CD Odyssey Disc 997: Beastie Boys

Today the earbuds that I use at the gym finally died. They had a pretty good run, particularly considering I’ve put them through the washer twice and the drier once.

On the plus side I broke out an elasticized head band and looked positively ridiculous – like some kind of homeless version of John McEnroe, circa 1980. So that was fun.

Disc 997 is…To the 5 Boroughs

Artist: Beastie Boys

Year of Release: 2004

What’s up with the Cover? A line drawing of New York City, towers still up. The towers were only recently destroyed when this album came out, and seeing them standing majestically on the cover makes me shiver with a mix of sadness and pride.

Causing less pride is the “copy controlled” label, reminding me of one of the worst eras in the protectionist record industry. More on why later.

How I Came To Know It: I was already a Beastie Boys fan when this came out, so I just bought it and hoped for the best.

How It Stacks Up:  I used to have nine Beastie Boys albums. However, when I took this one off the shelf I noticed their two instrumental albums, “The Mix Up” (reviewed back at Disc 185) and “The In Sound From Way Out” (not yet reviewed). I realized that while I admired the musicianship on both records, I didn’t enjoy either enough to justify keeping them. Now I have seven Beastie Boys albums. In related news, don’t hold your breath waiting for a review of “The In Sound From Way Out”.

Of the seven I still have, “To the 5 Boroughs” is my absolute favourite, so #1.

Ratings: 5 stars

On “To the 5 Boroughs” the Beastie Boys prove that everything old can be new again if you it well enough. This album is a master class of traditional rap styles, mixing modern production techniques with old school rap structures.

So much about the rap and hip hop world is about innovation, but on “To the 5 Boroughs” the Beastie Boys take a step into history, laying down basic beats and simple samples, relying on the perfection of those beats, and the absolute brilliance of their vocal abilities, honed over twenty years in the game. Despite the stark and simple approach, this record sounds as fresh today as it did in 2004 when it was released.

As usual, the signature Beastie Boys sound is present, with MCA, Mike D. and Ad-Rock each taking equal turns on the microphone. All three MCs have their own style, but under the careful hand of Mixmaster Mike they blend together seamlessly. On an old school album like this one, that vocal alchemy is brought even more to the fore. There are no tricks or excessive sampling to distract your ear on this record; it is either going to succeed or fail on the strengths of the rhymes and the delivery. The result is not only success; it is one of the best rap albums I’ve ever heard.

The subject matter of the album is also old school, focused around home town pride (New York) mixed liberally with rap songs about how they can rap better than their competitors. In 2004, gangsta rap had pretty much taken over the subject matter, and everyone had to act like a hard core criminal to be taken seriously. The Beasties step fearlessly into that environment with a swagger born in the confidence that - in the rap game - it isn’t the biggest gun, it is the best rhyme that wins.

Quoting these tracks does them a disservice, because to fully appreciate these rhymes you need to hear them spat, not read. Despite this, these songs are so laden with glory it is almost a crime not to quote them. Their love for New York City is on full display throughout, none more so than on the classic “An Open Letter to NYC” reminding the world that despite having two towers down, it is still the greatest city on earth. And amid all the hate that caused those towers to fall, the Beasties message is one of inclusiveness:

“Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten

From the Battery to the top of Manhattan

Asian, Middle East, Kurd and Latin

Black, White, New York you make it happen.”

On “Hey, Fuck You” the Beasties invite their rap opponent to “put a quarter in your ass, ‘cause you played yourself” and then blend their love of New York into a hilarious dis:

“Don’t tell me to wine and dine ya

I’m from New York, you’re from Regina.”

I probably like this line a bit more than I should because I’m Canadian, but whatever.

The album is not packed with samples, but the ones they choose are chosen with care. On “Shazam!” they grab the genie inviting everybody to get down off of Kool and the Gang’s “Open Sesame” and on “It Takes Time to Build” they sample fellow New York rappers EPMD reminding us that ‘you gots to chill.” Good advice on an album that is full of positive messages about acceptance, hope and love without ever losing its edge in the process.

My only gripe is the disc’s copy control technology, which causes a few of the songs to have an annoying skip and (according to the disclaimer on the back on the jewel case “on some equipment, for example car CD players, playback problems may be encountered.” Because, obviously I wouldn’t want to play this awesome album in my car? Argh. The worst thing about this era of copy control was that it was ostensibly aimed at pirates (who then, as now, were stealing tracks electronically online) but the people it actually punished were people like me who were buying the CD.

That’s the only thing I could say about the album that I didn’t like though, and it doesn’t even relate to the music. This is a classic rap album with no wasted space and few if any missteps.

Best tracks: all tracks