Reviews (page 4 of 14)
Had the pre conceived notion that The Beastie Boys were mostly corny white boys... I was wrong, this shit slaps
a certified classic to rob a Wegmans to 5/5
YEAAAAAAAAH dust brothers can fuckin Produce man. sad we cant get samples like this anymore. the beastie boys are so damn charismatic too.
If you played all but one song, maybe two, from this album them on their own they wouldn't do much for me, but when I play the whole album it provides an excellent vibe that I really enjoyed. As some have mentioned, the sampling on here is pretty amazing and if I understand right they actually got the rights to use most of it. This is an excellent album.
Absolute banger. This thing fucks
honestly I think this and ill communication suffered from getting them within like two days of each other
whats better than this just guys being dudes
Perfect album
Fukking masterpiece
Absolute love for this album. I bought this album new and enjoy it as much now as I did then. No matter how many times you listen to this album you want to listen to it again. Hip Hop and sampling at it's finest.
Licensed to Ill was a blast, and Paul’s Boutique blew the fuckin doors off. I spun this up the first time and I knew it was a game-changer. God it was fun! Wore out my cassette, blasting it out of my car. The sheer creative force of their sampling genius, the flow, and the crazy stupid fun of the whole joint made it legendary. Still play it wall-to-wall today.
This album is absolutely immense, hit me at the right time as well
One of my all time favorites!!!
3/21 Old school hip-hop. Its okay
I think I simply need to listen to this a few more times to really appreciate it, as I didn't particularly like it; probably because I'm not used to listen to much Hip Hop music. But I can hear substance in here: there's a lot of variety, great sampling and good beats. And a lot of creativity. So for now a 3/5, but I'm sure this could easily be a 4/5 if I give it another chance and finally get a bit more into Hip Hop.
A masterclass in groovy beats covered in clever, relevant, pop culture / cool snapshot / time capsule dripping in effortless cool, samples galore…what’s not to love?! This was so far ahead of its time it still feels fresh today.
Not my favorites album of theirs but still solid
Some of the most annoying voices ever recorded, but the production is just so insanely good.
OOOoooohhhh my! My fave from them!
4/5
I didn't enjoy this as much as the others, just felt simpler and less Beastie.
An oldie but a goodie. Yes, it's too long. Favorites: Egg Man, High Plains Drifter, Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun, Shadrach, Stop That Train, A Year and A Day, Hello Brooklyn.
As usual, the B Boys are kind of a lot to take in big doses (i.e., a whole album), but they always bring the fun party and are hard not to like. After three albums, I don't have much else to say about them. They B cool.
Definitely not for me. My favorite parts of the album were when they were sampling a piece of music I liked and not what they were doing with it. My rating is a reflection of my taste and I am just not a hip hop head.
This was just okay. I feel like something has happened because every time I listen to music I can only evaluate it as average, neither enjoyable or unenjoyable. So this rating might be a reflection of how I feel rather than the music itself. I just don't know how to feel but I don't think this was bad
First half of this album slapped but the B-Boy Bouillabaisse stuff not so much which is a shame because I really like the Beastie Boys. Took it upon myself to do a bit of looking into this and apparently Bouillabaisse refers to 'a humble fisherman's stew made from bony rockfish they couldn't sell' and so I guess these songs were merely a jumble of ideas they couldn't quite put together into their own album and so were dumped on the end of this one - disappointing.
I felt myself bobbing along to the beat mor often than probably necessary. I didn't really like the 'Boy Bouillabaisse' section but you can't win them all
Classic
the Joni Mitchell’s Blue of shaking your rump
this is a journey and the sampling is crazy, i understand why people love it and why it's here but i also struggled to get through it
Foundational album! It’s not a collection of tracks, it’s a complete opus.
The rapping was terrible, especially their singing. The beat wasn’t good, either. I constantly doing myself bored, staring at the sheer amount of horrible songs left. I didn’t wanna do it, but I have to give this a 1.
The production is incredible. I usually am not fan of the vocals from this band but the production made up for it. The ebats were slick and creative. I enjoyed this!
Dropping Science Like Galileo Dropped The Orange 1001 Albums Generator 247 (3/13/2026) Perhaps the most impressive piece of sampling ever, Paul's Boutique is different from Beastie Boys' debut in almost every way. Licensed to Ill is classic frat rap, but even then, hints of the Boys' production chops could be seen. Paul's Boutique still maintains a fun, upbeat energy, but it is also a serious piece of art. There is nary a bad song on this thing. The closest you're gonna get is the intro To All The Girls, the banjo-led interlude 5-Piece Chicken Dinner, and the awkward beatboxing on Get On The Mic. Besides that, you got the cool midschool hiphop of High Palins Drifter, the rap rock of Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun, the strange funk of Egg Man, and the lawsuit waiting to happen The Sounds Of Science (which they almost did get sued for by The Beatles). Oh, and speaking of the Beatles, Paul's Boutique ends with their very own "Abbey Road suite", with the 9-part B-Boy Bouillabaisse. It's pretty great, but some of the really short songs in the medley kind of don't stand out too much on their own. That's really my only complaint. And with that said, A Year And A Day is one of the best songs on this whole album, and Hello Brooklyn is crazy too. I have much more nostalgia for their debut, but Paul's Boutique is a classic for a reason. 4.5/5, rounded up to 5. Favs: Shake Your Rump Looking Down The Barrel of a Gun Shadrach Least Fav: B-Boy Bouillabaisse: Get On The Mic
Not nearly as good as ill Communication but still a cool record. Felt the production was a bit weaker on some songs while there are some pretty solid ones too.
Perfection. I did have this cassette stick in my 89 Geo Prism for the better part of a summer so I really got to appreciate it. The comedy matches the groove.
avant hier je connaissais juste Sabotage (which i LOVE) et Fight For Your Right (which i HATE) donc je savais pas trop à quoi m’attendre. j’écoutais ça en même temps de faire la vaisselle pis ça m’a pris 45 minutes laver trois assiettes parce que je vibais trop. call me a #BEASTIE BEAST (patent name pending) cause this is my shit right there chanson préférée : Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun
Hip Hop geht einfach gar nicht.
Good grief this is annoying. The music is fine, but my god, having to listen to those whiny, shouty voices for almost an hour is too much.
god awful. i do not enjoy hearing white boys shout rap nonstop for an hour
This is the music that black man is playing when you get picked up hitch hiking.
Happened to be great for doing pottery
Not bad but not great either
Probably their best! B A N G E R 10/5
I know of the band and have heard a few songs before. This album sounded like what I would expect from that earlier knowledge. Its not really something that i love. Its okay to hear a song once in a while but not anything I will seek out or choose if I can change the song.
I liked this, but not as much as Licensed To Ill. I consider that one a classic. I can say that I enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed Ill Communication. Maybe just a bit less but it's still a 3.
Love Beastie Boys. Love this album. So unique. So creative. So fun.
I like the immaturity of the Beastie Boys. They have clever lyrics, the sampling was like a time capsule, and I bopped out at least once without realizing it.
First time I've listened to this much Beastie Boys and the longer I listened the less I liked them. It all started to sound same same and I got bored after a while.
Pretty seminal work from the boys from Brooklyn. I'd never listened to it in full, but had certainly listened to a few tracks. After watching the Spike Jonze documentary from 2020, I was definitely more intrigued to listen to some of their stuff since I'd sort of ignored them. This is probably their biggest shift, according to the doc, and it's definitely worth a listen. Maybe not my cup of tea, but you can't deny they're brilliant. Best track is Shadrach, at the back of the LP.
meisterhaft und absolut hörenswert!
the Beastie Boys are unparalleled and this record is iconic!
I've listened to 5 or 6 hip-hop albums in this project. This is the one I enjoyed the most. It's definitely 3 stars at least (and pretty close to 4 stars).
Not my kind of music - but Hip Hop Gods.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Unapologetically New York sounding, this is the Beastie’s best album. The INSANE level of innovative sampling is unbeatable, and has lots of fantastic lyricism. Could be slimmed down a lot however.
Hm, nowadays this record sounds like the parody of itself. It was top notch when it came out, but I fear it did not age very well. I get some Lonely Island vibes here and there. :D Fav: Looking down the barrel of a gun
I'm surprised I even like this genre of music. But I only skipped the 30-second ones.
Beastie Boys are gonna hit 10/10 times!
I was amped to finally get my first Beastie Boys assignment since I'm a fan of Licensed to Ill (one of the few Book Albums I actually have in my collection) and since more modern iterations of their sound (take PUNK TACTICS by Joey Valence & Brae, for example) have become some of my favorite rap music of the 21st century, but Paul's Boutique had surprisingly few tracks that truly stood out to me. The trio tried their hand at doing something similar to Abbey Road's Side B medley with "B-Boy Bouillabaisse," but it honestly didn't work at all for me. Hoping I like Ill Communication a bit more! Highlights: Shake Your Rump, The Sounds of Science, Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun, Shadrach
Oh my fucking god. The Sgt. Peppers of rap does not disappoint. This is just entirely off the chain for 1989. The samples are insane, incredibly wide-reaching across decades and genres and go deep in the crates. The rhymes are ridiculous, the usual hyperkinetic wordplay from the boys, throwing in all manner of stupidity and ridiculousness and offhand brilliance. The beats go so hard. It’s over an hour that is like the giant ice cream sundae you always wanted as a kid - the one with like eight scoops and two bananas and a bunch of whipped cream and you and your friends could just eat it forever, just bliss on bliss on bliss. It’s a top ten album.
y'all mind if some goofy white boys get a little funky with it? the sampling is *really* interesting here in a way that feels drastically ahead of its time and i enjoy how the three of them bounce off each other, but at the same time every song sounds the same. the delivery across every track is identical such that it all broadly blurs together. i find it a bit exhausting. i can see why someone would like this, though not really as a full album. the flow is so samey that i feel like you could cut any of these tracks together and the listener would be none the wiser. fun in bursts, at least.
I like some beastie boys songs, but by god there's a difference between listening to the songs and sitting through a straight album. I feel like in an album format all their weaknesses show. The very similar flow from song to song undercuts the actually pretty interesting sampling and as a result I feel like you can listen to a few of their best songs and get a complete picture. I've always felt a bit bewildered as someone who is generally a fan of most rap music and styles that Beastie Boys is one I only get in small doses when they're so acclaimed, and I can see spots where they shine with their lyricism and their attitude carries things nicely. It just doesn't quite cohere together in an album to me in the way I like.
Amazing
Too much of a good thing
Horrible. White boys trying to do hip hop
“So the lights are flashing, my mind is spinning I feel like it is always the beginning Of another rhyme I'm rapping, M.C-ing I rock You ain't nothing but a car thief who must be stopped” “Paul’s Boutique” is a wonderful collage of popular music over the preceding 25 years propped up by the distinctive sound of a hiphop group who was at the time in dire need of a producer capable of focusing their talents. While I was listening I found myself wondering how this album would sound if you were to make it today, but I feel that it would fundamentally just not work. Practically, the idea of getting the samples cleared prior to release in 2026 is insane. In 1989 producers The Dust Brothers were able to clear much of the album for very little money as well as just hoping that some samples would fly under the radar. Then in 1991 a landmark lawsuit involving Biz Markie and Gilbert O’Sullivan laid the groundwork for the excessive red tape around sampling we are used to today. This new era of music litigation meant that one lawsuit relating to Beastie Boys’ use of sampling on this album was not finalised until 2015. There is also the issue that if you were to achieve this sound today it just wouldn’t be as impressive. Music technology has come along so much since “Paul’s Boutique” that bedroom DJs can sample pretty much anything in a matter of minutes. But, in the late 80s sampling was in its infancy and was extremely primitive. The length of sample that you could use was significantly shorter and that meant producers had to be much smarter and more creative with what they chose and how they used it. This is what sets “Paul’s Boutique” apart from other Hiphop records of the time. What the Dust Brothers achieved on this record completely changed not just how Hiphop instrumentals were crafted but expanded what music producers thought possible at all. The beats have a fantastic sense of humour that interweaves perfectly with Beastie Boys’ own brevity. Often referred to as “The Sergeant Pepper of Hiphop” due to its advancement of recording technology and influence on the genre “Paul’s Boutique” is more than worthy of its title.
Just an absolutely achievement in hip-hop. Lyrically incredible, beats are amazing, just one good thing to say about it after another. Doesn't reach some of their later heights, but imagining strolling in Brooklyn in 1989 with this on in a Walkman, smoking the worst ditch weed imaginable, and buying dollar slices. Just a dream. Easy listening and always fun, great harmonies, and the development of the style is just so wonderful.
A lyrical banquet. Delicious.
Trying to show the world that they weren't just a frat boy one hit wonder, The Beastie Boys knuckle down on their sophomore record. The beats here are immaculate and the final result was probably worth the band getting sued for. They sample everyone from The Beatles to Johnny Cash to Led Zeppelin. The rhymes are yobbish yet clever. They show their love for hardcore punk and heavy metal on 'Looking Down A Barrel Of A Gun' and you a good glimpse of their absurdist humour on 'Egg Man'. The 9-part closer 'B-Boy Bouillabaisse' is crafty way to use the fragments of unfinished songs they had lying around, all combined in a way that feels cohesive. This may be dated in places as most early hip hop tends to be, but you cannot deny the influence that this record had.
Fuck everything, but I DO actually kind of love this. Surprising everybody, including me. I complained a lot about Since I Left You/the very concept of "sampledelia" as a genre a few months ago, towards the very start of this whole 1001 endeavor (it was album #14 for me) but I guess I've grown as a person since then. Also, importantly, these guys actually added something original on top of/in conversation with the other work they're referencing (Since I Left You did not really bother to do this). Also, importantly, these guys are fucking hilarious (Since I Left You did not make me laugh even a single time. This album, on the other hand? Oh my god...). Anyway. If my coworkers (STEM field) ever do make good on their threat to drag us all to karaoke I think I might be performing The Sounds of Science. Until that day, though, I'll be relistening to this album trying to learn all the words, and to try and puzzle out all the layers/samples/little jokes I've missed the first time around. (Because I'm sure there are tons... some of which I might learn to recognize soon, even... there were already several in there that I wouldn't have caught before I listened to their source albums as part of this project. Which was very fun and exciting! I do feel like I'm getting a proper musical education here... I'm becoming enlightened. Still not enlightened enough to come around on Since I Left You though, I guess. What can I say. Sometimes things that are critically acclaimed on Pitchfork are not actually very interesting)
I grew up in this era and I saw them live once (at Lollapalooza where they stole the show from the Smashing Pumpkins) and they were amazing but I can’t bring myself to like them. I will never seek out one of their albums. Clever music and lyrics, good rhymes, but the voices! I just can’t listen to them for more than a few songs without taking a break. Respect the hell out of them but don’t want to listen to them.
Entertaining for a few songs but gets a bit annoying/played out the longer I listen to these guys
A little of this is ok for me but a whole album is not good.
#relisten
Do you think some hip hop heads look at each other and said, these white Boyz need some lessons in rap and funk, production goes through the roof, rap is tighter, cowbell, dust brothers, duelling banjos nod
One of the high watermarks of hip hop, a dense, allusive masterpiece of sampling and energy. Also a reminder that somewhere out there in the world is a copy of the Beastie Boys Book signed by Ad-Rock and Mike D for us on the occasion of our wedding, that our best man accidentally gave away before it reached us. Travel well, lost book.
of course this gets 5/5
I just don't enjoy their sound
If you are a rap fan, you already know about this one.
O álbum é bom. Tem batidas e grooves que são bem divertidos. QoA Cloudscape.
Beastie af
The more mature Beastie Boys. Some complain that this is too far from their gritty rap roots, but I disagree, as this to me feels like they've grown into their sound and are choosing more varied styles to sample. It shows they've leveled up, so to speak.
The flow, rhyme schemes, lyricism, sampling... Immediately became one of my favorite Hip-hop albums.
Še končat ga nism mogu
It’s a Beastie Boys album, and it delivers the energy and style you expect. The problem is that any impact from the brash beats and vocals is lost through hearing so much of a similar offering throughout the album. It’s got a cool hip hop funky vibe which is quite nice but it mostly blurs for me.
"A year and a Day" is an example where this album shows its age a little but largely that theme is almost entirely absent. Its relevant today as it was then and the feast of sampling overlayed by the "Scooby Doo" rap actually works really well. Unlike Licenses to Ill its much more refined and less like a hip-hop jack hammer. I have unusually been drawn to the Beastie Boys mainly because they were significant operators in the 90's but also they had a more heavy / rock infused sound which I gravitated towards. I was surprised how much there was in this. The sounds are so diverse and found myself amused by the lyrics as odd snaps caught my attention. "Humpty dumpty is a fat egg" and "Which came first, the chicken or the egg? / I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg".
This is a cool blend of hip-hop and funk with electronic sampling, giving it a cool and fresh vibe. There are plenty of interesting sounds throughout the album, even if it does put me in mind of some overly trendy bar or café music. That being said, I get a bit bored of the one dimensional, call and response flows that characterise the rapping all the way through. It's also guilty of the usual sin of hip-hop albums in being needlessly long. The second half of the album had lost it's charm and floated me by in a sort of sludge of samples. This is some interesting early hip-hop but not the pinnacle of the genre for me.
À l'époque, en 1989, tout le monde attendait les Beastie Boys au tournant. Après le succès colossal et un peu bas de plafond de Licensed to Ill, on les prenait pour les bouffons de service du hip-hop, les petits Blancs privilégiés qui allaient disparaître aussi vite qu'une canette de bière tiède dans une fête de fraternité. Mais au lieu de nous refaire le coup du rock-rap facile, Mike D, MCA et Ad-Rock se sont barrés à Los Angeles pour accoucher de ce qui reste, plus de 35 ans après, une anomalie géniale, un chef-d'œuvre absolu : Paul's Boutique. C’est un "joyeux bazar", un bordel organisé à l'image de ce magasin de Manhattan qui donne son nom à l'album. C’est un disque qui ne devrait pas fonctionner, une sorte de Frankenstein musical recousu avec des morceaux de funk, de soul, de rock et de jazz. C'est l'un de leurs meilleurs albums, ex-æquo avec Check Your Head, et il mérite largement son 5 sur 5. Mais pourquoi ce disque est un indispensable me diriez vous ? Avec les Dust Brothers aux manettes, les Beastie Boys ont pondu un monstre d'échantillonnage qui ferait faire un AVC à n'importe quel juriste spécialisé en droits d'auteur aujourd'hui. On n'est plus dans la gaudriole de fête foraine pour skateurs bourrés, mais dans une tapisserie sonore d'une densité chirurgicale où des centaines de samples — des Beatles à Led Zep — s'imbriquent avec une maestria qui, trente ans plus tard, me colle encore des frissons de nerd du microsillon. C’est le disque de la mue, celui où ils ont troqué les hymnes bière-pizzas pour une écriture tentaculaire, prouvant au monde qu’ils étaient des bâtisseurs de cathédrales sonores plutôt que de simples amuseurs publics. Véritable odyssée urbaine à cheval entre le bitume crasseux de New York et le soleil de plomb californien, cet album réussit le miracle de faire cohabiter un jazz cérébral, un funk poisseux et des éclairs rock sans jamais virer au gloubi-boulga indigeste. C'est une lettre d'amour monumentale à la pop culture, une machine à explorer le temps et l'espace où chaque écoute révèle un détail qu'on avait loupé la veille. Il y a quelques mois, j’ai replongé dans Ill Communication dans le cadre de ce projet, et je lui avais collé un petit 3 sur 5. C'était une note donnée plus par respect qu'autre chose, car l'album semblait s'éparpiller un peu trop. Mais avec Paul's Boutique, on joue dans une autre catégorie, on est dans la pureté de l'intention, dans l'explosion créative totale. C’est un disque irrévérencieux, drôle, parfois complètement barré, mais toujours porté par une énergie communicative. On sent qu'ils s'amusaient comme des fous en studio, et cette liberté se transmet à chaque seconde. C'est l'album de la maturité qui refuse de grandir, le genre de disque qui te rappelle pourquoi tu as aimé la musique en premier lieu. Trente-cinq ans plus tard, le constat est sans appel : c'est un classique indémodable qui défonce encore tout sur son passage. Un 5/5 net, sans bavure, et une leçon magistrale de ce que le hip-hop peut offrir de plus riche.
Didn't like the vocals too much, but the sampling was brilliant.
me encanta cuando un album hace que odie y ame canciones al mismo tiempo
I really enjoyed this, loads of samples that I recognised that have been used in other songs. It's albums like this that have gone on to influence some amazing music, whilst also being a great album in its own right. 4/5 for me.
I've never been a fan of hiphop. At least this classic hiphop style. This album hasn't changed my opinion on that. Some samples are really cool. Like the jaws theme. I could never think of something like that. It's just not for me at all. Good flow, sometimes annoying voices, but overall not outright garbage. I just see it as I do all hiphop. It's not doing anything interesting for me.
Definitely not my favorite Beastie Boys project. It sounds like they were having fun for sure, but I'm not sure if I'd choose this project if I wanted to listen to Beastie Boys. 3/5
Mais legal do que eu imaginei, mas esqueci todas as músicas assim que acabou. Talvez seja uma barreira de idioma.
Raptastic!
Most of the album is a re-hash of their previous releases, as if the Boys are just teens that could never grow up. But the last track, "B-Boy Bouillabaisse", a rap medley of sorts, shows signs of personal growth as artists.
To All the Girls 2/5 Shake Your Rump 4/5 Johnny Ryall 3/5 Egg Man 3/5 High Plains Drifter 3/5 The Sound Of Science 3/5 3-Minute Rule 3/5 Hey Ladies 4/5 5-Piece Chicken Dinner 2/5 Looking Down the Barrel of A Gun 3/5 What Comes Around 3/5 Shadrach 4/5 Ask for Janice 2/5 B-Boy Bouillabaisse: 59 Chrystie Street 2/5 B-Boy Bouillabaisse: Get on the Mic 3/5 B-Boy Bouillabaisse: Stop That Train 3/5 B-Boy Bouillabaisse: A Year And A Day 3/5 B-Boy Bouillabaisse: Dropping Names 3/5 B-Boy Bouillabaisse: Lay It On Me 3/5 B-Boy Bouillabaisse: Mike on the Mic 3/5 B-Boy Bouillabaisse: A.W.O.L 3/5
Neutral. Not bad but did not touch me at all.
An interesting dive in both hip hop and sampling. I always dig Beastie Boys' call and response style vocals but in this album I also enjoyed their production and technique in sampling. I do feel like B-Boy Bouillabaisse could have been all one song instead of split up. 6.5/10. Favorite Song: High Plains Drifter
White A Tribe Called Quest
Fun album and great era for the Beasties. Favorite tracks: Shake Your Rump, Johnny Ryall, Hey Ladies
idk i'm suffering from beastie boys fatigue
Opening track is icky AF, but fine, I guess this album is nearly 40 years old. And boy, can you tell from the simplistic rhyme schemes and grandad-esque flow patterns. Production is great though, and really is what makes this a classic (although some of the lyrical schemes are pretty good tbf). But I still can't stand the monosyllabic rhyming and stilted flows in 80s hip-hop. I can almost deal with it here because the beats are so expertly crafted. But as much as I wanna give it a 4 for creativity and execution, the prehistoric flows will stop me returning to this, or any other Beastie Boys albums, unfortunately.
While I respect that others like this album, this is perhaps one of my least favorite Beastie Boys albums. I've given the album multiple chances over the years and it just doesn't appeal to me. I preferred the rock samples of LICENSED TO ILL to the more psychedelia and schizophrenic sample choices on PAUL'S BOUTIQUE. While some others claim that the lyrics on PB are less puerile and better written, I find them just as puerile with stuff like "Egg Man", "High Plains Drifter", and "3-Minute Rule" among many others being just as cringe as the worst hip hop out there in 1989. And while PB is only 9 minutes longer than LTI, it drags for me, making the feel like it is 20 or 30 minutes longer than it needs to be. Fortunately lyrics are not of the foremost importance to me when judging music, so that wasn't a deal breaker. What was a deal breaker, was just not feeling the grip of the bangers or the fun on this album that everyone else claims to feel. There is no denying that this album was a foundational album for not only hip hop, but also for alternative rock artists who would take these ideas and expand on them in rock, pop, and folk directions (see Beck's MELLOWGOLD). The most bearable tracks for me were "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" and "Shadrach". Even though honestly I sort loathe the lyrics to both of them, the use of the instrument samples and beats made up for them. Honestly, I feel like their lyrics never matured really until ILL COMMUNICATION. The first half is better than the second half. The album really tanks with the awful Bouillabaisse suite. While I have songs I enjoy off of every other Beastie Boys album this one doesn't any tracks that I feel compelled to add to my collection no matter how many times I come back to it. I kind of wish they had figured out how to do something more than shout rapping on this album. I think a mix of occasional refrains of different types of singing mixed in with raps that occasionally expressed some dynamics levels other than just shouting could have really elevated some of these tracks to even more interesting places. Also, I feel like all of hip hop would benefit from a less lyrics is more approach. That many lyrics and the voices on hip hop albums just become white noise.
Thank you Beastie Boys for saving my life amidst a dreary folk rock weekend. Thank you!!!!
The only good white rappers
Pros: - Great production - Sample abuse - Nice flow/vocals - Ahead of its time/Influential Cons: - Completely terrible mixing Rating (out of 10): 8/10
Just a fun album, the Boys are maturing their sound compared to the snot-nosed punks that released License to Ill, incorporating samples from just about everywhere, from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin to the Isley Brothers and even 20 seconds from the Deliverance soundtrack. Copyright law sure was played fast and loose in the early days of hip-hop wasn't it?
One of the dumbest openers in musical history gives way to Andy Samberg and that other guy rapping about their lazy Sunday. That's what this is, right? Sometimes when something has been parodied, the lines between parody and original begin to blur. This phenomenon worsens when you possess the brain of a dementia-addled octogenarian with the attention span of a caffeinated toddler (me). This album possesses the sincere silliness that the anxiety-ridden youth of today would refer to as "cringe." I did find myself uncomfortable occasionally as well. Earnest expression is out folks. Caring? Forget that. Don't you want to be uninterested in life and cool until you die having experienced or achieved nothing?? We're all on a conveyor belt to the grave. A simple step to the left or right would spare you that fate, but the person ahead of you on the belt might laugh. Choose wisely. Where was I? IS there better hip-hop? Absolutely. Still, this album is incredibly heavy and frankly, extremely likeable. I kind of thought they were annoying to start but this grew on me in a major way. Trailblazing beats/samples, lots of energy, and boundless creativity. YUCK! Give me apathetic soundscapes disguised as "vibes" and string up my LED lights. While you're at it, maybe fashion me a noose. 3.5-4 HIGHLIGHTS: Johnny Ryall, Hey Ladies, Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun,
Po 5 dainų tokių atsibosta repavimo tipas.
I wouldn’t say I dislike hip-hop, but I do find it difficult to stay engaged with a full album; it usually works better for me a few songs at a time. Because of that, I only own a handful of hip-hop records, including the Beastie Boys' "The Sounds of Science" compilation. For me, that's how I enjoy them. "Paul’s Boutique" is certainly well-produced; it’s clear, funky, and the samples are genuinely interesting. The music underneath is consistently strong, especially the Beatles samples on the track "The Sounds of Science"- very cleverly done, but the repetitive nature of the rapping eventually wears me down. It’s a fun listen, and a very good album but it doesn't quite reach a five-star rating for me. Side A 1 "To All the Girls" (4/5) 2 "Shake Your Rump" (5/5) 3 "Johnny Ryall" (4/5) 4 "Egg Man" (4/5) 5 "High Plains Drifter" (3/5) 6 "The Sounds of Science" (5/5) 7 "3-Minute Rule" (3/5) 8 "Hey Ladies" (5/5) Side B 9 "5-Piece Chicken Dinner" (3/5) 10 "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" (5/5) 11 "Car Thief" (4/5) 12 "What Comes Around" (4/5) 13 "Shadrach" (5/5) 14 "Ask for Janice" (3/5) 15 "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" a. "59 Chrystie Street" (0:57) (5/5) b. "Get on the Mic" (1:14) (3/5) c. "Stop That Train" (1:59) (4/5) d. "A Year and a Day" (2:22) (4/5) e. "Hello Brooklyn" (1:32) (3/5) f. "Dropping Names" (1:03) (5/5) g. "Lay It on Me" (0:54) (4/5) h. "Mike on the Mic" (0:48) (3/5) i. "A.W.O.L." (1:46)" (4/5) Total - 92.00 Average - 4.00 254/1001 138/254 albums reviewed were new to me
I truly believe Paul’s Boutique is the Beastie Boys absolute crowning achievement. It's a huge step up from their first album, ditching the party all the time vibe for a super cool, trippy, and complex sound, like the Sgt. Pepper of hip-hop. The three of them, Mike D, Ad-Rock, and MCA, are at their best here, heir quick rhymes and energy are amazing. Some people might not like their New York shouting, but for me, it makes the album super fun and energetic. The production by the Dust Brothers is nothing short of a miracle, a masterclass in sampling that simply could not be repeated in today’s litigious music industry. With over 100 samples ranging from the Beatles and Led Zeppelin to Johnny Cash, the album is a sonic collage that feels fresh every time I listen. Whether it’s the funky groove of "Shake Your Rump" or the ambitious suite of "B-Boy Bouillabaisse", every track is packed with easter eggs and witty references. It is a one of a kind landmark that perfectly embodies the anything goes if you have 2 turntables and a microphone spirit of late '80s hip-hop.
I wanted to like this. But it just isn't a very palatable style of music. The Beastie Boys in general really only have a song or 2 worth returning to. The production is good, the songwriting really isn't all that great. The performance seems completely unserious, and to be fair it probably was. Maybe that's part of what makes them who they are, but it just isn't for me. The best thing going for it is that it's unique. I'd rather it stay that way. 2.4/5
It took me a long time to appreciate the Beastie Boys. I’m glad my first listen to this album was now and not back when I was a hater. This deserves repeat listens with the lyric sheet nearby.
Well, it's not as bad as it could be, but this album, again, does not convince me about hip-hop. The samples are well integrated, and, sometimes, they sound nice with the song, but it's still the same boring thing. At least some songs are not that horrible.
What a masterpiece, I can't believe that I hadn't listened to the whole thing before now. 2 songs added to playlist.
Got me break dancing to New-Yorker white boys singing brags (*shouts*)
too loud and talky?
I’m happy to finally hear a rap album! This album seems quite iconic with its sound, playfulness, funkiness, and lyricism. I don’t like the overall sound though as it is very beat/lyrics heavy and I enjoy melodic music. Big respect to the Beastie Boys of course but I just don’t like their sound. Especially listening to a whole album of them just kinda screaming the whole time, not my thing!
Gostei mais do outro álbum deles (III Communication). Não quer dizer que este seja mau, mas é mediano. Especialmente comparando ao que ouvi anteriormente.
This album did nothing for me.
I wanna give this a 3, but it's a 4.
I do like the beastie boys, but found the album a little repetative
Not a bad album but def doesn’t have the hit factor of the previous one
Sonically interesting, would have been 5 stars for an instrumental version of the album.
What initially sounds like pure collage gradually reveals careful architecture. The sampling is dense but purposeful, stacking fragments of funk, rock, and soul into something that feels fluid rather than cluttered. Lyrically it’s loose and playful, yet structurally it’s remarkably disciplined. Each listen uncovers small production details that strengthen the sense of depth. It manages to be immersive without feeling self-indulgent, which is why it earns a full score.
Great hip-hop album with funky seventies samples.
As expected - not for me .
There are a couple of Beastie Boy's tracks that I like, neither of them are on this album!
This should have been titled "A Tale of Two Albums." The rapping is boring and only at points funny but doesn't hold up to the test of time; The production is some of the best I've ever heard, sampling at it's finest, and has made me want to relisten to so many of the tracks that inspired the Dust Brothers. And in the middle of these two sides, one boring and not as entertaining as I need it to be, the other this monolith to what sampling can do, is Paul's Boutique: Iconic, unforgettable, dull, and past it's prime. And as such, it's hard to rate the album because, well what do you give prescience to? The parts that work, or the parts that don't? As a result I have to say that the album is good, but not great. While sometimes the rapping works and the lyrics are funny, too any times they either become unfunny or just plain boring. The production is fantastic though, and we'll worth a listen just for that. There is a reason that people consider this the best Beastie Boys album. But there is also a reason none of the songs on the album are classics in the same vain as many of their others. Highlights are Johnny Ryall, Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun, and A Year and a Half from the ending Bouillabaisse.
This album is a classic! From a time before sampling was sued and licensed out of existence, this is the high water mark. The Beasties are at their best here, riffing off each other, interweaving punk, classic rock, funk, R&B and true hip hop sensibilities. Yes, they’re white, Jewish boys but they were actively participating in hip hop culture and community as it came about - this is organic, not appropriation. To all the people who are like “tHeY’rE jUsT sHoUtInG??”: As a resident of the Tri-State Area, I can tell you with 100% certainty: They are not yelling, they’re just from New York. 5⭐️
nostalgiaaaa. Hard to pick a favorite but i have to say sounds of science
They are shouting, but in a good way
I understand the “they’re just shouting” reviews. They certainly aren’t singing. But I can appreciate this for what it is.
I enjoyed it. Really good for 80s hip hop, but the genre has come a long way since then.
3.9/5 Stars Top Songs: Shadrach, Egg Man, Johnny Ryall
160226 15:59 3.5
The best beastie boys album that I still don’t like because my mum played it on repeat growing up and their voices annoyed the ever living shit out of me. 4/10
The Beastie Boys are so funny to me. They're over here screaming into the microphone and then you look at a picture of them and they look like they're insurance salesmen or something. I love these guys. they are my neighbor's teen son's garage band. I would definitely buy a homemade t-shirt.
Beastie Boys at their best. Excellent production, the samples are excellent, the beats are great, and their vocal delivery is on point in their own, very recognizable way.
There is something to say about how wild this production is. It is also a perfect transition fro m 80's styles / aesthetics to the 90's with the crazy scratching/sampling.
Amazing. Had never known their sound and just assumed it was pop. Generational hip hop album with the best array of sounds
Album muito interessante do Beastie Boys
Not my type of music at all. Had to skip most of the tracks after 20 seconds.
Lyrically, they're very talented. Quick-witted and full of pop culture references. Unfortunately, I can't stand the yelling and bratty frat bro attitudes. Not an album for me.
This album slaps. Will come back again that's for sure.
Maybe there's something I'm missing having seen all the 5 star reviews. I found this incredibly grating and annoying. This is the second Beastie Boys album I've had on here and I felt the same with their debut. The voices are just annoying, over the top. Sounds like what I'd imagine a teenager thinking he was a gangster would write. This was a struggle to get through.
headboppers, i liked it.
Uit mijn comfort-zone, maar ik vind de rock en hip-hop mix leuk klinken. De oudere klank vanuit de jaren '90 klinkt ook goed met hun stemmen. De eerste liedjes vond ik leuker, vervolgens werden het te vreemde teksten. De laatste korte nummers waren leuk om te luisteren, maar ze hadden niet veel replay-value. Op dit moment (track 13): 7-
As much as I have tried to give Paul's Boutique a chance, I hate to say it but this album does feel very dated much like many of the other Hip Hop albums from the 80s. I appreciate how much fun this album has with itself, but I feel it gets very lost in the feelings it presents instead of making a coherent Hip Hop album. I am more impressed by the shear amount of sampling on display here with this album than I am with the album itself as Paul's Boutique in context of the entire history of music is a remarkably important release. For those unaware, this album is the reason we have to get permission to sample music thanks to the fucking Eagles of all bands. A lot of my favorite tracks from this album are still the ones that I enjoyed the first time around like the impeccable Shadrach, Shake Your Rump, and Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun. Even with that being said this album really lacks any sort of solid and consistent substance to really keep me attached and instead throws me around for 53 minutes trying to give me a taste of what the new and refreshing world of sampling can be like. I appreciate this album for more of what it showed the world Hip Hop could be and the repercussions of this album's release more than the music itself. Like many other 80s Hip Hop albums, it is a staple of its' time and not one I think holds up very well in today's landscape....
Their best work
It's cringe but it's so good
7/10
To All the Girls - 3.5/5 Shake Your Rump - 4/5 Johnny Ryall - 4/5 Egg Man - 4/5 High Plains Drifter - 3.5/5 The Sounds of Science - 4/5 3-Minute Rule - 4/5 Hey Ladies - 4.5/5 5-Piece Chicken Dinner - 3.5/5 Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun - 4.5/5 Car Thief - 4/5 What Comes Around - 3.5/5 Shadrach - 4.5/5 Ask for Janice - 3.5/5 B-Boy Bouillabaisse - 5/5 It's a surprisingly fun time when a group of the whitest boys you know (no not the comedy group) casually drop rhymes that include NPB legend Sadaharu Oh. The sampling is also incredible, laying the groundwork for future albums to mix and match sounds like they have. Overall: 4/5 Favorites: Hey Ladies, Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun, Shadrach, B-Boy Bouillabaisse
Back in 1989 I was very active in the album collecting phase of my life. I was also active in reading about new releases and very interested in what the critics said were the albums I needed to listen to. Paul's Boutique was one of those albums. I strongly disliked Licensed to Ill, so I was suspect about picking this up. I did get it and listened. I respected what they were doing, mainly musically and in the overall production of the album. I still found that they were annoying at times, but much less so than on their debut. I was looking forward to jumping into this today, and mostly I was glad to give it another listen after all these years. I laughed at many of the same rhymes as I did back then, and it was great to hear some of the references from back then. They were very witty and the production holds up as top notch. It did get a bit tiring towards the end, but not to the point where it took away from my overall enjoyment of the record. It wasn't a five star album for me back then, and still isn't today, but it's a solid four.
no soy fan del estilo musical de los beastie boys
Hip-hop, nog een genre waar ik echt niet bekend mee ben. Maar de instrumentatie/beats vond ik nice, en niet zo conventionele songstructuren. Stemmen moet je een beetje van houden, en de teksten zijn wel meer op de voorgrond dan ik gewend ben. Maakt wel dat je de teksten soms erg goed verstaat, en ze kunnen wat lachwekkend zijn. Highlights: Shake Your Rump, The Sounds of Science (Beatles sample wow!), Hey Ladies.
The best Beastie Boys album. And I don’t say that lightly.
This is pretty damn fun. The beats and basslines are pretty awesome. Respect to the emcees for the gift that they have bestowed on us
A classic
meh. Piqued my ears hearing those beatles samples in Sounds of Science, you hardly ever here that
The production on this album is amazing. The sample selection and execution of bringing new life into these samples is amazing. As for the rapping it's fine. I have never been much of a fan of the Beastie Boys cause I find the delivery of their vocals off-putting, but I recognize the talent they have. There is just something about it that my ears don't like that I can't quite place. That was toned down some on this album, but not enough for me to have this in rotation.
Memories
Now I am suddenly feeling the urge to breakdown and rebel against the system!
Dense but great. A classic illustration of how marketing drove sales back in the day. An album that would be impossible to make today.
I’m just not into the beastie boys it’s not cool of me
Cool!
Uninteresting
I couldn't love this more. It was a permanent fixture in the CD player of my car for years. I can't think of many albums that mainline fun and energy to my brain quite like this. Listened to it again yesterday for the 2,567 and 2,568th time. Still holds up.
Was jokingly going to say "hip-hop for middle class white kids" but that would be a disservice to the Beastie Boys here. This is an excellent album with immaculate sampling. I know a lot of people dislike their shouty-NY style, but it works for me for some reason.
There’s not much I can say about this that hasn’t already been said. This is a top 10 album for me and a top 5 rap album. The Black Album bends the knee to Paul’s Boutique.
I've heard several of their songs before, and I do I like the Beastie Boys sound. But they're great in small doses. I don't think I can take a whole album of it. And this album had the Beastie sound I love for a lot of the songs, but there was just something missing. Shake Your Rump was pretty good, Johnny Ryall was fun. High Plains Drifter was very good, the back and forth raps that the Beasties are known for are on full display here. The Sounds Of Science was a lot of fun, pretty funny with the science-y stuff. Hey Ladies was great too. Car Theif and Shadrach were nice as well. If they cut the album off right there, it would have been a solid 4. But the rest of the album, the whole B-Boy Bouillabaisse part, is just kinda eh. And it drives the album length up much more than it needed to be. Overall there is some fun to be had, but it could have been better. Best song: The Sounds Of Science
I get really bored with this album. There’s no way this is the masterpiece claim it is.
One of my favourite all-time albums. It was really nice to have an excuse to listen to it again after many years away.
I'm going to finish it but... these guys voices have always been fingernails on a chalkboard. Some decent 80s beats and nostalgia but just, nah.
The boys took their earnings from Licensed to Ill and bought themselves a Minimoog and a 909. :-) I remember when this came out we all were surprised that it actually had some depth, as opposed to the white youngin' party rap of the previous. Infectious grooves and some sweet sampling, and what I consider to be one of the best recorded examples of what a Moog filter sounds like. Anyhew super fun.
Not for me.
not my cup of tea.
Find it wearing these days, this album is quite boring. Shouty high voice guy I find irritating
Absolutely gas, not the most lyrically deep but some great tracks and fun instrumentals.
Well, I'm Mike D, and I'm back from the dead! I love this album/band so much when I was in NYC I made a pilgrimage to Beastie Boys Square where the album cover photo was taken. Samples and shouting yeah that is what makes up this album and it totally rules. The album itself is just end to end fun. While Licensed to Ill has the hits and individual tracks that I listen to more I prefer Paul's Boutique as an album experience. Playlist track: Shake Your Rump
Mixture of sounds and tastes. Reminds a little bit of Can with experimental touch, but with the add of world music. I can see where Tom Tom Club got their sound, but here we have more flavours and more adventurous approach.
🥇shake your rump 🥈egg man 🥉b-boy bouillabaisse: stop that train HM: johnny ryall, high plains drifter, hey ladies, what comes around, shadrach, b-boy bouillabaisse: a year and a day
🙂
Very solid BB record. Not a favorite of mine but a historic one at that.
Experimental, different, way ahead of its time.
Listened to the whole thing so I can confidently say I did not like it
Surprisingly a lot mote nuance than you'd expect. Arguably better than their debut.
a fun album, thought a lot of the samples here were very cool
these white boys have swag
As has been said 4 billion times the production on this is unbelievable and makes this such a fun album to listen to. My favorite moment is when you hear 'Mississippi Queen' for .5 seconds in 'Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun.'
Yeah didn’t really like it
Not quite as iconic as License to Ill, but a worthy follow-up. You can really hear how they've refined their sound. It's much more polished in this album. Hey Ladies is still one of my favorites, and will be making the playlist.
Solid offering from the Boys.
Beastie Boys are always a fun listen even if every song isn’t a banger.
Good Fucking God I love the Beastie Boys. Potentially better than Licensed To Ill, at least maybe marginally more artistic. Still perfectly angry, loud, and oh-so-cool. New top 10 album, maybe top 5. Phenomenal.
I'm afraid I had this on in the background while working, so it didn't get my full attention. No tracks leapt out at me, but I may come back to it some time.
The Beastie Boys have a unique sound, but halfway through the album I got tired of it and wished they would switch things up. The beats are a little empty as well.
Their voices are unbelievably annoying. I don't have anything else to say.
This is probably one of the most important and influential hip hop albums out there. If I had to take a guess your favorite rapper probably has this album in their top 5 albums of all time. Every song on here is so much fun and I might have this entire album memorized, which is really saying something due to the amount of lyrics on here. High 5!!!
Game changing. I slept on this for years because I hated License to Ill so much. I could not fathom that those Jabronis could make a genre defining monster of a record. The Dust brothers were so good at the sample game that they ended up breaking the whole system.
not quite my style but cool
Not my music
Oh hell yeah. The Beastie Boys are back again with another certified banger of an album. Ok, there are quite a few interesting things about this album that I want to bring up, and I want to mention them all real quick. First, this is an album made mostly hand in hand with The Dust Brothers, an artist that I’ve already rolled once for this project and thoroughly enjoyed listening to. They mostly work within the bounds of the Electronica genre, so seeing them collab with the Beastie Boys was quite surprising to me. The album is mostly comprised of an overwhelming amount of samples. This gets to be so ridiculous on some tracks that looking up a list of samples on some songs like “Egg Man” shows an entire list that contains a mix of The Beatles, and songs simply including the word egg in them. That’s extremely funny and clever to me, because they still manage to make it work out fairly well. Next, I’m very familiar with the Beastie Boys. Licensed to Ill, which I’ve already rolled for this project, and Ill Communication, which I’m really excited to roll, I am very familiar with from top to bottom. I’ve never heard of a single one of these songs up until today, and I can’t fathom why. Is this album as good as the previously mentioned albums?? In my opinion, no, it’s a little too bloated and the songs aren’t all that memorable, but it’s still the Beastie Boys, and it’s still a high 4. The songs might not all stick with me, but I love a good album of just deep cuts. It’s not a bad thing. This is still better than a grand majority of albums I’ve heard on the project so far, but it’s not without flaws either. My favorites on this one are “Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun” and my winner for best on the album goes to “Car Thief”. I’m not entirely sure what they were going for with the last 9 “B-Boy Bouillabaisse” tracks, they sound just like the other regular songs on the album. I don’t know exactly why they gave them a unique moniker, but they’re all pretty good. Again, not the most memorable, but good. Going to give this one a high 4.8, and I want to give it a 5 just because I love the Beastie Boys, but I just can’t do it. Don’t get it twisted though, this album still kicks a whole lot of ass.
I really like the samples, but the vocal style is not really my bag I was going with 2 stars until 5-Piece Chicken Diner came on - I'll go up to 3 stars because of that madness!
Im less into this than ill communication or license to ill but it has that charm. These guys just love making music and it shows. They have alot of fun. That being said, its pretty messy. There are a ton of good tracks but there are also some stinkers or just songs that dont work. They change it up too often without any real rhyme or reason. One song to the next is just a wild swing sometimes. I did save a bunch of these tracks but there are for sure ones id much rather never hear again. But at th end of the day its better than alot of records. Even if it doesnt stick the landing every time. If your into eclectic shit then eclectic shit is what you get and enjoy it
~ we need more cowbell ~ apparently.
t’s loose, weird and funny so that is why I probably like the Beastie Boys as much as I do. You catch new sounds every time. Just playful and free. It’s not an everyday listen, but when it clicks, it really clicks. Starting a Friday with it makes sense: it doesn’t just kick off the weekend, it opens it up.
Gotta say, I think this album gets a little too much hype. The singles on this album are great, and the whole album is a lot of fun. The beastie boys are amazing, but it always seems odd that this is known as their best work. They've got some other killer albums.
Classic. Felt like it was the pivotal album for them to show their artistry.
# Album Name: Pauls Boutique # Artist: Beastie Boys # Rating: 3/5 # Comments: First half isnt bad. Few good tracks but then the second half kic ks in and tanks the album. # Top Tunes: Shake your rump / Egg man / Sound of silence # Would I listen to it again? No, just a few tracks
Layers upon layers in this album. With all the blended samples, at times dense and referential lyrics, and many songs not featuring consistent hooks it's easy to get overwhelmed. To catch everything would take going line by line. I can visualize it as a stereographic image: either you see the schooner or you get a migraine. That's also what it makes it an enjoyable listen. So much more depth than their earlier work. More risks were taken. There is more to discover. Summed up in their own lyrics: "The music washes over and you're one with the sound." "Expressing my aggressions through my schizophrenic verse words" Hey Ladies Shadrach
Interesting, but lots of shouting. The songs end up sounding the same to me.
It is twice as good as License to ill.
I mean the Beastie Boys are the Beastie Boys, aren't they. It's perfection. The samples go crazy. The genre switch ups are mega. LOVE.
I have a good feeling about the band, but I've never listened to this album. It was the right decision, and I won't listen to it again. Beastie Boys music generally has one purpose: to pump you up. This album fails. It's monotonous, repetitive, and feels like the guys are just yelling at you on the street for an hour. It sounds bad: the entire album, except for the vocals, is made up of samples, which is impressive, but it feels like the final recording was done on a tape recorder. I read the reviews, and they praise the lyrics. Probably deservedly so, if you're American, but from my perspective, it seems like some kind of pedantic rant with a bunch of obscure references. Who added this album to the list, and why? It doesn't even work as background music, and I don't understand who listens to it consciously. Very disappointed.
I hadn’t heard this Beastie Boys album before. I love the energy Beastie Boys bring. The lyrical witticisms are great. I feel like this is an album that would grow on me the more I listened to it, but on a first listen I felt it was a bit long and tonally one-note. 3.5/5
Not a fan! Not unlistenable, but just truly not my type of music and not sure why it’s so well regarded.
Pretty cool
I recognize the impact the BB had on hip hop, and I love Hello Nasty, but could never get into this fratty album.
Not my style of hip hop. Probably would not relisten. Perhaps if I also read the lyrics at the same time.
very funky, not similar to my usual choice of music but it is fun, upbeat, interesting textures
maneirissimo este ja tinha ouvido gosto muito dessas musicas todo mundo odeia o chris ta ligado beats maneiros rimas maneiras capa maneira, um album maneiro
My 2nd favorite after Hello Nasty.
Chaotically stacked samples, jittery beats, and nonstop vocal chatter piled into this hip-hop album move like flipping channels on a TV stuck in fast-forward—hyperactive and cluttered, yet so unfocused and uninspired that the constant noise becomes more annoying than inventive.
Simply great
digger det! 10/10 sint, sampledelica, drøyt, morsomme vers
Yea they're good I like them. 6.9/10
the kind of attitude that packs a punch. the samples carried.
Giants of hip-hop, all-time greats of the genre. White lads, waxy voices, more rascal than gangsta, but you just can't ignore them. Also a very unique, inimitable sound, and yet reminds me of Public Enemy, if its members where white and got raised in upper-middle class artistic families. "Paul's Boutique" is the least hit-heavy album of the band, not a single of the most popular BB songs comes from this record. Yet as a whole this is the most Beastie album of them all, and the most artsy. Samples, beats, lyrics - crème de la crème, all of it. BB has been for a very long time one of my favourite bands, yet I listened to this album for the very first time thanks to this list. And now I know why it's such a cult classic.
Quite enjoyed the B-Boy Bouillabaisse tracks
I love shake your rump and you have to respect a 12 minute melody of just random bits of songs mashed together but overall not quite the same impact as licence to ill.
Not sure how this one is aging. Maybe 3.5?
I do have a copy of this album, but it's fallen off my musical radar and I hadn't heard it for > 25 years (probably longer). It's a symbol of a bygone time, an easier time, where artists absolutely fucking scraped every sample they could from absolute anywhere (before licensing and royalties were considered) and created musical masterpieces. Musically it's incredible, but I always found their rapping to be the one aspect that let it down. It's probably somewhere between 4 and 5 stars, I'll go with 4.
Incredible. 4.5
Great production but the shouty vocals get tiring.
awesome
Very happy to have heard this album again.
no thanks
The sampling on this record is next level. Lyrics also ingenious. Not my personal favorite Beasties record though, even though it was certainly groundbreaking. So for that reason… a 4 for me.
192/1089 this is SO of it’s time, it’s cute and irritating in equal measure it’s always jarring to hear Trump name drops in pre-2016 media the B-Boy Bouillabaisse section was easily the best part of the album imo. it felt pacey and exciting and fresh. i think it they’d cut down the first half a bit, then that pacing could’ve made the album much stronger faves: B-Boy… A Year and A Day, B-Boy… Dropping Names, B-Boy… A.W.O.L. 47/100
I find this band sooo annoying
Chaotic fun. It's not my personal favourite beastie boys. There are some excellent lyrics and jokes and an awesome raw energy. It's very rough around the edges though. The overall sound is kind of chaotic. There are fewer clear hooks and distinctive beats. It's really good, but just a bit harder to get a hold of
7/10
Not really my thing but cool none the less.
Good samples! I didn’t know any songs on here except for the part of Hey Ladies where they say Hey Ladies. I like the Beastie Boys. I think they have clever lyrics.
Anxiety inducing, these boys just won’t shut the hell up! Decent. But not my fav
I go back and forth on the Beastie Boys. Yes their music was groundbreaking at the time. But sometimes I’m listening to it and it’s just dumb lyrics. Always about the same topics. I’ve enjoyed other albums by them more but this one didn’t hit for me.
I listened to the Beastie Boys when I was a kid, but kind of wrote them off as childish. But who cares? This album was fun.
It was fun and the beastie boys are iconic and so influential on hip hop and culture (hello, hamilton!) but none of the songs really grabbed my attention. Admittedly I was mostly listening to this as background music while I worked, but everything seemed to blend toogether. I want to give this one another try with a more-dedicated listen but for now it's a three.
It’s not really my cup of tea and I would only listen to it ironically, to be honest. Some of the songs are ok, others are quite annoying, in my opinion.
I can see why they have such an iconic sound, and they’ve been sampled soo much in modern music. But if I’m Honest…2 beastie boys songs is about enough for me in one sitting.
This album didn’t do anything for me. Some good lines. The beats didn’t grab me and the vocals are energetic, but reminded me of a more nasally RATM or Morty from Rick and Morty.
it's very unique in it's style. it's not really my thing but it isn't bad
Classic Beastie Boys. Not my go to listen, but a slice of life
Paul's Boutique was the next step in the growth and evolution of Beastie Boys. If License To Ill was elementary school, Paul's Boutique is high school. Also, to the people complaining about "too much shouting", go find your safe space and put your Bon Iver records on. Beastie Boys aren't for you. This album kicks so much ass.
As someone who really enjoys some of their music, BB are one of the most overrated groups in history. Having not one, not two, but THREE of their albums on this list is absolutely wild. That being said, this is my least "favorite" of those three.
It's for a very specific mood, but if you want to feel like you're riding on the 2000s NYC subway, the Beastie Boys is the best
I've always found these guys tough to listen to for more than a song or two and this album is no exception. This has some really good samples but the shout rap thing stops being interesting very quickly.
Boldly going where they had gone with their first album, but without the hits. If you like the BB you’ll like this too.
For what it is, it's good. Wouldn't choose to listen to it
I get why they were jealous of de la soul
original white boy swag. why are we complaining about the yelling?
the only white rappers I respect and like lol
This was a blast to go back and listen to. Beastie Boys have always been a band that I have liked, even if I didn't own a ton of their stuff. I knew a lot from this record, including Hey Ladies, Johnny Ryall, and Shake Your Rump, the last of which is one my top 2 or 3 favorite songs by them. I forgot about Egg Man, which is a super fun song to listen to. There were others as well that were great to check out, as I don't remember many of the rest. That said, this album has the unfortunate circumstance of being less than a month removed from me having listened to License to Ill, which I think is their best record. This just isn't quite as good, even if it is considered one of the landmark albums of hip hop. While I am squarely between 4 and 5 stars on this, much like I was with L2I, I am landing on this at 4 stars, as it doesn't quite hit as high as the raw energy of that record, even if it is a move towards a more sophisticated sound with stronger beats.
A glowing exception to my self-invented rule that rap albums don’t age well. I wasn’t into the Beastie Boys when they first appeared, although like everyone I heard their hit singles and I thought they were OK. Much later, when I had access to streamed music, I tried listening to their first album (Licensed to Ill) a few times, but found it pretty tiresome and juvenile. I’d read that Paul’s Boutique was really ‘the one’ and I had a go at it once or twice, but I reckon I probably didn’t get past the silly To All the Girls intro song and the fairly routine rap track Shake Your Rump that followed it. Having now heard the album right through and - importantly - used good headphones and read the lyrics as I listened to each track, I think it’s brilliant. The backing tracks, with their myriad samples from a wide range of genres, still sound fantastic even 35 years later. The production is great. And the lyrics match the music: clever, funny and erudite, with constant references to, and borrowings from, the worlds of art, literature, science, history, music and pop culture. I never loved the three-guys-shouting rap style and still don’t. Plus also, as with almost any rap album, you have to wade through a fair amount of macho flexing (although here it’s often laced with humour). But this is a really impressive album and it gets 5 stars from me, which I really hadn’t expected to be the outcome before I pressed play.
Musically not bad but it's hip-hop which doesn't do anything for me.
Damn ya’ll are on a heater. Love how this album feels like a collage. Dust bros rocked it. Beastie La rule.
Was fun!
Love this album: the exuberance of the samples is a maximalist experience.
appreciate getting to know their music
Goodbye Brooklyn! 1/5
жека
It was groovy. But it isn’t something I’d go out of my way to listen to.
Standout Tracks: Shake Your Rump - Downhill mountain bike of a flowy trail. Hey Ladies - It's 2004 and you're hanging with the boys playing Halo
Fun and creative and also goated
Do you like shouting? But not really catchy songs? This is for you. The samples sound interesting; I’d like to hear an instrumental version of this.
In retrospect I dig this. I did not when it came out😂
Not for me
Not a fan
I looked at how many tracks this was and thought this might feel a slog, but wow it was just joy the whole time this is a fantastic album. There was no tracks I recognized but made me realize there is more to beastie boys than just there hits.
Loud and punkish. Beastie boys was fun while not lyrically setting the world on fire. Enjoyed this
Super cool album, but one I've been trying to properly digest for a very long time. There is A LOT to take in here. Most people praise this album for the same reason they praise a lot of golden age hip hop records, albums like 'It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back' and '3 Feet High and Rising'...it's the sampling. They're just flying at you and right past you as you start trying to process the next sample. 'Shake Your Rump' is the perfect demonstration of this; it's like a million different songs packed into this little 3-minute container, and that iconic three-way Beastie Boys rapping style only adds to the unfiltered chaos. Overwhelming can't begin to describe it. 'Egg Man', while having one of the more consistent (and better) rap performances on the album, is equally as unhinged. Look, yes, a part of me wishes that the guys would just ride the really hypnotic and infectious bassline beat established at the beginning of the song, without throwing in a million different interjections and switch-ups...IT'S LITERALLY UNDER 3 MINUTES. But that's the appeal (of most) of this album, and you come to understand that very early on. The album really dishes out one intriguing production beat after another. I love that main guitar riff driving the spacey 'The Sound Of Science,' or the funky guitars scratching through 'Hey Ladies'. And in typical '80s hip hop fashion, you'll get a pretty neat (and sorta random) heavy metal crossover with 'Looking Down The Barrel Of a Gun'. 'Shake Your Rump' is a warehouse of incredible little beat moments, with maybe the tightest drum loop on the album, and this weird, fuzzy synth tone that'll go on to become a Big Beat staple in the '90s. A lot of this album, come to think of it, is very predictive when it comes to that particular genre; the beats have this weighty, clunky feel to them. Thankfully, the rapping doesn't balance the production out or anything; it's just as bombastic. I feel like having three distinct MC voices featured here, rapping about the most random shit you can imagine, is the only style that CAN work with production this shaky and precarious. Anyway, if you hate how all-over-the-place this thing is, then you'll hate the last side of this thing even more. Just these short non-sequitors that, admittedly, contain some of the better rap performances here. 'Get On The Mic' is one, but more specifically, 'A Year And A Day', my favorite Beastie Boys song, period. Everything from the beat, to the flow, to the weird staticy filter on the vocals, whatever that is. I don't usually write this much about albums on this list, but I just sort of drifted while re-listening to this album for this list. It fascinates me like few rap albums, and albums in general, do. So weird, so non-sensical, so different, like cycling through the radio channels in some alternate universe where these oddly artistic but edgy frat bros own all the broadcasting frequencies. But it's an album that'll undeniably latch itself onto you and refuse to let go - once you get it, of course.
Not my style of music but I can absolutely appreciate the lyrical genius and music
Easy 5 stars. Next!
Standard beastie fare.
Did not disappoint
Humpty Dumpty was a big fat egg
I’ve loved this album for many years
Why is there an album between license to ill and ill communication?
more on the 3,5 side; I thought it got a little fatiguing towards the end
Pretty fun, not many similar groups like the Beastie Boys
Second Beastie Boys album in a row (and going chronologically which is nice). I had heard so many good things about this album and I was excited to finally listen to it. Way more polished than the debut, excellent and very creative production. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Probably would give it a 4.5/5 if I could, but I have no problem rounding it up to 5/5.
The sampling is still banging (a 'sampling' for me: the piano in 'What Comes Around'; the bass-line syncopation in 'Dropping Names'; random bluegrass, Johnny Cash) and if the voices take some getting used to, the seasoned interplay between them is obvious--with those loud and proud NYC accents. It feels like they threw everything and anything that came to mind at their tracks and lyrics, and found many surprising combinations that worked (and, of course, some that didn't.) One more appreciation: this kind of style and musical approach was adopted by at least one more group of pioneering artists very far away: Kpop 1.0.
I didn’t know a single song on this album before, and I’d be fine knowing none after. Why include an album from a band with a bunch of hits when this album has zero?
I enjoyed going through the lyrics while listening - a lot of "huh?" moments followed by a chuckle or a nod of respect to the wit. Also enjoyed the punk rock elements. Though the album isn't something I would go to for leisurely listening, it was quite a ride. 3.5 rounded up.
I gave it up for III Communication, but first-wave Beastie Boys is corny and too derivative of Run DMC. 2.5 rounded down.
Initially thought this was crazy long, then was surprised at it being only 53 minutes, which is still long, but less so for 23 tracks. Looks like the numbering is not always consistent here. Anyway, let's get started! Listening notes: -The frat party vibe of this album shouldn't work as well as it does. But the call and response style here is infectious -The B-Boy bouillabaisse suite has some really cool stuff. Really elevates the whole album Review: I don't know that their style is really my kinda thing, but they really make it work. Jammy 80s hiphop. 4Stars
I generally am okay with earnestness in music. In most genres, an earnest authenticity is what we (as the listening audience) aspire to hear from our artists and we judge artists that are perceived to be putting on an act. The Beastie Boys just feel too earnest though and wear too much of their schtick on their sleeve.