Written by Ross Horton
Photo: Shot in LA May 1994 by Steve Double
I guess the only way you can judge a band is by their best record. You can’t see every live gig they ever do (unless you’re a millionaire obsessive, or a roadie), so you have a limited number of artefacts with which to judge a band on. For a band as influential, iconoclastic and simply fucking fun as the Beastie Boys, the act of deciding what their best album is takes some consideration.
Their first record Licensed to Ill is their greenest, rawest record and is the one that contains the most songs that casual fans will have heard (all two of them!). It was the first Beasties album I heard, and the first one I bought, and while it’s a hugely impressive early blend of rap, punk and rock, it’s not their best work.
Their second record, Paul’s Boutique, is my favourite. It also happens to be the favourite of most folks, simply owing to the fact that it is undeniably brilliant. It’s a stone-cold classic that defies genres and has endless replay value. Songs such as Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun and Car Thief (which bizarrely shares a sample with Faith No More’s most recognizable tune) proved they were improving but had yet to reach the summit. But it still isn’t their best album.
Check Your Head, their third, is absolutely brilliant but falls slightly short of the monstrous album it followed. By no means a failure, Check Your Head is still a sterling effort from a band about to hit their career-defining peak (and our editor’s favourite Beasties album). Tunes like Pass the Mic and Jimmy James’ll teach you that. Needless to say, it’s not their best record. Some folks would take issue with my opinion on this one, but it just doesn’t have the same magic as P’s B. Dig that.
And so we come to the album that I believe, as objectively as possible, to be their best record. In the same way that I can judge Master of Puppets to be Metallica’s crowning glory, and still prefer Kill Em All. Same goes for Snoop Dogg – his best work is Doggystyle, my favourite is Doggfather… and so on ad infinitum. There are some bands where you just know they hit the jackpot.
Released on Grand Royal on May 23, 1994, Ill Communication is an unbridled masterwork. No doubt about it. From Sure Shot to Transitions and back again all of the tracks show a fierce combination of confidence – attitudinally and materially – and effervescent talent.
Let’s start with the big one – Sabotage. It’s one of the most energetic, visceral white-knuckle thrill-rides ever committed to tape. It also happens to be a solid-gold blend of howling hip-hop and bone-crunching metal, laying down a massive gauntlet for all artists that were attempting to follow in their wake. I guarantee you’ve heard it, loved it, and then subsequently forgotten to look up what record it’s from. Outside of Intergalactic, Body Movin’ and the two from the first record, it’s probably their most well-known tune.
Get it Together – which features A Tribe Called Quest’s legendary Q-Tip in a prominent role – is a low-key groove machine built around a crackling sample track, and is amongst the foremost hidden gems in the Beastie’s catalogue. All of the BBs are on top-form too: All four contributors’ parts are instantly recognisable and rock-solid.
Sure Shot is a personal favourite – the beat and melody are instantly, maddeningly addictive. Some other highlights casually littered throughout are the fat-as-fuck Do It, which features a guest spot from ‘The Clown Prince of Hip Hop’ Biz Markie. The rhymes are sick, the beat is enormous, the samples top class. Best musical backing goes to the superb deep-cut Shambala – listen to that fucking racket! It’s a kaleidoscope of holy noise clattering around on top of some bone-dry P-funk guitar wackas and hangs with a spaced-out red-eyed frenzy. It showcases the Beastie’s talent as both musicians and producers – there’s not one single lyric in the entire track.
The cavernous Alright Hear This (which sounds like it’s recorded in the NY subway), is a quality tune – the vocals are distorted by some mad effect that makes them sound like they’re going through a loud-hailer. Another personal favourite is the crazy-ass anthem The Update. There’s so much going on it starts to become delirium inducing – upright bass, thudding percussion, filtered vocals, keyboard stabs… It’s crazy.
Of course, there are more – you’ll find them when you check the album out. I don’t even wanna mention Root Down… I’ll let you make that discovery for yourself. Ill Communication succeeds in every respect – and demands to be listened to as an ‘album’. That means if you can, buy a copy. If you can’t buy a copy right now, check out the full album on youtube and buy one when you get the $$$.
Adam Yauch (RIP), Adam Horovitz and Mike Diamond are irrefutable pioneers that combined to make one of the best records (and best bands) of the past couple generations. Respect to them for making every album a winner, further respect to them for bringing art to a much-maligned audience. They weren’t gangstas or tough guys but readers and street-punks that made a stunning catalogue of incredible music. Now it’s up to you to check it all out.
Bonus mash up video fresh from the web:
