To The 5 Boroughs [PA] - Beastie Boys

...hip-hop influences, making an album to please both rock fans such as my husband, hardcore hip-hop fans, and people such as myself who can’t really make their mind up, but like a good dance whichever way.

There were some people, including me, who thought Beastie Boys had lost it with ‘Hello Nasty’. The mix of classic tracks such as ‘Intergalactic’ and ‘3 MCs and one DJ’ was ruined for me by the inclusion of frankly bizarre tracks, whose ...
...have taken about twenty years to record a new album, so the question on most fans lips is likely to be, is it actually any good?

You’ll be pleased to know the answer is a definite yes, with a few provisos. By this, I mean your view is going to be dependant on what aspect of Beastie Boys you actually admire.

If you lament the day when the three of them finally grew up and started reading the newspapers and getting a ... more

Beastie Boys are one of those bands you’ve heard of, but you might not know the names of any of the songs, which I only found out at work this week. They’re mainly remembered for ‘Fight for your Right’ of course, which is where I first became a bit obsessed with them, being only twelve at the time and having a massive crush on Ad Rock, purely because he could jump high in the air.

The classic phase in their career so far was, in my view, ‘Ill Communication’. It perfectly fused all their punk, lounge and hip-hop influences, making an album to please both rock fans such as my husband, hardcore hip-hop fans, and people such as myself who can’t really make their mind up, but like a good dance whichever way.

There were some people, including me, who thought Beastie Boys had lost it with ‘Hello Nasty’. The mix of classic tracks such as ‘Intergalactic’ and ‘3 MCs and one DJ’ was ruined for me by the inclusion of frankly bizarre tracks, whose names I can’t even be bothered to learn. I remember it just sounded, and still does for that matter, like a ramshackle mix tape made by some demented ex-boyfriend with questionable taste.

As usual, Beastie Boys have taken about twenty years to record a new album, so the question on most fans lips is likely to be, is it actually any good?

You’ll be pleased to know the answer is a definite yes, with a few provisos. By this, I mean your view is going to be dependant on what aspect of Beastie Boys you actually admire.

If you lament the day when the three of them finally grew up and started reading the newspapers and getting a social conscience, then you’re probably not going to be welcoming them back as much as I am. Most of the songs reference some aspect of life in America under the reign of George W. Bush (‘a president we didn’t elect’).
Most obvious is ‘An Open Letter to NYC’, which, as you might imagine, is the lads waxing lyrical about the city they grew up in, applauding it’s multi-culturalism, and praising the strength of the city’s population after everything that happened on 9/11.

Luckily, if you think they’re funny, their trademark humour is still in full force; the fact they can tailor their voices, even though they’re rapping, to the tone of the track, is something I’m always impressed by. There’s something amusing about a grown man saying ‘This is like having a delicious meal’ in a stupid voice, that I couldn’t describe properly in a review no matter how long I tried.

If you liked the more guitar driven tracks on ‘Ill Communication’, or indeed the more lounge inspired stuff on ‘Hello Nasty’ (I’m guessing someone somewhere must have liked it for it to be on the album), then you’re probably going to be disappointed too. The whole album has a distinct leaning towards sampling and mixing, as well as a certain frantic pace to most of the songs.

You might be wondering exactly who ‘To The Five Boroughs’ is aimed at. If you like superbly crafted hip-hop, at just the right speed for dancing, with enough choruses to point your hands in the air at, then you’ll be more than happy. If you like well-written lyrics, which always scan properly, written by three young men who know a lot about a lot of things, and can be either deadly serious or sublimely ridiculous, then you’re going to be ecstatic.

This album contains some of the best stuff they’ve ever written, whether you want political comment, another song about how there are three of them, or catchy samples to hook you in. Whether it’s the right side of Beastie Boys for you or not, there’s no argument that this is a definite return to form.

Available from all good music shops (although I’d say £8.99 inc postage from Play.com is always hard to beat.)

Best tracks – ‘Rhyme the Rhyme Well’, ‘All Lifestyles’, ‘Crawl Space’

Singles – ‘Ch-check it out’, ‘Triple trouble’, ‘An Open Letter to NYC’ 

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