Root Down - Beastie Boys (The)

Advantages: Could be used as background music.
Disadvantages: No musical ability whatsoever is displayed here, the album is despicably tedious.

...music together as a band and for many years now the band has been producing a similar hip-hop sound, the decision to try something a little different is therefore entirely understandable. The problem here is that this experimental album just doesn't work out, it's an interesting idea that just doesn't work out in practise. Given that Beastie Boys started out life as a hardcore punk band under the name of The Young Aborigines, you'd think that there would be a little more going on in the music here but there just isn't. The roots of this band would lead you to believe that this 'The Mix-Up' album may possess a bit of bite, an underlying energy driving through, nothing of this sort can here be heard however and this album is just an extremely disappointing bore of a release. 'The Mix-Up' runs for just over 42 minutes and not once in the albums... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Interesting and original music, oldschool hip hop breaks
Disadvantages: poor sound quality at times

...After reading many reviews of the Beastie boys I decided to go out and buy this album. Boy am I glad that I did! I did some research too about their past. The Beastie Boys were one of the hit sounds of the 70's and were originally started by Mike D. Their mix of hip hop and funk brought their music originality and their witty lyrics continue to surprise everyone. They basically did what they wanted, when they wanted and didnt care about anybody elses opinions. Their are 15 tracks on the album. These are the names 1. To all the girls 2. Shake your rump 3. Johnny Ryall 4. Egg man 5. High plains drifter 6. Sounds of science 7. Three minute rule 8. Hey ladies 9. Five piece chicken dinner 10. Looking down the barrel of a gun 11. Car thief 12. What comes around 13. Shadrach 14. Ask for Janice 15. B boy bouillabaisse All... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: some breakin beats in there
Disadvantages: as usual the beasties fail to complete an album well

......is filled with so much money-makin' and disco-breakin' on and on till the breakadawn, you'd think we'd taken the way-back machine into the early Kangol era. Yet such recapping doesn't sound even faintly kitschy. More like a labor of love by three premillennial mensches laying their roots down: a B-boy Anthology of New York Folk Music... Spin (08/01/1998) ...a sonic smorgasbord in which the Beasties gorge themselves with reckless abandon...The melange makes for a looser, more free-spirited record than their earlier albums; the music invites you in, rather than threatening to shut you out... - Rating: B+ Entertainment Weekly (07/17/1998) Included in CMJ's list of Top 25 College Radio Albums of All Time CMJ (01/06/2003) ...The chart-topping album finds the Beasties re-enhancing the three-way rhyme antics of their LICENSED TO ILL days... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful