Beastie Boys
Ill Communication 2LP

By 1994 the Beasties had settled into their cultural role as the grand arbiters of cool, and 'Ill Communication' is pretty much a catalog of coolness: live funk, a bit of hardcore, ingenious samples of obscure records, keyboards by analogue master Money Mark, guest shots by Q-Tip and Biz Markie, MCA's cop-show metal number 'Sabotage', and the inevitable cascade of witty old-school rhymes. But it's also a surprisingly mature record from a band that had, after all, been at it for 12 years already. The original jazz-funk instrumentals hold their own with the group's favourite sample sources. their voices are modestly buried in the mix, and they've tempered their old snottiness with lyrical compassion: Check out 'Bodhisattva Vow', a salute to buddhist spirituality.

NEW / Released in 1994 / Reissue 2009

Tracklist:

A1 Sure Shot

A2 Tough Guy

A3 B-Boys Makin' With The Freak Freak

A4 Bobo On The Corner

A5 Root Down

B1 Sabotage

B2 Get It Together

B3 Sabrosa

B4 The Update

B5 Futterman's Rule

C1 Alright Hear This

C2 Eugene's Lament

C3 Flute Loop

C4 Do It

C5 Ricky's Theme

D1 Heart Attack Man

D2 The Scoop

D3 Shambala

D4 Bodhisattva Vow

D5 Transitions