Quote:
Originally Posted by pm0ney
I think TT5B is clearly the weakest link in their discography. It doesn’t break down to one simple reason, but more like a confluence of aspects which all break down, to me, into laziness.
The rhyming, particularly rhyme schemes fell off drastically in their complexity on this record compared to Hello Nasty. Hello Nasty was the pinnacle of trading off lines, to the point where they almost came up with a new instrument based solely off the incredible trading back and forth of rhymes. On TT5B it was so boring and formulaic. Four bars, four bars, four bars, sometimes eight, eight, eight, wash rinse repeat. Lazy. Not a throwback to their old ways, just lazy.
The production was lazy as well. It clearly was made using dated computer programs, lacks that deep, grainy, boom-bap that timeless hip hop records have. Those sounds are products of drum machines and sampled loops that are worlds removed from the programmed beats on TT5B. They all sound like GarageBand demonstrations. If they wanted to make a record that sounded like it came from the 80’s, they should have used an 808. Again, laziness.
Finally, the political stuff. I’m of the opinion that if you aren’t a supremely gifted writer or public orator, keep your political opinions to yourself. Their political chops, so to speak leave much to be desired. Chuck D they are not.
So yeah, it’s a decent album by normal album standards I guess. Some tracks are really dope like Ch Check It Out, Three the Hard Way and Open Letter. But you can’t listen to Hot Sauce Committee and then take TT5B seriously. It’s a gigantic let down from by far my favorite group of all time. I hope people on here remember the hype leading up to that release after six years off. Thankfully, they returned to form on HSC and also the tour to promote TT5B was incredible. I saw them at both the Garden and the Coliseum.
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I agree. I'll always look back fondly on this era but I remember the hype building up to the release and it just couldn't live up to it. I got into them around the release of Hello Nasty and they quickly became my favorite band. In the years after HN I absorbed everything Beastie related I possibly could, all albums, EP's, imports, etc. Then the break was so long I started to get into other groups, punk, more hip-hop, stuff like that. Then when there were rumblings of a new album in early '04 my hype started early.
I remember hearing a crappy quality recording of That's It That's All and thinking it was a little sparse. Repetitive rhyming and simple beat, but I thought it's probably a rough draft and it'll sound better on the finished album. Then Ch-Check It Out premiered on The O.C. I think? At the same as on the local alternative radio station and I recorded it on tape. I LOVED that one though. Unique and funny rhymes, a nice old school hip-hop beat. I was super excited again.
Then the album came out and it was summer so I was off from college and rushed to my local Borders Books and couldn't wait to pop it in the player. I started it and it was over before I knew it. All that hype and it was over so quick. I was used to BB albums being super dense with samples and beats all over the place. I thought it would take me all summer to pour over the album. This one seemed so simple in comparison. I still enjoyed it for what it was, but it definitely felt like a bit of a let down after 6 years of waiting after what was arguably their densest album, HN.
It'll always hold a place for me since it was the first BB album I was anticipating the release of, and I'm glad it exists. I agreed with their political views and still do, but it's a little strange to hear now. It does date the album, for sure.
They definitely made up for the simplicity of TT5B with HSCP2 though. That will forever be one of my favorite BB albums. It truly was a return to form that I can feel them having fun and just being their weird selves creating.
01-31-2018, 05:43 PM
Re: Re-listened to the TT5B
Hybrid Mode
