Beastie Boys Album: “Anthology: The Sounds of Science [Box]”

"Ah yes indeed, its fun time" from Sure Shot.

Who would have thought that three Jewish boys from the Bronx, Adam Horowitz, Mike Diamond, and Adam Yauch could have turned out decades of mad hits and escaped their frat party women objectivizing beginnings to be enlightened social conscious but still oh so cool rappers. They have done it though being ground-breakers for the hip hop movement along the way.

This collection is far from a greatest hits collection. And therein lays its strength and weakness. You get to hear a variety of Beastie Boys sounds and in doing so get closer to the complete picture of what the band is all about, but if you don't care for their speed metal punk early days you might find yourself always skipping to the next track. It's hard to listen all the way through from track to track because of the b-sides and rarities. But some of those b-sides stand out as the best tracks on the CD. You can't get them anywhere else. The cool bossanova groove of "Twenty Questions" featuring Miho from Cibo Matto with lead vocals is just one of the best examples of this.

Another great feature of this CD is the liner notes that have some background gems on each song. It says something for the band that they were willing to take the time to put those interesting tidbits of musical inspiration, inane trivialities, thoughts, philosophies, and feelings instead of just pooping out another CD that sells with everyone's faves. In the liner notes, Adam Horovitz points out their dichotomy from putting out their breakthrough first album "License to Ill" with "Fight for Your Right" and "She's On It" to the socially conscious songs of "Song for The Man" and "Alive." I think Horovitz addresses the rift in ideology well when he says, "...in this $%!$'ed up world all you can hope for is change, and I'd rather be a hypocrite to you than a zombie forever."

The change sounds pretty good here, but if you buy it don't expect a Greatest Hits. But all those songs in between the few that might annoy you are some of the most innovative, creative, and fun hip hop that's been around for a long time. You may think that Biz Markie's singing in Elton John's cover "Benny and the Jets" is pretty horrendous and wince at "Boomin' granny" but you no doubt will be groovin' to the new age jazz of "Something's Gotta Give" and rockin' out to "So What'cha Want."

"I use the microphone like Picasso used clay / down with freckles from around the way / Peace to Bambata and Jazzy Jay / I rock the mic from here to Bombay" Rock on wee little Beasties.

These 2 CD's are exactly what it says on the sticker on the cover. The Beastie Boy's HITS, MISSES, and RARITIES, and that's exactly what these two cd's are! How could people be so idiotic and think it's only their greatest hits. Personally, I don't think Son of Neckbone or Country Mike's Theme are close to hits. First of all, everyone has their favorite b-boy songs. It would be impossible to get everybody's favorite songs on it. That's why everyone has the chance to make their own greatest hits cd at beastieboys.com. Second, this is more of a sample of their career. It has instrumentals, hardcore songs, rap songs, rock songs, etc. along with their 3 newest recordings. Actually, these songs were picked by the boys themselves. They are the most interesting of their songs with stories behind them as mentioned in the 80 page booklet. Some Licensed to Ill songs aren't on it because they are different people now and they see some of them as offensive. It probably killed them to put Fight for Your Right and Brass Monkey on it the way it is. Third, Biz vs. the Nuge and Beastie Boys were thrown on the albums as introductions to each cd! They are not their greatest hits.

Warning---This is not a greatest hits cd, it's a compilation of their wonderful career. (It still rocks!)

I never have really been a Beastie Boys fan. I liked Intergalactic, I liked Sabatoge, but never really got them. So being the idiot I am, I used my money once again on a shiny little package that looked appealing. "The Sounds of Science." At first listening I didn't really like it, I liked the familiar singles but thats about it. Then I spent some time listening and this 2 CD set will grow on you. Aside from Intergalactic and Sabatoge, we have Brass Monkey, Fight for your Right, and my personal favorite Shadrach. These songs are very cool to listen too. Each song is like a little party inside your CD player. The new single Alive is also a great addition. We also get an 80 page booklet, complete with color photos, that explains how each song was made, and what they were thinking about when they made it. The inside features every CD and single cover they have ever made. I would suggest you pick this little number up, even if your not a fan of them, or just like boogey-down music, this beast will keep you happy in the largest of parties, and especially in all those partys for one.

The Sounds of Science is an impressive catalog of one of the most interesting bands of the MTV generation. Anyone who listens to the Beasties should pick this up and if you don't listen to them, get it anyway. You'll start.

The best thing about this set is that it showcases the Beasties versatility, from funked out instrumentals with screaming wah wah, like "Sabrosa" and "Son of Neckbone" to straight up hip hop numbers like "Sure Shot," "Jimmy James" and the Q-Tip collabo "Get It Together." They're harder stuff ("Egg Raid on Mojo," "Gratitude") is right there with the fun old school tunes that made the B-Boys what they are ("Slow & Low," "Brass Monkey") Then of course, come the hits, from "Sabotage" to "Intergalactic" to "So What'cha Want" to "Fight For You Right." Needless to say, the song selection is great.

If you've never dug deep into the Beastie Boys, you will think nothing more of them than some snotty annoying ass guys who rap about partying. Upon actually listening to this album, you'll find intelligent subject matter and insightful lyricism in many of the songs. "Bodhisattva Vow" is a homage to Buddhism, while "Song for the Man" is a commentary on chauvinistic mating calls. "The Negotiation Limerick File" is a call of tolerance done in limerick poetry.

In between all the hits and annoying rap songs are the wonderful oddities that make this album what it is. Two obscure country tunes "Railroad Blues" and "Country Mike's Theme" provide for funny interludes. "Twenty Questions" is has cool lyrics set to a bossanova groove and there are two interesting covers, Sly Stone's "Time for Livin" and Elton John's "Benny & the Jets" (sung by Biz Markie of course). Then there is posibbly my favorite Beastie Boys song, "Something's Got to Give." I don't even know what to call it. It is just incredible.

Overall, this is a comprehensive look at a great band. Anyone who is even the least bit skeptical of their virtuosity as musicians should listen to the two instrumentals and buy The In Sound From the Way Out. One problem, the Antology omits a few of their early staples. "No Sleep Til Brooklyn," "Paul Revere" and "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" are missing as well as their first hit, "Cooky Puss." I don't neccesarily like those tracks, but they should be on the anthology. Anyways, stop listnein to me babble and go buy this. You will not be dissapointed.

the beasties are unquestionably the forefathers of this current rap-rock movement that korn, limp bizkit et al. are cashing in on, and it's quite frankly depressing to see how few people seem to understand this, much less the trio's subsequent departure for more introspective (and complex) territory (see above reviews celebrating only the beasties' anarchic def jam phase). hello nasty was positively brilliant, a quintessential b-boy document, a love letter to all the breakdancers, djs and mcs still interested in making good hip-hop. and sounds of science is, and as it will be misinterpreted, not their greatest hits. the beastie boys are too smart, and a little too stubborn for that, and so this is a bit closer to an anthology or perhaps a mix tape version of all of their material. everything from the earliest punk to their latest hip-hop bouillebaise is catalogued here, but more to show their listeners "hey, see how we've grown?" than anything else. as an old school listener of the beasties, i was frustrated to see some new and unreleased tracks (though many are availiable on import versions of check your head and various singles) intermingled with the older ones, but for the fifteen year olds (and members and aforementioned rock-rap groups) who think that the beasties only recorded "intergalactic" and "fight for your right," this is a sterling essay in what is required for a career with some longevity.