If you like your hip-hop fresh and straight without the guns, gangs and bitches which 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Ja Rule have to offer the Beastie Boys might just be up your street. Forming in the mid 80's in New York originally as a hardcore band (They still play as a hardcore band under a different name) the Beastie Boys brought new elements to hip-hop, something fresh and original to the scene.
The album is a two cd which has far to many tracks to analyse one by one so I will generalise on it. The production on this album (The music) is superb. The Beastie Boys were well known for using instruments well outside the norm in their music. A range of instruments are used in this album. Anything from violins, triangles to their own recorded bass, guitar or drum lines. This anthology contains Beastie Boys hits like Root Down, Body Movin, Fight for your right, Three MCs and one DJ, Sabotage, She's on it, So what'cha want and Intergalactic.
One thing that sets the Beatie Boys apart from other hip-hop acts are their lyrics. On twenty questions (A song about Racism which the Beasties are very opposed to) they rap 'Are we instrinsically seperate beings? Or could we possibly be part of the same thing? Water feeds the plants and the sunshine makes them grow, So how can anyone be on an island of their own?'. All throughout the album the Beastie Boys keep the lyrical bar raised.
So as an anthology how good is it? Well it really is solid. Though it only features three songs from Pauls Botique (Regarded as the best album by many) it really covers all ground. It features songs from Hello Nasty to Check your head and everything inbetween. It has a range of their songs. Some hardcore songs, most hip-hop and a few which just make you go what? (Benny and the jets). It really is an anthology as everything the Beastie's have done is on this album.
So overall a very good anthology and if your a Beastie Boys fan a good purchase however if your looking to buy a Beastie Boys album for the first time this may not be the first choice. There are songs that they could have put on here but it's an anthology not greatest hits. A very strong anthology aswell.
Favourite Songs:
Skills to pay the bills
Root Down
Fight for your right
Three MC's and One DJ
Sabotage
Brass Monkey
Intergalactic
