Licensed To Ill

fun and silly, not something i’d normally listen to but served a purpose for the gym. inoffensive and wouldn’t be opposed to listening again if the mood struck.

Cool samples, cool vibes. Cocktail rap-rock détonnant, ces mecs là ont clairement annoncé la couleur de la décennie qui a suivi dans le monde du hip-hop ! La rythmique répétitive du chant me donne parfois envie de sauter quelques pistes pour aller directement à mes préférées, d'où la note de "seulement" 3 (3.5 si je voulais être vraiment précise).

What an iconic album. Some good songs, definitely a notable moment in hip hop. A unique vocal style with punchy beats. Definitely a notable moment in music history. 3.5

I love the Beastie boys, particularly 'Check your head' and 'Ill communication', and always enjoy hearing Fight for your right and No sleep 'til Brooklyn. However, I've never heard the entirety of their debut album - until now. Sadly, apart from the aforementioned singles and Rhymin' and Stealin', the album's not great. It's all rather puerile and sonically lazy. They needed the musical kick in the pants of 'Paul's Boutique to really create their own cool and influential style. Disappointing, but a stepping stone to far greater things. Ps: if you haven't had the pleasure yet, you need to read 'Beastie Boys' Book'. Phenomenal stuff!

I think Beastie Boys suffer heavily from songs fatigue. Listening to one random BB song on a playlist - great fun, so many hits to choose from. Listening to the whole album in one sitting - please, just release me from the pain and send me back to hell. Great album, but after 10 minutes of this I'm at my wits' end. I think it's the style of rap, so much "in your face", with no holdback, that makes it unbearable to listen to in long strides. But the hits are still as good as they were 30 years ago.

It is a fun album but it is super dated and I don't hold it in high regard.

Listen, I’m an enormous Beastie Boys fan, but this is arguably their worst album. Give me Ill Communication or Check Your Head or Paul’s Boutique and we’ll talk about how much I love them and think they are underrated for how talented they actually were.

Not my favorite, but I respect it

Didn't like it as much as I thought I would outside the singles

Help, I think I've died and I'm stuck in fraternity hell. I wanted to like this more than I did. I get that a lot of what the Beastie Boys did was (allegedly) satirical and comedic, but if you don't have that historical context, a lot of this album has aged like milk. If by the time you get to the second track and hear the lines "If I played guitar I'd be Jimmy Page/The girlies I like are underage" and don't realize they're taking the piss about Page being a creepy predator, you're probably not going to have that great of a time. As the philosopher Harvey Dent once said, "You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain," and I think that became true for the Beastie Boys. They started out lampooning frat culture and hair metal bravado. And while many of their fans were in on the joke, a whole lot more weren't, and this music became the soundtrack to their lives. Aside from that, a lot of the songs are just really repetitive. How many songs on this album are about hooking up with lots of girls and carrying around a gun at a party? I lost count, but there are too many. Some of the wordplay is clever, but it's not enough to counteract the stuff that gets repeated over and over. The music also isn't that interesting. "No Sleep till Brooklyn" and "Fight For Your Right" are pretty good, but most of the other tracks are pretty basic beats and loops played incessantly, with the occasional poorly done record scratch overlaid (again, I know this is kind of the point, but it's boring). I also forgot how incredibly annoying "Girls" and "Brass Monkey" can be — ear worms in the worst way. I will say, I didn't realize how many of the songs from this album became hits. I think 95% of the songs I know by them are on this album. So, that's kind of impressive. I think I just generally prefer my comedic music to be more along the lines of Tenacious D or tongue-in-cheek sendups like the Darkness. This crank yankers sketch set to crappy music stuff isn't really my thing. I suspect if I went back and listened to the Marshall Mathers LP now I'd feel similarly. That kind of stuff can be funny at the time, but as you grow up and the culture changes, it just seems cringe. Crap, I've become my parents haven't I? 3/5 from me. I recognize the historical impact and influence of this album, but that doesn't mean I want to listen to it again.

haha! An old frat party staple.

I’ve never been a big fan of the Beastie Boys, but “Fight for your Right to Party” and “No sleep til Brooklyn” are such big hits along with “Brass Monkey.”

Didn't age amazing, has multiple classic tracks

Did not realize how many of these songs I knew. Also did not realize how problematic the “Girls” lyrics were…

This was more enjoyable than I was expecting, with some nice use of samples of songs I knew. The flow of their vocals seemed fairly similar across a range of these songs, however. Probably no need to hear them again, but my opinion of them is higher than it was last week.

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to this all the way through. I think I’ve grown and the album has definitely aged. And the group has disavowed much of it, if I remember correctly. What would have been a strong 4-star, bordering on 5, in high school is probably just a 3 now.

Young, dumb and still quite a bit of fun. You do listen to this album with a smirk all the way through.

They were cooking

I still hate "Girls" and I can only listen to 10-15 minutes at a time before I begin to hate it and need to take a break But damn it I still had a great time

Tons of hits on here but sounds dated as hell

I recognized a lot of songs on the album and I see the connections for where hip hop began. Ultimately it wasn’t really for me.

My aunt let me buy this cassette tape at a yard sale when I was about 8 years old (1994). I vividly remember listening to it the first time and just thinking "what the heck is this?" in a good way. Such a unique record. Awesome word play, great use of samples and amazing chemistry.

wish i hadn't got this and ill communication back-to-back, because they kind of just blended into one another. did find this one more fun though! felt like you could hear their joy through the record

Maybe I missed the humour, but these lyrics seem so wack at times. Cool beats and samples, but maybe just a little bit let down by this one. Two and a half. Fave track: Time To Get Ill

Some songs are great, other make me nervous.

I didn't really like the other songs but ofc love for no sleep to Brooklyn

If Columbia Records didn’t stop them from using the original title we would’ve seen articles with zingers like no sleep till hate crime and hold it now, hit it(ft mark wahlberg). Kurt Loder would’ve had to say it on air. This album is a child in the backseat of a car asking for McDonald’s(Run DMC) only for the parents to say they have food at home. Rick Rubin will never get enough credit.

Definitely prefer their later stuff, but some fun ones on this.

This was their debut album! I'm not even a little bit of a Beastie Boys fan but I knew at least three of these songs. They sound like they're having so much fun. I want to give them 4 stars but a whole album of their thin yelly voices got tired after a while.

Not bad, but I've never been a big fan.

The cultural impact of the album is strong and there’s a few iconic songs on it. BUT - much of it hasn’t aged super well, either lyrically or sonically. It doesn’t sound as timeless to me as other revered albums. In addition, my hot take is that I hate how the Beastie Boys shout all their lyrics. It’s grating. People like to talk crap about Geddy Lee and Billy Corgan - I would put the Beasties up there in terms of sheer annoyance levels.

It's not bad, but also not my favourite kind of music

There are a few songs here that I really enjoy, but most of the album features beats that feel too thin. A lot of the beats are just drum machine, with no interesting samples or synths to accompany the percussion.

This was a great listen. I'm a little more familiar with their later stuff which I prefer. Great fun for a debut album!

6/10

3.4 - I actually have always really liked beastie boys. I find them fun and silly. I think this album is a bit too much of them being screechy but some bangers for sure. I get why people hate them but I just can’t lie to myself that I enjoy it.

about as good as I thought in the 80s. I.e. not very good,

Ltvsll stdtted sounding similar after a few songs. Love the energy

If you know the Beastie Boys, this record is their sound very amped up. Lots of scratches, yelping and classic rock sampled guitars all chopped and screwed up. There are some funny lines and generally good beats and some of their most classic songs.(Sabotage, Brass Monkey, and one of my favorites, No Sleep Til Brooklyn). Paul Revere's beat is okay but doesn't hit with me and Girls has not aged very well. otherwise I like the new style and time to get Ill as a closer.

My journey with Beastie Boys have ended. :’(

ci sono un paio di canzoni che spaccano, tipo "No sleep till Brooklyn", ma non è il mio genere. Anche "Brass Monkey" però...

3.5

Great album, the sinergy between these boys is brutal

License to Ill is no Paul’s Boutique, but it’s my understanding that most albums aren’t.

Lots of classic tracks, but not something I would listen to a lot.

Beastie boys are overrated. All the songs sound the same. 3 for a couple classics tho

Enjoyable listen, especially tracks melding hip hop with rock, Fight for Your Right being the stand out. The other tracks are perhaps not quite up there, but overall a strong debut

A very fun, albeit repetive, style of rap.

It’s only 3 days since the last Beasties album III Communication,arrived on my list. I hated that album and gave it 1/5. I said on that review that I quite liked the two singles which I knew appeared on this album - Fight For Your Right… and No Sleep Till Brooklyn, so I was bound to give it a higher score. It was an advantage to be able to compare both albums whilst the first was still in my mind. Listening through this album I was immediately struck that it was a lot more melodic than III Communication and found myself actually liking most of the album. To my ‘English white male in his 70’s’ ears I could actually hear the lyrics so could tell what they were on about. Very clever and amusing most of the time which I enjoyed. I also liked the sampling and good guitar riffs used throughout the album. The samples gave the impression of familiarity with the songs and the guitar riff on Fight For Your Right is up there with the best guitar riffs ever. Although not my type of music I could not help but love this album. It was a pity they could not take this to their future albums but I know they were/are not making music for people like me, so what do I know?

Phänomenal damals.

“The girlies I like are underage” - wtf

It's fun to revisit this record so much later in my musical education now I know where loads of the samples are from. Straight off, ah yeah the drums from When the Levee Breaks....ahha I didn't know they had sampled themselves much later on Intergalactic...etc. Beasties did loads better than this record in the time that they had, and you can level all sorts of criticism at this album now, but this was a good start. De la soul came on immediately after which reminded me how much better 3feet high and rising is.

Like 3 songs are bops but mostly I feel old listening to this bc it sounds like noise. Maybe I’m just not in a beastie boys mood today?

Some awesome tracks but shows it's age a little. Not as mature a record as Paul's Boutique.

The singles were great. Some of the other really felt like filler to me

7.1/10

The beats were nice. The content hasn't aged well but I guess it's meant to be tongue in cheek to an extent. Didn't like the verses or the delivery for the most part. It was ok overall. Decent 5

Good, but not their best by far.

Fun if unmemorable. They were really ahead of their times in the 80s, huh?

forica, not for me tho

Kako koja stvar, mozda da poslusam jos koji put bi sjelo kak spada.

Not my favorite Beastie Boys album but it's definitely got some good tracks on here.

It's hard to explain how mind blowing this album was when it came out. Rick Rubin deserves his rep - if for nothing else - for recognizing the possibilities from making a rap album with a punk band and using a heavy dose of Zeppelin samples. Is it an album of music worth listening to forty years on? It limps along in several spots. Super clever - to be sure - but now standing in the immense shadow of Paul's Boutique it feels flat. Then Girls - as good a novelty song as any, and Fight for Your Right which, in spite of its teenaged-meathead theme, just f@#in rocks. So I'd say, in retrospect, this is a solid debut album from a truly unique act.

A couple of bangers but it felt frozen in its time

I like the Beastie Biys, but it does tend to be a lot of the same stuff as far as sound and lyrics. Good in small doses.

A little boring?? Eek.

I like the beats and the samples and find myself bopping away to it but I just can’t enjoy their rap style. Listens: 2 Fave Track: She’s Crafty Rating: 3

I don‘t like Hip Hop much, but that album is funny

Every single Beastie Boys song sounds like this: (70s hard rock sample) (pans to the left) The Beastie Boys are kind of SHIT. (pants to the right) Stone fruits have an inedible PIT. Does it bang? Yeah, it sort of bangs.

A different style to what I'm used to but I did like the song Girls on the album. It was one I've heard before and enjoyed. The rest of the album was okay but not my style of music.

great

New drinking game: take a shot every time they say “girlies” then die of alcohol poisoning. Appreciate the blend of rap and rock here but there’s only one flow between 3 different dudes.

Hip-hop. Un poco rollo.

A fun and clearly influential album that has just aged pretty poorly. The energy is clearly there from day one, but the immaculate and experimental production that makes their later releases so exciting is incredibly rough here

Always have had a love hate relationship with the beastie boys, but aside from a few standouts, the album on the whole was a lot less cheesey than I expected. Not bad

Party!

Reminds me of middle school. Not their best album, but still some fun tracks. Paul Revere is my fave.

Brass Monkey is still a bop all these years later, Paul Revere is also on point. Plenty of filler and songs that haven't aged well, but overall a fun look into 80's frat music. 🐒🐒🐒

There are beasts in this world and there are boys.

Some fun beats and samples but as I get older this album is a bit too juvenile. This album and the final one they did a few years back are the only ones I really got into, although I like most of their singles.

Its decent, not groundbreaking or anything. Very mellow rock in my opinion

Not my thing

iconische sound, maar gek genoeg niet echt mijn ding

This is a pretty good record but wow what a missed opportunity including this one on the list over say Check Your Head and Hello Nasty both of which are superior to this one in every way. My entire listening group agreed that the Check Your Head thru Hello Nasty era of B-Boys is where it's at and we can't understand the love for Paul's Boutique and Licensed To Ill (both are on this list). This feels like the single Fight For Your Right has warped the reviewer's minds on this one haha

Nostalgic album that has aged so-so. Great start to a great career, but hardly their best effort.

The raps on this are the cringiest shit ever, but if you dont take it to seriously, there is a but of charm to them. I like it the most when they go all in on the rock, as opposed to the strictly hiphop songs. Theres some good stuff here, but it does not blow me away.

Their debut, and a point where they seemed to really straddle rock, rap and hip hop more than they did later (when they released Hello Nasty, say, which was the first album I knew on release). It really works, and this album was good fun from start to finish. One or two songs feel a little too raw, and Girls makes you feel like you're going totally mad, but by and large it was highly enjoyable.

It’s a classic and an esssential listen for any Hip Hop 101. But after a listen it’s noticeable how much better Paul’s Boutique and Check Your Head are, both are locked in 5s. Based solely on hindsight and knowing what’s coming next in their catalogue I’m gonna go 3.4

Está bien aun que a veces me da dolor de cabeza.

I know Paul's Boutique is already on this list, but Check Your Head, Ill Communication and Hello Nasty better be as well, because they are all superior to this one, as iconic as this album is.

yep, that's a beastie boys album

The Beach Boys and Beastie Boys were the same band in my head, so imagine my surprise when the album starts The music itself isn’t bad, not my first choice but there were parts I liked I liked how clever some of the lyrics were but themes of the songs and the lyrics were very much not my jam though, lots of misogyny and he drugs a girl in Brass Monkey??

Net geen 4

dumb fun

I really liked the beat and the production, it was catchy enough to gain my attention and kept it, but I’m not sure just yet if it’s something I’d like to listen to more than a few times to get hyped up.

Весела музика, але дуже рокова, на фоні її не послухаєш, можливо прикольно було б її включити в машині (не тоді коли вона їде 140), і може десь типу на пластинці

Closer to a higher 3 low 4 for me, such a fun album. The type of album I forget about, remember, and promptly spend the rest of the day jamming out to. Also first heard Girls in a AMV circa 2010, so.

this being a lowkey concept album (maybe a better term is caricature album) is doing a lot of heavy lifting to get them out of "the girls i like are underage." lol. still undeniably full of classic bangers, very strong for a debut album. when will this website let me give half stars!!! 3.5!!!! faves: no sleep till brooklyn, posse in effect, slow and low (but slow and low, hold it now hit it, and time to get ill kind of all sound like the same song to me)

Shouty, innocent angry. All songs sound same.

Heard it before?: Yes Enjoy it?: Solid but not groundbreaking Favourite song: Track 7 - Fight For Your Right

Beastie boys are definitely a vibe, but I like more melody in my music. Girls is a great song though, so that'll earn this album 3 stars.

Exactly what I expected the Beastie boys to sound like.

Solid 3. Love the playfully lyrics and delivery with a few classics.

Not something I would willingly listen to but iconic

Top 3: #11 Brass Monkey #7 Fight for your Right #13 Time to get Ill

I like the idea of ' Fight for your right to party' - those were the days 😂 Also, I played it out loud in the office for a couple of secs as my headphones had disconnected! Crazy, silly, 80s mens.

It grew on me after repeated listens. I'd previously only delved into the Beastie Boys as far back as Ill Communication, and those extra few years of maturity and production values really help. This early work almost feels like a parody of itself... you couldn't fit a sheet of paper between the actual Beastie Boys and the white-man-rap parody group Morris Minor and the Majors, for example. But it still has some real bangers on it - Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn, for example.

4 and 3 and 2 and 1! Call me Dave Grohl because I can't remember being more nostalgic for music video-era mtv first thing in the morning in a while. I don't know if I'd like it as much without it though. Rating 3.4 rounded down to 3 stars.

7/10, not my favorite BB at all but groundbreaking and essential

Love the energy and the instrumentals. Lyrics can be a little corny and haven’t always aged well.

Got a few bangers on this one, the rest I could take or leave.

Some good ones, but not my favorite album from them.

Couple of nice banger songs, mostly kinda meh.

A classic album but hard to return to.

I’m really shocked, because this is my third Beastie Boys album, and I’m not even 100 days into the generator yet. Paul’s Boutique was great, but they’ve gotten progressively worse from there.

Slightly chaotic, kind of all over the place but still some good sounds and lyrics sprinkled in

Always good to listen to this lot. It's scratchy and the production is sparse. It feels so different from what came later. Classic moments that lit me up throughout. Mmmm...drop!

Not as good as Paul's Boutique but probably the Boy's second best

I like a lot of Beastie Boys tracks, but damn man, so much of this is just irritating and repetitive. Some of the samples and beats are good. Fight For Your Right is a classic and I love it. No Sleep Till Brooklyn is good. 2.5 rounded up.

algumas coisas soam datadas e outras soam como classicos atemporais??

Overall, Licensed To Ill was a very mixed bag for me, There were some songs that sounded very good and the rapping was pretty cool but on the other hand some songs could get really annoying due to some of the musical choices. I mostly liked the songs that had more rock elements but some of the simple rap songs weren't bad either. It is not a perfect album by any means but I feel the good outweighs the bad Best Song: No Sleep Till Brooklyn Worst Song: Girls

Yes cool

I remember a point in high school where the punks and metalheads mentioned how much they like the Beastie Boys. I went to listen to them after this and thought, “Why?” I definitely went into them expecting something else at the time so wouldn’t have been a bit biased. Let’s listen with fresh ears today! Songs I already knew: (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) Favourites: (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party), No Sleep Til Brooklyn First of all, that’s the most ridiculous use of brackets in a track name that I’ve ever seen. With that out of the way, I did quite enjoy this. As a teen, I felt they were just a rap group, but I can definitely recognise the angst odd punky elements now (I’m honestly not sure how I missed that as a kid). The album didn’t blow me away, but I definitely did find it to be good fun. Not sure if I’ll be listening again, but I enjoyed it today.

I wasn't expecting to start the 1001 albums off with some Beastie Boys but this was a great album to listen to before work. A lot of classic Beastie Boys tracks on here, great energy!

One wonders what the kids today make of this? Would they like it? Get the jokes? The contemporary fan base likely overlaps with that of Beavis and Butthead, JackAss and other such crown jewels of our cultural inheritance. Sure, it's fun and entertaining, but also embarrassing – and very well should be, hugely so in fact, for those who listened unironically then or does so now (those numbers are probably much higher than the Beasties would like to know). For all the fun (Zeppelin and CCR hooks, Abe Vigoda name drops), the whole thing is so massively derivative, almost every beat, to more than justify the accusations of cultural appropriation. Somehow, they were just clever enough to make it different enough to appeal to knuckleheads who didn't know much (maybe any) better. Still, the quick wittedness and entitled 'tude don't quite make up for the fact that they received far more critical acclaim and commercial success than they deserved.

Good dumb fun, very juvenile and tongue in cheek (presumably) - can't think I'll ever want to listen to again

Loved this album back when my brother introduced me to them but the rapping style does get a little repetitive for a whole album listen. Great instrumentals.

Tough to listen to unless I’m in the gym. I appreciate its importance.

It was okay

Sounds exactly what (I think) it was, some mates making an album of the favourite genre. Pretty fun listen but nothing I’ll revisit.

When they broke out of the usual 80s rap structure I thought they sounded great but a lot of this was quite straightforward rhyming pairs. Still the best Jewish origin hip hop I've ever heard.

Didn’t love this but I really respect them for the song about girls. Also no sleep till Brooklyn always goes hard

a little annoying

Some fun tracks, but overall a bit juvenile for my tastes.

overrated

enjoyed it alot. love the rock and hip hop elements. ist a 3.5 for me

Beasties were an all time great band. This was their first but def not their best album

3/5

Not my thing. Objectively great

These guys are the original "rock-rap" group. Sometimes their style of yell-rapping is hype and I'm really into it, other times it's really grating and I want nothing more than to turn it off. These guys still fall into the 80's "hippity-hop" flow, but it isn't as noticeable because of the way they perform and trade words in verses. This is an alright album and they are pioneers for the genre, but I got tired of their style pretty early on. This is good but not a 4. I'm feeling strong to decent 3/5 You can tell the person who made this list is one of those "I only like old school rap" type people because most of the hip hop albums have been from before 1993 which is crazy.

an fun album for sure. a handful of these tracks are iconic for good reason. that being said, outside of that handful, there's not a lot that i feel is incredible. not bad! just not the upper echelon. obviously a lot of the production of this album sounds like raising hell from run-dmc, and i find myself mentally making that comparison, and i feel like i appreciate run-dmc's flow better. idk there's just something about the party boy rap style that i just can't get past. also boy there are a few references that do not hold up in a modern context and feel pretty immature. still i thought it was a fun listen! favorite song(s): rhymin and stealin girls fight for your right slow and low

it’s fucking retarded of course but what are you gonna do? it’s not like they were trying to make something different

the best i think rap-rock can get. another genre i'm predisposed to hate but i enjoyed it more than i thought i would, the energy was contagious on every song and they all stood out besides one or two. hard for me to give this a great rating though. just can't be obsessed with the genre Rating - 6.0 Favs - Rhymin and Stealin - Girls - Slow Ride

- Listened to this before - Find it quite hard to rate this, I'd imagine if I heard it in the 80s I'd have loved it but it's aged quite badly - Some tracks still hold up and it's clearly very influential and worthy of making this list - Fav songs: Brass Monkey, Paul Revere, Fight for Your Right

Not the Beastie Boys’ best effort but it was still quite fun Of course a lot of the lyrics have aged like milk but you just have to accept that this was the 80s and times were different Still a very influential release for Hip-Hop Favourite tracks: Rhymin’ & Stealin’, The New Style, No Sleep Til Brooklyn, Paul Revere

No sleep t'ill Brooklyn is a classic, a mixure between rap and hard rock, they also include sample of led zep, black sabbath, AC/DC and CCR songs wich is cool. Fight for your right is of course the main track and i didn't know it was from them. I never been so much into rap music, but i known this iconic cover and considering it is their debut album, this is probably on of the best old school rap album of all time.

We used to listen to this album on the bus on the way to school. We were little and in love with rap.

I reviewed the wrong Beastie Boys album last time, but Ill Communication is their best

Overall 6/10 Favorite Song - Hold It Now, Hit It Overall not much of a Beastie Boys fan but still a fun listen

Hip to the hop rap

Realizing that my favorite Beastie Boys songs are the ones that don’t look like Beastie Boys.

There’s something about the Beastie Boys I just don’t like but if I hear them out in the wild and it’s a single, I won’t pretend like I don’t enjoy it. They’re obnoxious, they yell-rap for no reason, and have really immature lyrics and themes, but apparently had something to offer considering their legacy. 3/5 I wouldn’t listen to this album on purpose.

3.5

This was an old favorite from when I was a teenager. There are a bunch of good songs even to this day. There are a few songs on this album that if I never ever heard it again it would be too soon.

that definitely was music from the 80s

Some songs reminded me of Public Enemy with the vocals. The instruments are pretty cool especially the percussions. It was overall a fun album, I will continue to listen i think. Also love the lyrics

Young me would have given it a 5. As I’ve grown it’s just average (compared to the 1000 other best albums in the world).

gutair riff in she's crafty sounds familiar like oohhh.... cow bell tickles could feel the 🦅 in fight for your right "your mom threw away your best porno mag" no sleep till brooklyn was written about brookyln nine nine duh im sorry but all these songs are mushing together - stop shouting!! time to get ill is actually a fever dream - the background tracks are throwing me off so much

listened to again good start but not the strongest for these boys

Before Trump. Before the conspiracy theories. Before the antisemitism. It's easy to forget amongst all of his various controversies, that Kanye West was (is?) a rapper, and a good one too. He showed his promise on this debut album, with a charming, easy-going vocal style. There's some occasional wonky production, including on the hit single, but overall, an auspicious first effort.

A whole album of Beastie Boys is still a bit much but I enjoyed this one a lot more than Pauls Boutique

иногда прям 5, иногда 2

Welcome to Beastie Boys World: prepare to rhyme, steal and wank your way through adolescence, with the whole world at your fingertips as long as you shout loud enough. In their debut, Mike D, Ad-Rock and MCA are anarchic, riotous and ridiculous: it’s good fun, when it isn’t incredibly grating. I reviewed Paul’s Boutique a year or so ago (IN ALL CAPS) and was turned off by a perceived lack of range, depth, and the yelling… oh, the yelling. But after hearing “Licensed to Ill”, and then revisiting “Paul’s Boutique”, I realise what a progression their second album was, how much more sophisticated and exciting. By comparison, “Licensed to Ill” is a series of bellowed brags, with all the grace and subtlety of a gang of spotty and horny college brats. To put it diplomatically, it’s much more direct and to-the-point, proudly leaving its maturity at the door. The samples are based in the crunchy riffs of rock music, with barely a funk or soul track in sight. Led Zeppelin are a key point of reference: the whole album opens with John Bonham’s titanic drum beat from “When the Levee Breaks”, before “The Ocean” and “Custard Pie” both make appearances later on. There’s also a typically bracing, edgy lyric- “if I played guitar, I’d be Jimmy Page; the girlies I like are underage”. Wow. After an immediately attention-grabbing opener, “Rhymin’ and Stealin’” (admittedly a great start) my two biggest and best tracks come back to back in the middle: “Fight For Your Right (To Party)” followed by “No Sleep Till Brooklyn”. These best capture the Beastie Boys’ crossover with rock and emergent hip-hop, sitting comfortably in either scene right through to today. I’d also shout out “Slow Ride” and “Brass Monkey” for varying the mood very slightly with some brass samples. Elsewhere, though, the joke quickly wears thin as Rick Rubin’s relentless production and the gang’s strangled vocal cords allow for no breathing room. “Girls” at least shows some attempt at humour and levity, but is pretty puerile stuff. Throughout “Licensed to Ill”, the Beastie Boys revel in being obnoxious and crass: perhaps it’s a shared persona, or some kind of satire on adolescence, but not all of it lands forty years on. Just edging three stars on account of its best material and its place in music history, but it’s also one of the first times I’ve felt too old for an album on this list.

Some great tracks, some weird tracks. Everything I expected and more.

My favorite moments here are the ones that are denser with samples, which probably explains why I vastly prefer Paul's Boutique. This does still hold up pretty well, and it's much more consistent than a lot of the other mid-80s hip hop albums I've heard. In fact, some of my least favorite tracks on here are a couple of the singles (most notably "Girls," which I cannot abide), and some of my favorites are either non-singles or ones that I don't think caught the same level of airplay ("Rhymin & Stealin," "Hold It Now, Hit It"). "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" is pretty undeniable. Rick Rubin's career is pretty fascinating too in that he worked so well on this and Reign in Blood, for instance, but then churned out some of the worst-sounding music of all time with Californication (among others) some 15 years later.

i love this sm. bops most way through. good album to jam to.

I am, as I’m sure everyone is, very aware of the Beastie Boys by name but I had never heard any songs by them. I also recognise this cover as the large inspiration for Eminems ‘Kamikaze’ album which is not an album I hold in high regard, nevertheless I was looking forward to this. The main thing that through me off about this is the classic hip hop sound that the Beastie Boys go for, I really wasn’t expecting them to have that much lyrical focus. Honestly, for me the album starts off quite weak, the first 2 songs remind me so much of the intro to ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ at some points which I guess makes sense because of the time era, but I find their ecstatic tones to get a bit much at times. They really remind me of rap battling with your friends at lunch time at school sometimes. The 3rd song ‘She’s Crafty’ picks the album up for me due to the instrumental taking on a really cool guitar riff and the chorus being incredibly infectious, I just can’t help but say “she’s crafty!” every time. A similar theme runs on ‘Fight For Your Right’ as the rock instrumental stands out at the front which really brings some weight to the song and adds so much, also when all 3 sing on the chorus there’s so much power it’s great. Of course you see this on ‘No Sleep Till Brooklyn’ too which is just as catchy on the chorus. There are also a handful of cheeky songs on here such as ‘Brass Monkey’ that really utilises these funky brass sounds, hence the title. You also see this on ‘Girls’ which has this almost xylophone beat to it making it a very playful song. Overall, I do quite like a handful of this album but as an album it’s not something I’m going crazy for. It’s alright but the start does take away a lot for me and their vocals get a bit annoying after a while. Glad this came up though.

Bit conflicted over this one. I LOVED this when it came out, and the production still sounds fresh today. But some of the lyrics and general yobbishness are hard to digest now, no matter how much the Beasties latterly reinvented both their sound and their stance. The singles are forgettable, or maybe just overexposed, but Slow Ride, Slow And Low, Paul Revere and Brass Monkey are still up there sonically with any hip hop of that era. I guess we've all (hopefully) grown up a lot since this was first released.

Toen ik de Beastie Boys zag staan was ik eigenlijk heel pessimistisch. Maar dit album viel me nog mee. Misschien dat dit dan nog een relatief oké album is maar ondanks niet iets wat ik in mijn lijst zou zetten.

Debuutalbum van de Beastie Boys. Mijlpaal in de populariteit van hiphop, met o.a. de megahit "Fight For Your Right". Het album introduceert de stijl van de Beastie Boys goed en is misschien wel hun leukste album. leukste nummer: No Sleep Till Brooklyn Het album had bijna een cover van Beatles nummer "I'm Down" erop gehad zij het niet dat de Beastie Boys hiermee in de problemen kwamen met Michael Jackson, die de rechten bezat.

Our third from the Beastie Boys I believe, and I hope it's the last because this is the big one. Probably my last, best chance at enjoying their music. A handful of recognizable hits on here, especially "No Sleep Til Brooklyn." Some of the other ones like "Girls" and "Brass Monkey" are more of memes than actual hits, but "No Sleep" goes super duper hard. Quite a few Led Zeppelin samples on here, which is nice. But man, it really is just extremely basic hip hop. Sure, it's foundational, but the majority of this stuff just doesn't age well for me. A lot of the rapping sounds like Dale and Brennan in the Boats n Hoes video: "The Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria. I'll do you in the bottom while we're drinking sangria." There's no mistaking that these are white boys. I know I liked Paul's Boutique more than this one, it's definitely more advanced. And then you've got "Ill Communication," which is even more advanced production-wise but I really didn't like that one at all. My verdict is these guys are overrated. Still, this is a pretty solid album with some great bangers. I respect it more than I enjoy it, but I do enjoy a decent bit of it. I can't deny it was fun trying to recognize the samples, and hearing bits that have been sampled to oblivion afterwards. [Sidebar: this came out four years after Grandmaster Flash's The Message, which I think aged EXTREMELY well, I gave it 5 stars on a first listen. Clearly going for different things (funky beats and more lyrical rap vs. party beats and going dummy), but that explains why one is more timeless to me than the other. No one wants to party to this stuff anymore.] Favorite tracks: No Sleep til Brooklyn, She's Crafty, The New Style, Brass Monkey. Album art: Definitely iconic, so much so that Eminem ripped it off for his Kamikaze album. White rappers be sticking together like rice, huh. 3.5/5

The second half is more rock influenced and stronger than the first half, but overall it's very fun and light-hearted.

Very fun, if kinda stupid. The beats are obviously dated but some of these genuinely rip. Girls maybe brought the whole album down a point on its own. Best song: The New Style

Musically this is really nice album. Especially considering that "Licensed to Ill" was their first album. Unfortunately lyrics are not so much for me. Nevertheless this album has it's good moments.

It's fine

THE rap album. No one has come close to it. This is everything Kendrick wants to be. Hip hop started here. 3 1/2

a classic, the influence of this is crazy. probably a 3.4 for me

Very 80s rap with rock influences in some songs. Definitely a product of its time, but not quite as bad as you would think. Towards the end is quite a bit of filler and there are some weaker moments, but the highs are pretty good and it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome.

3.5

There are tracks that I regularly come back to from the Beastie Boys, and I know I've listened to this album at least once before. This time through I'm finally paying attention to and recognizing the music that was sampled from other artists on many of these tracks. I'm sure I've still missed something. There are tracks on this album that are iconic for the band. "Brass Monkey" is such an ear worm, but not the only one on the album. There are lines from individual tracks ("No Sleep till Brooklyn", "Paul Revere", etc.) that are like little memory bookmarks for me. I've heard "Fight for Your Right" more than enough times. I'm even less enthusiastic about hearing others call out the main line from that track. "Fight for Your Right" is a good example of why I'm not rating this album higher. There is a more juvenile point of view for many of the tracks that keeps me from wanting to revisit much of this album.

Oh, to be young and stoopid again.

I liked a couple ofthese tracks but the shouty approach on all tracks wasn't for me.

Licensed to Ill is the debut album by American rap rock group Beastie Boys. It shocked the world by being the first rap album to top the Billboard 200 Albums chart, and has since release been certified diamond (10x platinum). It is also considered one of the best hip hop albums of all time, and has received tons of commercial and critical acclaim. While I enjoyed this album overall, I don't think it's as amazing as all the reviews state. Perhaps I am too used to modern hip hop/rap, so this album sounds different, but I have to appreciate the OG's. This was an innovative album and the group obviously had a lot of fun recording it.

You know, it's the Beastie Boys. It's one of their most energetic, but also gets a little repetitive after the half-way point.

Hip hop ochentero con algún tema reconocido. Rítmico y con sintetizadores. Estilo parecido en cada una de las diferentes canciones

lot of hits, but not my jam

Highlights: "The New Style," "No Sleep Till Brooklyn," "Rhymin and Stealin" Not for nothing do these guys jokingly compare themselves to Jerry Lewis. That cuts both ways. It's appreciative musically. Some of these beats are really great for '86, with an inspired, intuitive ear almost like Madlib, flanging snares, reverse bass, jarring sample cuts dropping the bottom out of verses, swarming vocal panning and overdubbing. The use of noise and rock is also strong for the time. RunDMC was *referencing* rock with keyboard approximations of My Sharona and Walk This Way, but they lose the edge. They lose it in the vocal delivery as well. The Beastie Boys, meanwhile, are absolutely letting real guitar samples run amok and screaming their heads off like all their pop metal influences. But. I don't really buy their tongue-in-cheek approach all the way. It registers as satire for future periods, but in context it's more like racist bad faith. Especially when gun violence and pimping tropes were not at all the norm in hip-hop, it comes across as culturally toxic. Make that two counts, because 80s-90s get broadly characterized by a swell in "(mass) youth culture," and this definitely seems like a reference point for that predatory chimera. What is the *function* of the satire? Do we think that trying to name an album "Don't Be A Faggot" at the peak of the AIDs epidemic was the choice of some progressive allies who wanted to deflate stigma and break down boundaries? Just because Eminem joked about being Elvis in 2002 doesn't make it a joke. Just because Beastie Boys joked about being Jerry Lewis doesn't make it a joke.

Rock rap just ain't my thing

Interesting

good

Their act is a bit exhausting, but fun. And definitely deserves to be on this list.

un tantinet répétitif mais dynamisant

This is a lovely album, and I know it is a classic. Still, for me, it is not better than "Ill Communication" (far from it), so I'll keep one or two songs from it and keep going with the latest releases from Beast Boys, which only increased in quality over the years and are getting old like wine, always better.

This re-listen of Licensed To Ill was a nostalgia trip. I've listened to this album a LOT in my youth and I still know every song. I very much enjoyed listening to this incredibly fun and energetic album again. Listening and almost giggling to the bashful and playful lyrics. And it certainly belongs on this list due to the impact it had on music. But putting the sentiments of my youth aside - this is not a really good album by itself. Neither is it revolutionary. The music was a couple of white boys doing what Run-DMC had already been doing for years - and was doing better. This brought a bit more punky and ska ('Girls') feeling to it. A few standout songs are still on here, 'No Sleep Till Brooklyn' is still a catchy and hilarious rocky anthem that should bring a smile to anyone's face. 'Paul Revere' and 'Brass Monkey' are standout tracks on this album and are giving a glimpse of what brilliant madness is to come on Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head

Cool

Have to say a lot of Beastie Boys stuff doesn't hit the spot with me. I enjoy their delivery but I think its the accompanying music that I don't like quite so much. But its always fun though

I like the Beastie Boys, I appreciate the Beastie Boys, but I don't really often want to listen to the Beastie Boys.

Not my style but interesting album. For sure, an album you have to know and listen to. I can here some Led Zepp samples.

Not their best, but still a lot of fun

Efficient and annoying as it wants to be!!

Ik heb dit vroeger heel veel gedraaid en ik hoor nu nog altijd de toffe dingen in bepaalde nummers. Maar ik betrapte me er nu op dat ik het nu bij vlagen ook best irritant begon te vinden. Dat nasale geschreeuw. Ruwe diamant die op latere platen veel beter tot zijn recht is gekomen, gelukkig.

Start of a new sound? Perhaps, but I struggle to listen to much of the Beastie Boys because the singer sounds too much like Glibert Gottfried. Still, some great sampling work (which then got sampled).

Estrena discogràfica més destacada pel que va suposar en el seu moment que pels seus atributs propis. És refrescant i divertit i d'escolta fàcil, tres conceptes no fàcils de trobar en el génere. La multitud de samples i referències al rock també puntuen en el seu benefici

Classic of they're style. Interestingly listening back to it, the cultural knowledge alluded and referenced within lyrics is quite dense, but also much more white bread Anglo than I recall. I wonder if that contributed to their mainstream success. However, I'm not a mad fan of their overall sound. Like it's punchy and good, but for more than a couple songs it's a bit much.

A classic that probably is your Facebook using Uncle’s favourite

Never listened to a Beastie Boys album before but I recognised quite a few tracks. I thought it was pretty good overall, some great guitar riffs that work well with their rock rap style. Highlights were "Fight For Your Right", "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" and "Brass Monkey".

This is a pretty strong debut and some of these songs are classics I can't help but feel that Rick Rubin's production is probably the most innovative thing about this album. The Beastie Boys lyrics on this one are purposely aggressive, in your face, and puerile at times (just look up the original title for the album). Luckily for all of us (and their legacy) they evolved.

This is quite a debut. 3.5/5

I like this old school Album, not listening to it much but there is so much to find, the good kind of experimental.

This album hasn't grown with me. I remember hearing this when it was released and loved it. As I've aged, I'm not sure I appreciate it as much. I do appreciate the history and BB in general. 3 stars.

fun metal-hiphop fusion at times but dated and obnoxious at others

hahahah white boys go brrrrr (great production, great chemistry, great energy, some questionable lyrics) fav songs: Fight For Your Right, No Sleep Till Brooklyn least fav songs: Slow Ride, Girls

i didn’t love any specific songs but i can 100% see myself putting this album on in the car

An album that starts with John Bonham’s legendary drumming from When the Levee Breaks can’t go wrong, right? I don’t like rap music, and that’s an understatement, but the Beastie Boys are the exception because they show how rap can be done right: by quoting tons of quality rock music! [It’s a pity copyright laws prevent others from following down the Beastie Boys' path.] That said, the latter parts of the album features tracks that overstay their welcome, featuring mostly screaming band members and less brilliance.

IT'S THE BEA-STIE BOYS!!

hip hop é engraçado. eu não consigo levar a serio "IF I PLAYED GUITAR ID BE JIMMY PAGE THE GIRLIES I LIKE ARE UNDERAGE!" ironicamente tem umas coisas bem led zeppelin nesse album, por exemplo, rhymin and stealin tem uma bateria completamente bozo e she's crafty tem um lick que eu tenho quase certeza que é igual a o de uma musica do led zeppelin, so n lembro qual. enfim, hip hop n é meu negocio, então só ouvi o lado A, mas eu achei legal o uso de rock em cima das batidas e rima.

Классика, но с морально устаревшим звуком. Скретчей пиздец, аж заебывает. Гитарные рок рифы звучат круто, прикольно засемплированны. Ударки отстой.

Doesn't hold up to the test of time, mostly due to the casual misogyny that the band would later apologize for. Probably the most consistent Beasies record though - all tracks are listenable and close to "singles" vs. some of the later output that had a lot (a LOT) of filler. So I have to rate this in balance...

I heard this album a decade before I'd ever heard a Led Zeppelin song so it was surprising to discover the original cuts when I get around to Led Zep's catalog. I really like hip hop and The Beasties but this one is just OK. While it was a landmark release at the time, the beats and rhymes don't hold up.

7/10 REPETITIVE AT TIMES

ожидала большего. может опять же нужно сильно больше времени, так всё сливается и выглядит вариацией одной и той же песни

classic

It's fine. Not really my musical style. Very old school. Not really a fan of the rap rock though.

80’er hiphop, alternativ rap, punk-inspireret, indflydelsesrigt, NYC

Still remembered all the lyrics. They were Soo young. Party album

Stand-outs: "Fight for Your Right," "Slow Ride," "Slow and Low"

Meh

Je voulais vous prouver qu'Eminem s'était inspiré de cette pochette pour faire peur à Moby grâce à des éléments de preuve irréfutables mais deux espions de Robert sont actuellement à mes trousses. Je vous tiendrai informés dès que je les aurai semés.

J'ai beaucoup apprécié cet album des Beastie Boys, qui a fait s'échapper de moi les idées naziabondes précédemment inculquées dans mon cerveau par les totalitaristes de Laibach. La langue française sera donc de nouveau mise à l'honneur sur ma page 1001albumsgenerator, n'hésitez pas à me suivre pour ne louper aucune critique.

I subconciously recognised most of this album without realising

Its a fun album, its high tempo, energetic and makes you smile and bob your head.

3.25

Solid beastie, but not their best work

I've tried a few times and just can't get into beastie boys

Ok it's kinda outdated.

Beastie boys blir mye av det samme, spesielt nå som vi har hørt to albumer blant de 21 første. Siste halvdel av albumet har noen av de store, Girls, You gotta fight for your right to party, og disse er helt råe, men resten av albumet er ganske fattig.

Did not âge well

The first rap album to top the Billboard charts, Licensed to Ill is a supremely goofy tongue twister of a time. Though the Beastie Boys later apologized for the casual misogyny in some of the lyrics, it barely impedes the flow, and the selection and arrangement of samples is masterful,

some very fat 808 sounds. that was the best bit really other than the iconic record sleeve.

I fucked my first sex robot to this record. She malfunctioned and scorched the tip of my penis so badly that my cum was like molten lava for 3 weeks. I pumped my load up her so many more times.

Highlights: New style Girls Rhymin and stealin Brass monkey

Thought it was ok, unique sounding, haven't rly heard anything like it, especially within hip-hop. definitely worth a relisten

has No Sleep till Brooklyn and Brass Monkey i knew what to expect and that's what it was

Ill communication>licensed to ill> pauls boutique>intergalactic fight me.

Didn't listen to it but vaguely remember it

classic

Disco de rap que fluiu bem pela presença das guitarras.

Beastie Boys are iconic for a period in which rap slowly became popular in a broader public. Their controversial crossover with punk was new and exciting, and the lyrics were ballsy. They inspired many artists, but for me I can't help but feel like this was just a joke that got out of hand. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy the joke. I like hearing the album, but next day I've forgotten all about it again.

licensed to ill. silly. shouty. girls. porno mag. whiny. know some tracks. can see how as a debut it was different and interesting. feels like anyone can make music. fun though.

Third Beastie Boys in under three weeks. Middle of them, between Paul’s Boutique and Ill Communication

Some bangers. Also a few stinkers 3/5

At the time, fans liked it for all the wrong reasons. I disliked it for the same wrong reasons. Well played, Beasties.

Takes me back to high school

3/13, 23%

Licensed To Ill is poor until Fight For Your Right, then you get a couple of monster hits and the back half hit hard. Does it deserve a 3/5 on that basis? Yeah, probably.

45 minutes of the Beastie Boys is just too much. All the songs sound way too many similar, the slow rapping passed back and forth with the extended notes at at the end of every few lines gets grating after a while. This album takes a while to get going as well, not a great first few tracks, but then a couple of their best songs about halfway through. This gets a 3, relatively high 3 because it's got a couple of their best songs on it but it's really hard work to get through a whole one.

I like beastie boys but I'm not sure about this one chief it feels like a classic beastie boys album but smth dosent set with me and the girls track certainly didn't help

It was alright, some bangers, didn't feel like finishing

Funky beats and questionable lyrics

Liking the flow n beats of the boys. Started off strongly, lost my interest after the big hits.

Boats N Hoes wouldn’t be out of place on this. I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing

The New Style: interesting beat breaks, very 80s hip hop. “Let me clear my throught” sample She’s Crafty: strong drum intro. Slow Ride: samples the George Lopez theme song. cowbell, woodblock, Congo Girls: very playful xylophone & kick/snare pattern. “Doing laundry & dishes” lol Fight for your Right: classic!

Immature album that was the springboard to a wonderful career

Slick!

I was surprised by how many songs I liked.

Some killer beats, but the vocals never really land for me. Standout - minimalist beat on Paul Revere

Seventeen year old me would waste no time enthusiastically rating this a 5. Fifty-two year old me thinks 17-year old me is an idiot. This album just doesn't hold up at all, and gets incredibly annoying after only a few songs. I'm almost embarrassed by how much I once loved this. But, as Red from The Shawhank Redemption might say, I was a young, stupid kid. I wanna talk to him. I wanna try to talk some sense to him. Tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone and this old man is all that's left. I gotta live with that. I'll split the difference, since I enjoy the other Beastie Boys albums on this list, and for the 17-year old kid stuck in Hicksville, USA who wore out the cassette of this album from playing and rewinding "No Sleep Til Brooklyn" ad nauseum. That cassette wasn't meant to last, but it turns out the Beastie Boys were.

Not as good as ill communication

I am most I'll and I'm rhyming and stealing. Nostalgia at its finest

Yeah this is some OG white boy rap. Some good fun on this album.

I love what the Beastie Boys brought to the music scene; they are undeniably among the select few pioneers of the rap rock style in the late 80s and early 90s. It's impressive how solid they sound on this debut album -- it's like they had already been doing this for decades. That is only further exemplified by the fact that several of their biggest hits come off of this debut album. One of the amusing things about Beastie Boys has always been their ability not to take themselves too seriously. Half the time, it feels like they are joking around with each other and being stupid, and they're letting you in on the joke. I will say that objectively, this album does sound pretty dated by rap rock standards. But you know what? It's still just so old school cool. It was fun to listen for the various samplings throughout this album -- my favorite among them being Led Zeppelin's When the Levee Breaks and CCR's Down on the Corner.

Got better as it went. Sounded like a bunch of young lads just having fun. Contains some monotony. But pretty damned good at it's high points. Conor - 3 Bill - 2 Shannah - 3 (2.7/5)

Iconic East Coast rap album with some absolute classics. A couple of weak points though, which docks them a star or two. They still have more influence, relevance and authenticity in the tips of their little fingers than Kanye and his ilk ...

The Beastie Frat Boys.

shouting with cool beats

3/5

Ok, I think that's the last of the Beastie Boys for me on this list and that's 3 for 3 (boom, tish!). Faves: Fight For Your Right, No Sleep Till Brooklyn

Brooklyn frat boy rap at its best!

Bom.

I’m getting too old for this.

A bit corny at times, but fine.

This was quite an audacious debut by a bunch of Jewish kids from NYC who loved hip hop and rock. Brash and obnoxious lyrics delivered with an "in yo face" style. Sampling Black Sabbath and Led Zep on She's Crafty and When the Levee Breaks no doubt adds to their street cred. Eminem said this album changed Hip Hop and who am I to disagree.

Solid plata. Fullt þarna sem ég var búinn að gleyma.

3, some real jammers

Alguma músicas mais legais que outras. Ouviria vez ou outra.

Omd school hip-hop

Least fav beastie boys record. Kinda childish.

Pretty decent album. Some songs were great but some were sort of a slog. I liked it more than I thought I did, but I like their later stuff that has more going on instrumentally.

While influential, I don't think is this the best Beastie Boys' album. But there are definitely a lot of timeless songs that are on this record.

There’ll never be another like this (or Paul’s Boutique) for a long-ass time given the unique nature of sampling at the time, and that alone provides limitless intrigue for me. The samples are all over the place and though often primitive, exude the kind of creativity only ignorance can inspire. Despite the optics (you’ve seen that track suit promo photo), LTI sounds less like hip-hop cosplay and more like an early hip-hop laboratory. And even though it’s experimental by nature, these dudes really knocked it out of the park with a handful timeless classics (as well as a few duds). It’s lightning in a bottle marred by growing up dumb white kids. So yeah, it’s really fun to hear a buncha punks rifle through funk and classic rock’s greats, chopping em up with an 808, and finding mainstream success in an emerging genre with some of the weirdest (and yeah, poorly-aged) rhymes. As dated as this feels at times, the entire Beasties blueprint is right here. It just takes a little growing up before they perfect their craft. 3.5/5

Músicas para quebrar tudo!

only a complete douchebag would listen to this on a daily basis. some songs are fun, though.

I can't take the Beastie Boys seriously anymore. Andy Samberg/Lonely Island has retroactively ruined them.

Love a bit of the Beastie Boys, but I'll admit by the end I'd heard enough.

p546, 1986. 3.5 stars, not strong enough for 4. Wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. Rap meets heavy rock riffs, bass and guitar. THE sound of twenty year old American white boys in the mid 80s, taking the piss of out everyone and themselves. Having said that... points deducted for Girls, which is just cheese - compare that with the next track, which is Fight For Your Right - and it is all a bit shouty and "samey".

Like beastie songs way more than albums

Most of the songs on here are obviously good to great, but the Beastie Boys style gets grating for me at album length.

more like 3.8

Lögin sem ég þekkti ekki bættu litlu við þau sem ég þekkti vel, en ágæt hlustun svona oftast.

It sounds suuuuuper dated, and looking back this is probably by far the Beastie Boys weakest album both for the frat boy lyrics and the dodgy musicianship. having said that, Fight for your right and No sleep til Brooklyn are bangers