After seeing one of those VH1 countdown things I got Fight for your Right stuck in my head and ituned it. Then I saw other songs for Licensed to Ill that I remember as a kid (Paul Revere, Girls, Brass Monkey) and downloaded those and I'm really digging these songs.

Anyway, my question: Did the Beastie Boys keep the feel/style of this album on any of their following albums? I love these songs, but other stuff I've heard of theirs (Sabatoge, etc) I do not like.

No, they didn't. In fact, from what I can recall, they more or less disowned the Licensed To Ill cd.

I also have a question. Could they really rock a house party at the drop of a hat?

"She's on it" was pre-licensed to ill, but with the same feel.
I think you can get that song on Itunes

...which sucks, because it's the only release thy've ever had that is even remotely listenable/enjoyable from beginning to end. Every other release has a couple good tracks (if that), IMNSHO.

Yes, and at the time, they could beat a body down with an aluminum bat.

Not now, though. MCA would have none of that.

*In My Now Shitty Humble Opinion



Paul's Boutique was and still is an absolute masterpiece. Interesting enough, with your comment of listening to it from beginning to end, if you do that with the Paul's Boutique CD, it never ends, as the last track fades back into the first track, if you hit the repeat button. This is one of the literally 10,000 pieces of the puzzle that make this one of the top 5 albums of all time.

As far as Check Your Head and Ill Communication, they were experimenting w/ playing their own instruments, which I happen to enjoy.

I liked the punk era Beastie Boys music the best. Check Your Head and Paul's Boutique second and then She's On It single.

I agree with you 100%. I've liked a handful of tracks from the rest of their albums and not much else.

I'll take the unpopular angle here...All albums and singles included, I think LTI is the weakest link in their entire catalog. It was pretty much intended as a joke and just doesn't hold up to the standard of their other material.

Here's the Beastie Boys album

1. Paul's Boutique _ Classic cd.

2. Licensed to Ill _ I don't care if this was intended as a joke or not, its still there 2nd best cd and 2nd most consistant cd. I don't think theres any bad songs on here.

3 & 4. Ill Communication and Check Your Head _ Depending on the day, either one of these could be 3 or 4. About half good songs, half weak songs. Still worth having if you're a fan.

5. Hello Nasty _ A few really good songs but other than that its total weaksauce.

6. To The 5 Boroughs _ Don't bother. Crap. Couldn't find a single song I really liked.

FIXED!




Uh, duse, for a "senior member" (whatever the hell that is....somebody 'splain to me how these "rankings" are given, LOL), you seem to be unaware of what an OPINION is. It can't possibly be shitty; it's just not the same as YOURS!

I own License to Ill and To the 5 Boroughs.
I really enjoyed 5 Boroughs. But, I'm more interested in the beat, then the lyrics, so it works for me.

I agree with this as well. Their most recent album is easily the worst.

<---YARTWIMFWTPBITBBBA (yet another ringer t-shirt wearing indie music fan who thinks Paul's Boutique is the best Beastie Boys album).

Also, I got more Adidas sneakers than a plumber's got pliers
...as well as more suits than Jacoby & Meyers.

I like the beats on the album and some of the tracks are pretty good, IMO. The problem for me is the pendantic politicing. No matter if you agree or disagree with their opinions, I think it ruins the flow of the album, instantly dates it and sounds ridiculously preachy and forced at the same time. Whenever they stay away from politics, (which MCA in particular seems to be unable to do) it's pretty good.

Loved them through Ill communication. After that? No thanks.

I enjoy Licensed to Ill as more of a nostalgia piece than anything else. Paul's Boutique is easily their best, and a true work of art. Check Your Head is fantastic. It just has this seriously funky, retro vibe to it. Ill Communication is solid, although the instrumental tracks kind of drag it down.

Things started going downhill on Hello Nasty, but there are still a LOT of great tracks on there to make up for the filler. To the 5 Bouroughs however is nearly a complete useless piece of crap. It's just flat out weak. The rhymes, the flows, and ESPECIALLY the beats. Monotonous, repetitive, and uninspired.

I'll use one of my favorite phrases from a Pitchfork review and apply it to this thread:

Paul's Boutique is one of the best albums. (That sentence was not missing a clause or specification.)

To me, their vocal delivery was still similar to Licensed to Ill on that album although they had grown lyrically and as MCs by leaps and bounds. The next two albums, Check Your Head and Ill Communication, are sort of in the same group (more rootsy) and then there's Hello Nasty. (I disavow the existence of any further albums).

Even if the album as a whole (LTI) is a bit weak, it still has a few good songs (which don't match the great songs on the following albums).

License to Ill is embarrassing for the most part. They did so much better stuff than that it isn't even funny. Gratitude anyone?

I'm of the opinion that Check Your Head is easily their best album.

I'm just curious; why do you feel this way? I think LTI is a great CD/record, every track. What is it, specifically, about this one you find embarrasing?

And this question is open to others who feel the same way; I'm genuinely interested in finding out why some of you hate this release.

It's just dumb fratboy level idiocy. I mean just listen to the song 'Fight for your Right to Party" that encapsulates all you need to know right there. Even the Beastie Boys themselves have disowned this album; they aren't interested in glorifying stupidity. This is why the Criterion BB DVD has nothing from this album.

Wrong. The "Liscensed to Ill" videos aren't on the Critererion DVD because of disputes with Def Jam.

How can anybody not dig "No Sleep 'Till Brooklyn"?

Didn't they just do The New Style at the Vh1's Hip Hop Honors show? I wouldn't call that "disowned".