kevin-zecchel
3
Such a fun record. It's impossible not to get pumped by their signature sassy yelling, and the lyrics are just the right amount of stupid and tongue-in-cheek. Has that nostalgic 80's hip hop flair and some pretty iconic sampling. Just a great mix of rock and rap that doesn't take itself too seriously.
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.
Iconic unique sound. Really picks up in the middle.
I do prefer the later Beasties, but there’s a definite charm to Rick Rubin’s early production, and how flagrant the use of samples were. Imagine a rap album putting this much Zeppelin on today! So much has been said about the Beasties and this LP, and I can’t ignore the faults and the context. But it’s a classic for a reason, and a perfect album to blast in the middle of a traffic jam. B
This is a fun album; lots of classic Beastie songs, lots of lyrics about being a stupid kid. Some good grade school nostalgia from listening to this.
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
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.