A lot has transpired since the Beastie Boys released their last full-length Hello Nasty nearly six years ago. George W. Bush was elected President afterthe wackiest election since the infamous "Dewey defeats Truman" fiasco. We saw the worst act of terrorism in U.S. history in the attacks that took place on September 11th. These attacks have resulted in the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have deemed labels from press, politicians and the public as "another Vietnam." Despite these world changing events, some things are still the same. The Beasties are still rhymin' and stealin' as usual on the bands sixth LP, To the 5 Boroughs.
When the Beastie Boys first immerged from their punk-rock past and into the world of mainstream music, they brought with them that past. The band would revisit this sound with each release, though with each passing album they moved away from their past and instead concentrated their direction towards hip hop. It took me a while to pick this album up, it wasn't that I didn't want to hear the album. It was the reviews that pegged it as "The Beasties return to their old-school roots." I've grown accustom to bands saying "this is our best album ever, we're going back to when we began." 98% of the time, this is a lie and I know the bands that say this know it's a lie. But for the first time in a long time the hype had validity to back it up. "Ch-Check it Out" is ironically, a return to the days of Check Your Head. The combination of goofy rhymes, funky bass playing, and the fast-paced drumming of Mike D. sent me back to those grade school days of '92 that were spent skateboarding with my friends at the bank across the street.
Subsequent tracks like "Right Right Now Now" and "It's Time to Build" reflect a more modern version of the Beasties. These songs rely on programmed beats and effects, not to mention the use of some rather choice samples. Further investigation reveals the return to sounds that worked on previous albums. "Hey Fuck You" could have easily have followed "The Maestro" and "All Lifestyles" might as well be a b-side from the Hello Nasty sessions. That brings us to what will be the most publicized song, "Open Letter to NYC," a narrative to the people of New York City concerning the events of September 11th. Honestly, I found the music to be more intriguing than the rhymes contained within. I'm not anti-America, I just though that the arrangement of the music was perfect. The rhymes complimented the song well and convey a good message, but to me they were secondary. The beats and smooth rhyming on "Crawlspace" brings to mind the single "Da Rockwilder" from the Method Man / Redman release a couple years back.
So what's lacking this time around from the Beasties? The first is the lack of the mega-single. There isn't one song, in particular, that is leaps and bounds above the others and jumps out at me as "the hit." Perhaps this was all part of the plan, or perhaps the band has gone over the hill and are past their song-writing prime. My bet is on the latter. The second is, as mentioned earlier, the sliver of punk-rock that the band evolved from has been completely erased. There is no fifty second blast of speeding guitars, out of control drumming, and relentless screaming. In fact, there isn't even one second that could be described in the manner.
As a whole, To the 5 Boroughs is a amalgamation of the entire Beastie Boys discography, sans their punk past. Despite the lack of a "Sabotage" or "So What'cha Want," the Beastie Boys have composed a solid offering that both the hip hop and rock communities will likely praise as "The return of the Beasties."
