BEASTIE BOYS Schallplatten & CDs

Review: This one does exactly what it says on the tin - offers up the raw and rather legendary master demo versions of some of the magic that legendary hip-hoppers The Beastie Boys served up on Def Jam. It comes on a super limited edition red vinyl pressing via the 21Bridges label with all of the many classics you would hope to hear included - from the riotousness of 'Fight For Your Right to Party' to the impressive bars of 'Rhyming & Stealin' via the anthemic 'No Sleep Till Brooklyn' and plenty more vitally influential tunes of the era like 'Hold It Now Hit It' and 'Time To Get Ill.'

Review: 'Stand Together' by Beastie Boys is a signature high-energy track from their iconic album Check Your Head. It perfectly resents what the US disruptors were all about with its trademark fusion of hip-hop, punk and funk, explosive instrumentation and dynamic vocal delivery. It's also the name of this broadcast album which comes on yellow vinyl and is a recording of a live TV broadcast the group did back on September 19, 1992 from Kawasaki Citta Club in Kanagawa, Japan. Plenty of their jams of the time - 'Egg Man' and 'Shake Your Rump' being much loved fan favourites especially - feature here, capturing the band at a particularly fertile moment in their career.

Review: Ill Communication, the Beastie Boys' fourth studio album, remains a hallmark of their creative versatility. Released in 1994, this groundbreaking record merges hip-hop with punk rock, jazz, and funk, marking a significant shift towards live instrumentationia progression from their previous album, Check Your Head. Co-produced by the Beasties and Mario C, the album showcases their talent for genre-blending, featuring iconic tracks like the explosive 'Sabotage,' the funky 'Get It Together' with Q-Tip, and the raw 'Do It' with Biz Markie. The album also includes jazzy breakbeat grooves such as 'Root Down' and 'The Scoop,' along with instrumental jazz-funk tracks like 'Ricky's Theme' and 'Sabrosa,' and even nods to their punk roots with 'Heart Attack Man.' With further contributions from Money Mark, Eric Bobo, and Amery 'AWOL' Smith, Ill Communication is a testament to the Beastie Boys' ability to innovate. Now available on cassette for the first time ever, it continues to resonate as one of the band's most diverse and celebrated works.

Review: Beastie Boys' classic 1994 album, Ill Communication, is getting a special deluxe edition reissue on vinyl to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The remastered 3xLP set resurrects a rare version initially released as a limited run in 2009 that includes 12 bonus tracks - rarities, a live version of Check Your Head's 'The Maestro,' B-sides, and remixes - all adding to what is already a spectacularly varied and wonderfully sprawling album. Ill Communication was the fourth studio album by the New York-based hip-hop ensemble, featuring hit singles like 'Sabotage' and 'Get It Together.' This reissue follows recent re-releases of other Beastie Boys' albums, including Hello, Nasty and Check Your Head and further highlights the group's 'giants of the 90s' status.

Review: Few have ever matched the rawness and visceral hip-hop energy of the Beastie Boys, have they? To catch them live is no doubt one of the most explosive musical experiences of the last 50 years. If you never have, fear not, because an album like this one takes you back in time to be there in the flesh, in this case at Club Citta in Kawasaki, Japan in September 1992. It was a performance broadcast live on radio and it comes now on nice heavyweight vinyl with plenty of lesser-known tunes in amongst some of the bigger moments. A real must for collectors and fans alike.

Review: Beastie Boys Music is a new greatest hits compilation album that serves as a companion to 2020's Spike Jonze-directed Beastie Boys Story and 256-page photo book, Beastie Boys Book. The double vinyl affair takes in 20 classic tracks that span the iconic group's more than 30 year career, with the biggest of the big such as 'No Sleep', 'Sabotage' and 'Intergalactic' all making the cut. By now these are well worn classics, but their impact on rap cannot be overstated, and the tunes still get any party banging thanks to the immediacy of the beats and sharpness of the rhymes.

Review: There are a few Beastie Boys reissue projects in the works at the moment, but none will be more popular than this 30th anniversary edition of one of the band's best. After their experimental mini-album "Roots Down", "Paul's Boutique" is composed, vocals aside, almost entirely of samples all put together in Matt Dike's apartment and the Record Plant in Los Angeles from 1988 to 1989. It marked the moment they were taken seriously, became hip hop giants and broke free of their one hit wonder tag. Its retro style and gleeful misuse of samples was thrillingly original yet familiar and despite the myriad of sounds, scenes and styles drawn upon, somehow they all added up to make this a cohesive album.