[.ca] To the 5 Boroughs

From Amazon.com:
The hiatus is back off, again, for the Beastie Boys, and music lovers will bob their heads with insuppressible glee. With its Nice & Smooth impersonations and shout outs to Brooklyn's Albee Square Mall, To the 5 Boroughs, their first album in six years, harkens the return of the trio to the city that made them who they are today. It's an up-tempo yet surprisingly homogenous assemblage of vintage electro-style party beats, and it's a strictly Beastie affair: the Boys co-wrote and produced each track themselves, which means that it sports none of the sonic fripperies and quirky collaborations that distinguished previous classics such as Paul's Boutique. Finally jelling after two years of on-again, off-again recording, To the 5 Boroughs will appeal to those fans old enough to remember the Licensed to Ill tour. Those old-schoolers are sure to appreciate the album's mostly off-the-cuff lyrics and minimal-to-the-extreme musical landscape--even if its stripped-down sound may leave others longing for the days when the Boys were California dreamin'. --Rebecca Levine

it takes time to build:
My first few reactions after listening to the beasties cd was 'too old school- outdated;' and 'kinda boring beats' and 'too political'. But, I kept thinking this is the M.F. Beastie Boys, so I gave it a few more try's. After listening to it over and over and over the better and catchier it gets. Its one of those CD's where the more you listen to it, the better it gets. Its an awesome CD and you can tell they put a lot of time into their lyrics (rhyming, rythem, and pitch); I love this CD and I refuse to remove it from my CD player. Old school stuff like this, with a sort-of new electronical-space sound is wayyyy better than the s..t most rappers are coming out with today. We get a taste of the 'real' Beastie Boys in this CD, along with the fun B.B. stuff too. I recommend reading the lyrics and trying to rap/sing with them. Its way fun.

Beastie Boy Consistency:
Like some other reviewers I will have to agree that this is not their best album. What I will say is that it is no less enjoyable than any if the others. When I first heard the single "Ch- Check it out ", I had mixed opinions on how this album would sound, but I knew that I would enjoy it simply because it is by the Boys. After I bought the album and read the lyrics, I immediately heard the difference in this album. Primarily, there is much more profanity than there was on hello nasty. (Which I must add was thier worst album). This album has amazing beats that are repetative, but very delightful even after the fourteeth time I listened to the album. As I ride in my car, I find myself laughing out loud to some of the lyrics as simple as they are. It is in my opinion that these guys are getting older, but unlike 13 years ago are not taking the "Hard" approach to hip-hop, simply having fun, and enjoying what they do while laughing at themselves. In one song MCA is rhyming about a sandwich,"I'd like a lettuce, tomato and muenster on rye. All this cheese is gonna make me cry. Gorgonzola, provolone, don't even get me started on this microphone." WTF? I listened carefully and just started laughing and imagined how funny it must have been to hear that while recording. There are some songs where they take the political approach, but at least they have opinions unlike so many other people in this country. And they have a right to state there views in any way they can. Think about it, hundreds of songs that they have rhymed over and sometimes there are other things to talk about, unless you would like to hear them rhyme about bling or bitches, wait... they did that 18 years ago and they have gotten past that... Right?. Here is a question for the pessimistic; What would you like to hear them rhyme about?....? Anyway, I am not trying to sell anyone on this album, but I certainly am enjoying it. As for you guys that are getting older like me and sit back and listen to Check Your Head, reflecting on how cool you were back then, and wish you could time warp to that era by another Beastie Boys album such as that.... Get Over It! It will never happen again, you are CHANGING and so are they.That album was a classic and should remain unique and not copied or supplemented. These guys changed music 15 years ago, they have done their job now there job is to do nothing, but give us the same reliable consistency of music that they have given us for years. This album is rough and hard and unlike hello nasty doesn't sound like they are going to retire anytime soon. Listen, by this album if you are a Beastie Boys fan and if you do not enjoy it, keep it simply because it is a Beastie boys album.

Beastie Are Back:
This is a classic Beastie Boys CD. The sound is a mix between their old stuff (like License to Ill) and then their newer stuff (Hello Nasty). As hard as it is to rank their CDs, this is surely a keeper. For the Beastie Boys to be able to stay on top of the game for as long as they have, and keep coming up with new, fresh sounds while staying true to their roots and themselves, makes these guys amazing. I would highly recommend this CD to anyone who likes the Beastie Boys or their style of music.

Awesome!:
This CD is not good for people who like George W. Bush. But, seeing as how I don't, I love it! Of course, besides the biting political remarks, every song makes you want to get up and dance. At least that's how it is for me. I would recommend this CD to Democrats everywhere who like open-minded rap that is not demeaning to women.

And I don't even like rap:
Ok, I have to start by saying that I am pretty open to different musical flavors, but it's not like I'm going to by a Ludacris album or something. I'm a heavy metal guy that back when I was about 8 years old got Licensed to Ill on LP. Yes I had old fashioned records when I was a kid. Back then the Beasties seemed kind of rock & rap and it was cool. Around the same time Run DMC did their thing with Aerosmith. My friends and I loved Beasties and Run DMC and also listened to Metallica and Megadeth. Weird combination. I started thinking about the Beasties again years back when I saw Intergalactic on MTV. I thought to myself "I'm not supposed to like this anymore, but I can't help it." They're just great musicians. They have a sense of humor that is great. I love the sounds that they create as well as the way their three very different vocals combine into a tight weave that is very cool to listen to. So a couple years ago I picked up the Sounds of Science figuring it would probably be the last album I'd buy, but it had all the hits that I liked as a kid and Sabotage and Intergalactic. It ended up growing on me, especially all the ones I had never heard. Remember, I went from Licensed to Ill straight to Intergalactic on MTV. Now, I picked up this album, and yes, I,Metalhead, am hooked on it. It's been in my cd player for three days now. This goes to show that the Beastie Boys have an appeal beyond typical rap fans. My favorite songs on the album are Check it Out and An Open Letter to NYC. So if you don't think rap is for you and you think you should only listen to what you usually listen to, just listen to some samples of this album. You'll like what you're missing.

• Ch-Check It Out
• Right Right Now Now
• 3 The Hard Way
• Time To Build
• Rhyme The Rhyme Well
• Triple Trouble
• Hey Fuck You
• Oh Word?
• That's It That's All
• All Life Styles
• Shazam!
• An Open Letter To NYC
• Crawlspace
• The Brouhaha
• We Got The