Review Summary: Professor Booty called to Check Your Head while Jimmy James Passes The Mic over To the Beastie Boys
Beastie Boys have had a constant consistency in their career. Despite changes in style, most of their fans have stuck with them. Whether it's the classic, humorous party rap of
Licensed To Ill or the masterpiece in sampling
Paul's Boutique people always went with their sound. When they made
Check Your Head
some of their fans decided to turn their heads the other way while many others stuck with them. Those that did stick, were in for a real treat.
Check Your Head was a loosely organized, not too mainstream-friendly album(for its time). It eschewed traditional Hip-Hop/Rap formulas and structures and went for an arty, more musically inclined record. The record appeals to a different mindset of people who loved experimentation with their music. It was more than your basic Rap record. It is a masterclass in experimentation and that's where
Check Your Head delivers.
Musically, the album is a loose combination of Rock, Funk, Jazz and Hip-Hop. Even the singles from the album were a little bit different.
Pass The Mic uses funky background music over noisy sounding vocals, and
So Watcha' Want had distorted, lo-fi esque vocals over a rock meets funk groove and traditional, Hip-Hop based turntable scratches. The rest of the songs are even weirder. From combination's of Biz Markie rapping over Ted Nugent guitar riffs to 30-second songs to songs recorded to make them sound like they were performed live, even though they weren't. Beastie Boys implement the idea of "nothing is sacred" to great effect here.
The Album can sometimes be too loose. Some songs descend into free-form jamming while others just fly right over your head. Also, this record is not for casual listening. It requires a great amount of attention to understand all of its intricacies. Best listened to with a pair of decent headphones and nothing in the room to distract you. Overall, The B-boys would go on to define their Rock-Rap formula on the classic
Ill Communication but
Check Your Head still stands as an underrated masterpiece in the mish-mashing of genres.
