764. Beastie Boys - Ill Communication (1994)

Track Listing

1. Sure Shot
2. Tough Guy
3. B-Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak
4. Bobo On The Corner
5. Root Down
6. Sabotage
7. Get It Together
8. Sabrosa
9. The Update
10. Futterman's Rule
11. Alright Hear This
12. Eugene's Lament
13. Flute Loop
14. Do It
15. Ricky's Theme
16. Heart Attack Man
17. The Scoop
18. Shambala
19. Bodhisattva Vow
20. Transitions

Review

The Bestie Boys are probably one of the most underrated and misunderstood hip-hop bands around. A superficial look at their music simply reveals annoying vocals, childish lyrics and Jewish middle class boys trying to do rap.

Now, none of those statements is necessarily wrong, in fact I would say they are right. But they are so much more than that. There are few hip-hop acts that are as original, innovative and simply brilliant in their sampling. This album is another perfect example of that.

Another great thing about the Beastie Boys is the sheer variety of their influences, here they range from Vajrayana Buddhist ritual music to Middle Eastern Music, to 70s cop shows to Hardcore to funk, to Tribe Called Quest, Jazz and all the things in the middle. Weirdly enough it still produces a cohesive album, and this is an admirable album due to the sheer smartness behind the whole thing. I have only discovered the Beastie Boys through the list, my opinion of them before went from negative to neutral, now I really quite admire them as artists.


Track Highlights

1. Sabotage
2. Sure Shot
3. Bodhisattva Vow
4. Root Down

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.54) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's."

Spin (12/94, p.78) - Ranked #19 in Spin's list of the `20 Best Albums Of '94'.

Q (12/99, p.82) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s."

Village Voice (3/94, p.5) - Ranked #2 in the Village Voice's 1993 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.

Village Voice (2/28/95) - Ranked #15 in the Village Voice's 1994 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll.

Mojo (p.60) - Ranked #54 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics."

NME (12/24/94, p.22) - Ranked #3 in NME's list of the `Top 50 Albums Of 1994.'

Sabotage: