moonwalker84's Full Review: Ill Communication [PA] by Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys; Hip-hop riddled with random cultural references and self-serving humour, interspersed with breezy, funky jazz instrumentals and brief doses of high-school punk rock. In the end, it's an amazing amount of fun. I never really knew what mosh pit meant till I saw the Beastie Boys live earlier in the year; I came out drenched in my own sweat to the point where my fingers had wrinkled up. It's that much fun. Licensed To Ill and Paul's Boutique get most of the attention, but Ill Communication is a record just packed full of gems. (Highlights analysed below.)
Get It Together featuring Q-Tip, is for some reason my favourite rap song of all time. The smooth black clarity of Q-Tip contrasts and compliments Ad-Rock's nasal house-rocking, while seeming to tame the usually gruff MCA. Meanwhile, Mike D is as usual virtually indistingushable from Ad-Rock. A subtle house groove and obscurely-sampled chorus make this the essential hip-hop experience.
Sabrosa is perhaps the most well-known Beasties instrumental -- a slime-funky slice of 3:29 porno groove lashed with wah-wah pedal and organ supplied by Money Mark. The other one is Ricky's Theme, a fresh breeze of electric piano-based jazz that's as insubstantial as it is elegant. Try listening to it on headphones -- the motherf**ker's so well-mixed, it's a trip.
Both Sure Shot and Root Down have become staples of the Beasties live set. They're almost inversions on a theme - both with an addictive crowd-moving hook, one based on a flute loop and the other on a deep bass riff. They're so jumpy and moshable, it's hard not to get pumped. Much the same could be said for the monumentally punchy all-out rock of Sabotage.
After you've heard Tough Guy, you've pretty much heard all the Beasties punk material -- it's very loud, about a minute long, easy to play, and overall pretty juvenile.
B-Boys Makin With The Freak Freak is awesomely weird. The vocals are distorted so they have all the clarity of a phone line from Paraguay recorded into a dictator, while the chorus bases itself on a a sample of a goat. The mysterious sample "If it's gon' be that kinda party, I'mma stick my dick in the mashed potatoes!" has baffled Beastie fans for years - nobody can figure out what it's from.
Alright Hear This was performed awesomely as the opener for the Hello Nasty tour. It r0x0rz nothing short of t3h big one. Amongst their best opening lines: "Because I grab the microphone and then I pick it up/
And then I f**k it up/And then I turn it in".
This is a monochromatically classy, often minimalist, always satisfying listen, and one of the most underrated albums the Beastie Boys have produced.
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