Beasty Besties4 Out Of 5 Stars
Who would have thought the three snit-nosed juvenile delinquents that deployed their forced obnoxiousness onto the world in 1985's "Fight For Your Right To Party" would have ever made albums into a oeuvre of classics? "License to Ill" even sounded like a one-hit-wonder; silly frat boy posturing, misogyny, drunken loutishness from a trio that looked like nerd drop-outs trying to make AC/DC sound like Run/DMC. Boy, did they prove us wrong.
By "Paul's Boutique," they were already collaging samples in a way that would soon be de rigueur for most rap groups (even if the growth meant the "Ill" audience didn't catch on at first) and "Check Your Head" saw the trio turning into a band, picking their old instruments back up and hitting gold with "Sabotage." They'd finally managed to do what no-one else had; weld rock to rap without losing a shred of credibility on either side. It took almost another five years before the Red Hot Chili Peppers got it right on the opposite end with rock, and only Run/DMC could touch the Beasties for innovation.
You'll find that in the clever rhymes (my personal favorite is pairing 'my wok' with 'Mr Spock' on "Intergalactic") and tricky samples (Herbie Mann on "Sure Shot," The Sweet on "Hey Ladies"). In the interim, their voices and attitudes grew up (Adam Yauch became a leader in the "Free Tibet" movement) and they kept the albums coming. As a single disc, some will feel shorted, but "Solid Gold Hits" covers the turf from "Ill" to "To The 5 Boroughs," which is a pretty broad swath. As a casual collection, this and "Ill" would likely fill all your Beastly needs.
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