Beastie Boys Music brings together all (or almost all) of the Brooklyn trio’s best tracks. Since 2018, the hype around the Beastie Boys has been revived with a book called Beastie Boys Book and, more recently, with Spike Jonze’s excellent documentary, Beastie Boys Story. So it is only logical that the audio inventory of the band’s hits is now surfacing. The collection (book, documentary, and album) highlights what made the success of these “three white rappers” a cornerstone of their generation. Beyond their clothing and musical madness, they remain the first to have created their own movement, a remarkable fact for the time (the early ’80s).
With their unique and unclassifiable musical style, Mike D, Adam Yauch (aka MCA) and AD-Rock often sailed along with their inspiration of the moment. Always in search of the sound of tomorrow, the trio never let anything get in their way. Punk, rock, rap, garage, grunge, as many musical styles as the childhood friends could experiment with in their studio. “So What’Cha Want” opens this 20-track compilation. A nice way to highlight the talent, innovation, dynamism, and musical genius of the band. The big hits of their early albums are present, from “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” to “Fight For Your Right (To Party)”, via “Ch-Check It Out” and the explosive “Sabotage”. In later years, the band has turned to a more experimental sound in the studio, as evidenced by the tracks “Pass the Mic”, “Get It Together” and “Jimmy James”.
Beastie Boys Music is a compilation faithful to the musical image the Beastie Boys invented by bringing out their fun and stupidly brilliant side. In this era of compilations, it would be nice to see the best live performances of this unique and crazy band, alongside the ’99 tour and the Glasgow show (available on YouTube). One thing’s for sure, without the Beastie Boys – since the tragic demise of MCA in 2012 – the world just isn’t the same.
