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THE SOUNDS OF SCIENCE
Beastie Boys
(Grand Royal CDP 7243 5 22940 2 2)
Had this two-CD, 42-track retrospective been arranged in chronological order, it would have charted the maturation of beastly boys into benevolent men. But Adam Horovitz, Mike Diamond and Adam Yauch have built a career from mixing it up and so it is done on this dizzying and disorienting collection.
Early hardcore outbursts nestle up with sophisticated, jazzy hip-hop and metal-powered frat-boy rap. The anti-sexism sentiments of Song For a Man share space with the offensively off-colour Boomin' Granny and the self-explanatory Shake Your Rump.
There's room for landmark singles such as Sabotage and Root Down, as well as trivial novelties, such as the jokey hoedown number Country Mike's Theme and a rendition of Elton John's Bennie and the Jets that'd be faithful to the original if not for an incomprehensibly slurred vocal.
A grab bag, then, but one that makes no apologies for the testosterone-fuelled irreverence of their youth; one that holds your attention for its entire two-hour playing time; and one that proves a mix of musical playfulness and fearlessness have sustained these white-boy rappers as they've grown up and, frankly, grown better.
Forgive them if they're at all responsible for inspiring Kid Rock.
Track Listing
Disc 1:
1. Beastie Boys
2. Slow And Low
3. Shake Your Rump
4. Gratitude
5. Skills To Pay The Bills
6. Root Down
7. Believe Me
8. Sure Shot
9. Body Movin' (Fatboy Slim mix)
10. Boomin' Granny
11. Fight For Your Right
12. Country Mike's Theme
13. Pass The Mic
14. Something's Got To Give
15. Bodhisattva Vow
16. Sabrosa
17. Song For The Man
18. Soba Violence
19. Alive (Newly Recorded)
20. Jimmy James (original version)
21. Three Mc's and one DJ (live video version)
Total Time: 62:05
Disc: 2
1. The Biz Vs. The Nuge
2. Sabotage
3. Shadrach
4. Brass Monkey
5. Time For Livin'
6. Dub The Mic
7. Benny And The Jets
8. Negotiation Limerick Files
9. I Want Some
10. She's On It
11. Son Of Neckbone
12. Get It Together
13. Twenty Questions (Newly Recorded)
14. Remote Control
15. Railroad Blues (Previously Unreleased)
16. Live Wire (Newly Recorded)
17. So What'cha Want
18. Netty's Girl
19. Egg Raid On Mojo
20. Hey Ladies
21. Intergalactic
Total Time: 62:23
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