day!! I guess it took my growing up to totally understand them and what they were about. I overdosed big time on them back in 98, and haven't looked back since. They kinda help me through a bad time in my life back then, it was just listening to them that cheered me up and love how versatile they truly are...not matter what anyone says, nobody can touch them for that...if you're a true lover of music, you'll see what they are all about...LTI thru to TT5B. :)

[kleptomaniac]

well i wasn't even ALIVE in 1989

paul's boutique is the best! (after check your head, of course) :D

[Darko]

This is how I see it.

When Paul's Boutique came out, the Beastie Boys weren't seen as the musical pioneers that they are now. They were 3 guys who had a giant mechanical dick on stage during their live shows. No one was expecting anything like PB to come from them, I think they just expected more frat boy humour, and the 'Hey Ladies' single might've given them that idea because it's not the most mature thing off the album, and I think most of the public just though 'Oh wow. They're still just rapping about partying and picking up chicks' and ignored the rest of the album. But when Check Your Head came out, I think people started to realize that the Beastie Boys might've been a little more than just a bunch of frat boy rappers.

[marshall10]

The boys were still fairly small back in '89, they only really took off with later albums.

[adrock14]

i think it was because people that loved licensed to ill were expecting another licensed to ill and were dissapointed because pauls boutique was different. :mad:

( i really think those people were crazy because pauls boutique in my opinion is one of the best album the beasties have!!! (y) (!) :)

[Weezman]

Not To Mention That LTI was On DefJam.And It Was Probably All Over MTV, Interviews,Commercials And All Over Tv. So there was probably alot more Hype and commercialized.But also like someone said that people thought that they were a one-album hit wonder. People didn't know what they were missing. (y)


(y) WERD!!

[Extra Cheese]

The boys were still fairly small back in '89, they only really took off with later albums.


licensed to ill was a platinum selling album, they were touring with run-dmc, they were all over MTV. maybe they were out of mind a bit but they werent fairly small in '89.

[Laver1969]

Yeah...pretty much what everyone said about everyone expecting LTI part 2.

I remember buying PB the day it was released and popping that cassette in and hearing To All the Girls..and thinking hmmm. Then Shake Your Rump was kickin.

But as I got deeper in the album I realized it was very different. I read through those liner notes about a million times. I wished they would have really toured in support of the album.

I love PB...but now it's cool to say it's a masterpiece and ahead of its time.

[Rich Cheney]

1989, another number...word to the funky drummer?

Shit I thought it was 1989 another summer.

1989 was the birth of cookie cutter pop rap (CANDYMAN - Knocking Boots. MC Hammer) and gangsta rap (NWA etc..). The Beastie's were not what the masses were looking for.

I enjoy my food the most amongst a few rather than the masses.
So let it be written, so it was done.

[steve-onpoint]

I feel there are many vaild points being made here.

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein

[Shiloh Posse]

Sad to say, but it was a mix of the race thing along with the way the Beasties presented themselves. No doubt, if they would have come out in hoodies and backwards baseball caps, platinum no doubt. Beasties were pimpin when pimpin wasn't cool. Just years ahead of their time. If you think back to 88-89, that's when the whole "Back to Africa", "Back to the Motherland", African medallions, etc. was really going strong. How uncool would it have been for young black youth to like a white rap group? Without Run-DMC to rubberstamp them, the Beasties lost a huge fan base. Not the one that grew up with them on License to Ill. Those are still reppin to this day. Every kid I knew in 86, white, black, yelloew, whatever was rocking L2Ill. They lost the chance to create a new fan base with the next generation of black hip hop fans. On the flip side, they lost a portion of their white fan base with the direction they took the music. Out were the Led Zepplin guitar riffs, in where Curtis Mayfield samples. The frat boys and the like didn't understand. "How could this be the"Fight For Your Right " guys?" They moved on to grunge and the Seattle thing. Ask any tru hip hop head, PB is one of the all time greats. PB is a classic, just ahead of its time.

[geecee]

I'm an older head (31yrs), and here's how I remember it. I bought Paul's Boutique the day it dropped, and the same goes for LTI. Even back then the new release day was tuesday. I'll never forget it, it came out the same day as The D.O.C.'s "No One Can Do It Better". I copped 'em both on cassette. Here's my experience... Believe it or not, I had been feelin' "Hey Ladies" at the time, they'd been playing it on Yo! MTV Raps today for a while before PB dropped. EVERY BEASTIE FAN wanted more LTI stlye shit. Why wouldn't we, it's all we had to go on, if you liked them, LTI was the reason why. I was a major hiphop head already and also of ny hardcore music. I knew the history of the Beasties, I knew they were up to something mad creative and although MOST fans took "Hey Ladies" as a serious song that sucked. I took it for what it was... a good joke. You either got it or you didn't. I SERIOUSLY could not wait for it to come out. I remember the cassettes were pressed in all these funky colors and patterns too. Anyway, it was a strange listen the first couple of times, but soon enough it began to make sense. I had never heard hiphop done like that before, period. But for the most part I remember it was regarded as a FLOP. The peeps who wanted LTI pt2 were very disappointed and basically said they suck now, eff 'em. Paving a new direction for a new kind of beastie fan. The ones who got "it" as opposed to the ones who didn't. "IT" meaning the fine line they walk between taking the music and themselves seriously and not so serious, at the same time. For years they were strictly loved by the true fans and almost forgotten by the mainstream audience that at one time embraced them. My favorite joint on that record is, was and always shall be "a year and a day". I've always hoped for a Paul's Boutique 10 or 15 year aniversary edition which would include a total REMASTER. I always thought the overall sound quality was lackluster. It's still a crucial element to the soundtrack of my life. I'll always love that album.-PEACE!

[camo]

simple: it alienated the 'frat pack' fan base that LYI had built. PB was way more sophisticated. It was an album with depth that none 'hip hop heads' couldn't relate to. The Beasties sold more albums (LTI) to peolple who didn't have a clue about hip hop than people who were. The majority bought it for to the novelty act value and the heavy metal aspects, both of which don't count on PB. People in the know bought it, people who wanted LT1 2 didn't.

[geecee]

WORD! "People in the Know" as a term meant something in '89. Now everybody is in the know.

[JasonP]

Yeah ??? Everyone wasnt happy with it. Now people LOVE it. I have a video on like a little biography on them. And when they released Check Your Head, they were saying "I guess its the whole 3 album think" we make the 1st people loved it, 2nd they hated us, 3rd an now they love us again".

I loved that CD in 89....I was just a stupid kid (13) at the time...but I still thought it was great.

[laurie_hammy]

Yeah it took me a while to like Pauls Boutique. But now, yeah definately one of my favourite albums.

[Sir SkratchaLot]

I think most people have hit on it pretty good. It wasn't LTI part 2, and people weren't ready for Pauls.

Its hard to understand in hindsight, because its been bitten so much since then, but Pauls was just left-field stuff. With Hey Ladies, the whole disco thing didn't go over well with the Beastie fan base (in 1989 Disco was considered really wack by your average white suburbanite. It wasn't until the mid 90s that people got back into those sounds and then it was huge. That's when a lot of people started going "hey Pauls Boutique is a dope album.) The lack of that LTI flavor didn't go over well. A lot of the cross-over fans didn't get hip hop in general and just bailed. What you had left was progressive hip hoppers and the cross-over fans who were open minded to new shit. You really had to see it happen and understand the cultural norms at the time to understand why it didn't work. The lack of promotion didn't help either.

[Weezman]

This is what else was out there....if some of you are old enough to remember...or even care?! :confused:

This is what music was like in 1989?!!?!

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo
Road To The Riches (1989)

De La Soul
3 Feet High and Rising (1989)

Boogie Down Productions
Ghetto Music: The Blueprint Of Hip-Hop (1989)

Pixies
Doolittle (1989)

The D.O.C.
No One Can Do It Better (1989) (y)

Geto Boys
Grip it on That Other Level (1989)

EPMD
Unfinished Business (1989)

Ice-T
The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say (1989)

Jungle Brothers
Done by the Forces of Nature (1989)

3rd Bass
The Cactus Album (1989) (n)

The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses (1989)

Nine Inch Nails
Pretty Hate Machine (1989)

Big Daddy Kane
It's a Big Daddy Thing (1989)

Don Henley
The End of The Innocence (1989)

Special Ed
Youngest In Charge (1989)

Biz Markie
The Biz Never Sleeps (1989)

Queen Latifah
All Hail the Queen (1989)

Chill Rob G
Ride the Rhythm (1989)

Kwame
Kwamé the Boy Genius: Featuring a New Beginning (1989)

NoMeansNo
Wrong (1989)

The Cure
Disintegration (1989)

LL Cool J
Walking With A Panther (1989)

Three Times Dope
Original Stylin (1989)

Tone-Loc
Loc-Ed After Dark (1989)



not to mention the number#1's

June 3 7 The Raw and the Uncooked Fine Young Cannibals (the 1st weeks of Pauls Boutique...this is what was number one) :rolleyes:

July 22 6 Batman Prince - Soundtrack
September 2 1 Repeat Offender Richard Marx
September 9 2 Hangin' Tough New Kids on the Block
September 23 8 Girl You Know It's True**
Milli Vanilli (yes....the year of the worlds #1 pozer's)
October 7 10 Forever Your Girl** Paula Adbul
October 14 2 Dr. Feelgood Motley Crue
October 28 4 Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation Janet Jackson
December 16 1 Storm Front Billy Joel


oohh yeah! PAULS f'NKn BOUTIQUE!!! JUNE 25th 1989 :D
a day after my b-day!!

Yes, promoters, marketing, and even fans slept on this one.....had to settle in for some....rank'd #1 in my book.

[paulb]

out of all those cds you listed... PB def destroys them all! So WTF!

[gunrok]

I believe it was a time when gangsta rap was coming out and all the attention went that way... plus the lawsuits for the samples used on Paul's Boutique album. Paul's, clearly one of the best collages (spell that right?) of music i've ever laid ears on. I'm also think'n maybe Pauls boutique was ahead of it's time as far as the mix. That album is by far my fave of all time. EGGMANNNNNN ahaha.. love that shit. check out some hip hop flavor at:

www.myspace.com/naydivz

thanx for the 2 cents.
gunrok

[Weezman]

out of all those cds you listed... PB def destroys them all! So WTF!

agreed...thats why i saved the best for last!! :D (y)

[Weezman]

Pauls boutique wasnt released on JUNE 25TH, 1989 (although I obtained my 12" copy 2 weeks prior to its original release date)

I could be wrong but I will look for the flyer I got before it was released....


aawww....your right GUIDO....as usual. :rolleyes:

1 month off!!

http://www.answers.com/topic/paul-s-boutique

[Weezman]

lets not forget:

DEBBIE GIBSON
-ELECTRIC YOUTH 1989

DJ CHUCK CHILLOUT & DJ KOOL CHIP
MASTERS OF THE RHYTM 1989

DINO
24/7 1989

CHUBB ROCK
& THE WINNER IS 1989

CYNTHIA
SELF TITLED 1989

COVERGIRLS
WE CANT GO WRONG 1989 (FEVER RECORDS)

TWIN HYPE
SELF TITLED 1989

TECHNOTRONIC
PUMP UP THE JAM 1989

PAJAMA PARTY
UP ALL NIGHT 1989

MELLOW MAN ACE
ESCAPE FROM HAVANA 1989

LATIN RASCALS
WHEN SHE GOES 1989

JOHNNY O
SELF TITLED 1989

LEAN ON ME SOUNDTRACK 1989

JUDY TORRES 1989
LOVE STORY (PROFILE RECORDS)

SEDUCTION
NOTHING MATTERS W/O LOVE 1989
(FEVER RECORDS)

EXPOSE
WHAT YOU DONT KNOW 1989


cant forget the latin freestyle, eh Guido!?? :D

[Documad]

Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation was a terrific album. There's no denying Jam and Lewis.


Also, I have a bad memory, but I remember the BBs' fans from the LTI era being much younger. No one at my college was a BBs' fan as far as I remember. It was a little kid thing.

I always thought the BBs' frat boy fanbase came about with SWW.

[Kid Presentable]

What's funny is all these people with the text-book answer. Most of em are too young to really know anything more than the right thing to say. Myself probably included.

But I never cared about what an album sold, I didn't care to be told.

I saw 'Fight For Your Right' on T.V New years 1989-90 and thought about getting a Beasties tape. At the time I had been in a deep affair with 'Loc'd after Dark' and when I made the Dust Brothers connection I was sold.

Once I got LTI I was impressed that Anthrax had deemed B-boys lyrics appropriate for tribute on 'I'm the Man'.

I was a deep kid, man. Wish I still was. :D

[camo]

bro, it didnt do well because of shitty promotions and lack or touring. they even said so back in 1990 in an interview.

hip hop heads couldnt relate to? No, the album was just plain "insane" and no one quite understood it. it was new and different. I even hated it. it took me years to like it.

I wanted another LTI2 but I still bought it.

nah man, NONE hip hop heads couldn't relate to!

[laurie_hammy]

aawww....your right GUIDO....as usual. :rolleyes:

1 month off!!

http://www.answers.com/topic/paul-s-boutique

Nice site !

[Weezman]

no one could! thats why it is only now considered a masterpiece. :)


On CUE!! (y)

http://www.yourimagelink.com/uploads/91d8f46938.jpg (http://www.yourimagelink.com/welcome.html)