Beastie Boys

With latest album ‘The Mix-Up’, Beastie Boys tread new ground in that it’s the first album the band has ever released of all new instrumental material. Whereas in the past the albums of the Beastie Boys have been littered with all the bands best rap licks, here the voices have been cut out, the computers have been left alone, and an album has been produced which utilises instruments such as drums, guitars, organ, bass, and synth. Twelve tracks are contained on this album of entirely instrumental Beastie Boys music, a change in direction for the boys and in all honesty an incredibly strange move for the band to have undertaken.

Beastie Boys have never been my favourite hip-hop artist in the world, I have however greatly enjoyed some of their music in the past and in picking up this album was expecting the music to come alive with great energy and excitement. All that is present on this album is a tame instrumental offering in which Beastie Boys fumble their way through this release with a great sense of confusion. Musical ability is here not a strong point, the depth of this album is extremely lacking and nothing here seems to come together particularly well at all. The basic back beat here is the drastically dull drum work of Mike D. The drum beats plod and never does the music here impress, there’s just very little going on whatsoever on this album. Were the musical ability of the band a little greater then perhaps this album would be more effective, as it stands though every element of the music is poor and at no point during the progression of this album do you ever feel particularly inspired or in fact interested.

Since 1979 the Beastie Boys have been making 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 progression can any excitement ever be felt. There is no heart in this album, no interesting music whatsoever, just the vacant sound of background music. I fear this album would be too dreary even to be used as lift music, even people travelling up and down want a little more life and soul in the air than this.

In making this album there is no doubt in my mind that the Beastie Boys had terrific fun. It would have been great for them to let off a little steam and have a forty minute jam session, to then turn that jam session into an officially released album however is an entirely different issue. This album should never have been released, Beastie Boys make some brilliant hip-hop music but what is contained within this album just isn’t the bands forte. Beastie Boys should stick to what they know best, if the band does so then this will lead to less infuriatingly dull album releases in the future. ‘The Mix-Up’ is not even a worthwhile album for hardcore fans of Beastie Boys I would suggest, it’s so far removed from the bands usual material that you really can’t compare the two. No real musical ability is expressed on this album, it’s a tiresome jam session that ultimately leads nowhere. Stick some talented musicians together in a room for a few hours complete with their instruments and chances are that they’ll unite to make some truly exquisite music, stick Beastie Boys together in a room of instruments and they’ll come up with rubbish like this. Beastie Boys make good hip-hop, this instrumental album however leaves a lot to be desired. My best advice is to avoid this album at all costs, not only will it save you some money but also forty minutes of your life that would otherwise be wasted in giving this album a listen.

Label: Parlophone
Release Date: 25th June 2007

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‘An Open Letter to NYC’ is the third single to be lifted from the bands critically acclaimed latest album, ‘To The 5 Boroughs.’ This track is an ode to the cities multiethnic and cross-cultural strength and resilience, and sees the band taking on some more old skool beats, along with some truly creative twists thus ensuring that they stay at the top of the alternative rock/hip hop game.

This really is an amazing tune and shows just why the band are as big as they are in this day and age. They are so good at blending hip hop with alternative rock, adding neat little scratches to the mix, and making tracks that are full of creativity and jam packed with excitement. The Beastie Boys are clearly one of the greatest bands ever to have come out of New York. They make truly inspirational music that has a mass appeal being loved by many, and hated by few. The line in the song ‘Dear New York I know a lot has changed, 2 towers down but you’re still in the game,’ shows the bands passion for their hometown, and shows that the Beastie Boys are proud to be from a city that has been through so much and somehow come out smelling of roses.

Beastie Boys will always have a special place in mine and many others hearts due to the true genius of their music which makes every seconds listening pleasurable. There is never a dull moment with these guys and after all these years they still seem to be producing the goods and pressing all the right buttons. This is a fresh sounding new tune and amongst the sea of average tunes that are currently out at the moment it towers high above the rest.

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Ok, this is not one of the band best tunes but after a six year hiatus it’s just good to see them making material again really. This single guest stars ‘Sasquatch’ and the band state that he is the reason for their absence as he has been keeping them in his cave. When you first listen to this track you will automatically realise that it is the Beastie Boys as they have definitely not changed their sound at all.

This track contains some great mixing, and some really cool vocals and is definitely not a bad tune – just not as good as some of the stuff that the band have done in the past. I really enjoyed listening to this one and would urge you all to check it out purely because it’s a Beastie Boys track really, but saying that I would probably urge you to check it out even if it wasn’t as it is quite a cool track. This is the first single to be taken from their ‘To The 5 Boroughs’ album and definitely gives you reason enough to go out and buy the album – it is fast, contains amazing mixing, and those legendary vocals that the band are renowned for. If you have ever been a fan of the band then you will probably want to check this one out, it’s definitely worth your while and will most probably put a smile on your face.

This is not classic Beastie Boys, but then again they never release a bad tune so you can’t really go wrong with them. On first listen I was not too sure about it, but the more I listened to it – the more I realised that this is a good track, and the band are definitely not going stale as the years go by.

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