FEATURE:
Second Spin
Beastie Boys – To the 5 Boroughs
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THE last few albums from the Beastie Boys…
are really interesting, as they vary in quality. Hot Sauce Committee Part Two was released in 2011, and that was followed, rather sadly, by the death of Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch in 2012. I think it is a fitting and strong final album from the legendary Hip-Hop trio, and it is a shame that there can be no other albums from them. Before that came 2007’s The Mix-Up, and that was an album of instrumentals. It has some great moments, but I think it is the group’s weakest album. 1998’s Hello Nasty was an album I really fell for when it came out and, between that album and The Mix-Up we have the fantastic To the 5 Boroughs of 2004. The sixth album from the Beastie Boys, it debuted at number-one on the Billboard 200, and it has since been certified platinum. Maybe one would not rank the album in the best three/five of their albums, but I think To the 5 Boroughs is a great album that won some mixed reviews when it came out. Ch-Check It Out, and An Open Letter to NYC is classic Beastie Boys, whereas Right Right Now Now is a brilliant track. Of the fifteen tracks, there are a few weaker numbers, but I think the Beastie Boys put out a great album that moved their music on whilst retaining their distinct tone and style. I think some that dismissed the album felt that, naturally, there was plenty of fun to be found but the guys were not bringing anything new to the plate.
It was their first studio album for six years, and the boys had entered a new century. Hip-Hop had changed since the late-‘90s, and I guess the Beastie Boys’ were at their peak between 1989 and 1994. That said, their music sounds incredible today, and I don’t feel that it is defined by a certain time or moment. I really like To the 5 Boroughs, as there are so many great tracks, and Michael ‘Mike D’ Diamond, Adam ‘MCA’ Yauch and Adam ‘Ad-Rock’ Horovitz sound like they are having a great time throughout! The chemistry between them is as electric and brotherly as ever, and I think the album deserves re-evaluation and reassessment. I want to highlight a review from The Guardian, who were not completely sold by To the 5 Boroughs:
“In January, anyone with $10,000 to spare could have bid for what was once the world's hippest record label: The Beastie Boys' Grand Royal, bankrupt and up for internet auction.
The label's 2001 closure brought the curtain down on the New York trio's decade-long reign as global avatars of cool, and their first album in six years retreats from the cutting-edge into comfortingly familiar territory: the 1980s hip-hop that first brought them mainstream success.
The beats bounce along happily enough, particularly on the dubby Crawlspace and Dead Boys-sampling An Open Letter to NYC, but the stripped-down sound focuses attention on the anti-Bush lyrics, and that proves to be the album's undoing.
Not even the most hysterical Beastie Boys fan would claim them as great wordsmiths, and political conviction doesn't appear to have sharpened their skills. "George W's got nothing on we," suggests a typical line from That's It That's All. "We got to take the power from he." Indeed us do, but this is a strangely underwhelming way to go about it”.
As a big Beastie Boys fans, maybe I am a little subjective when it comes to their albums, but I feel To the 5 Boroughs is a really complete and interesting album where the group’s sharp pens and rhymes are right at the fore, and the production throughout is brilliant – To the 5 Boroughs was solely produced by the Beastie Boys. In a more positive review, AllMusic offered the following:
“For the Beasties, this means heavy doses of old school rap spiked with a bit of punk, which admittedly isn't all that different from the blueprints for Check Your Head, Ill Communication, and Hello Nasty, but the attack here is clean and focused, far removed from the sprawling, kaleidoscopic mosaics of their '90s records. In contrast, To the 5 Boroughs is sleek and streamlined, with all the loose ends neatly clipped and tied; even the punk influences are transformed into hip-hop, as when the Dead Boys' "Sonic Reducer" provides the fuel for "An Open Letter to NYC." Given the emphasis on hip-hop, it may be tempting to label Boroughs as an old-school homage, but that isn't accurate, since nothing here sounds like a lost side from the Sugarhill Records stable. Still, old-school rhyme schemes and grooves do power the album, yet they're filtered through the Beasties' signature blend of absurdity, in-jokes, and pop culture, all served up in a dense, layered production so thick that it seems to boast more samples than it does.
Apart from an explicit anti-Dubya political bent on some lyrics, there's nothing surprising or new here, and the cohesive, concise nature of To the 5 Boroughs only emphasizes the familiarity of the music. Familiarity can be comforting, though, particularly in troubled times, and there's a certain pleasure simply hearing the trio again after six long years of silence, particularly since the Beasties are in good form here, crafting appealing productions and spitting out more rhymes than they have since Paul's Boutique. If there are no classics here, there's no duds, either, and given that the Beasties' pop culture aesthetic once seemed to be the territory of young men, it's rather impressive that they're maturing gracefully, turning into expert craftsmen that can deliver a satisfying listen like this. That's a subtle achievement, something that will likely not please those listeners looking for the shock of the new from a Beastie Boys record, but judged on its own musical merits, To the 5 Boroughs is a satisfying listen, and convincing evidence that the trio will be able to weather middle age well”.
Maybe it was hard to reinvent the wheel in terms of what Beastie Boys could offer, but I think they do venture into new ground on To the 5 Boroughs. Many wondered whether the Beastie Boys would release any other albums after Hello Nasty, and the fact that they came back with such a gem was a real relief! I would encourage people to listen to the album. Many Beastie Boys fans do not rank it that high, and non-fans might not even be aware of its existence. To the 5 Boroughs is a fantastic album from Hip-Hop legends. Some critics feel that To the 5 Boroughs is a slightly weaker Beastie Boys effort but, to me, it is just…
BUSINESS as usual.