1987 - January: Beastie Boys “Licensed to Ill”

It's not every day that we at What the Riff?!? review a rap album, but the Beastie Boys aren't your every day rap group either.  Hailing from New York City, Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz, Adam “MCA” Yauch, and Michael “Mike D” Diamond came out of an experimental hardcore punk band (think “punk” but faster) called The Young Aborigines.  After changing their name to the Beastie Boys, they saw some local success from a comedy hip hop single based on a prank call to a Carvel Ice Cream franchise.  They then began to incorporate more rap and hip hop into their sets, and ended up connecting with Rick Rubin, who formed Def Jam Recordings with Russell Simmons.

Many of their songs were locally distributed, and led to uncomfortable situations when three white guys would show up to perform for a mostly black audience that had heard their music but never saw the group.  Their courage and live performance skills won the audience over.

Shortly after supporting Madonna as an opening act on the Virgin Tour in 1985, the band recorded their debut studio and breakthrough album, Licensed to Ill.  It was released by Def Jam and Columbia Records, and became one of Columbia Records' fastest-selling debut records, and had shipped over ten million copies in the United states by 2015.  It was also a critical success, and was selected as one of "The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums."  It was hailed for hits stylized rapping, and its combination of hip hop and punk sensibilities.

The Beastie Boys would go on to greater heights of stardom in the mid to late 90's as they moved in a more alternative direction, but this is where it all started.

Lynch brings us this illin' record for today's podcast.

 

No Sleep Till Brooklyn
The song that opens side 2 is inspired by an exhausting tour, and it chronicles many of the events that wear the band out along with their determination to not rest until they get back home to Brooklyn.  It is often the closing song at their concerts.  It also features a solo guitar riff by Kerry King of the heavy metal band Slayer.  

Paul Revere
This song is a fictionalized account of how the Beastie Boys met.  It was inspired by an incident when they encountered Joseph Simmons aka "Run" of Run-D.M.C. in a recording studio.  It features a reversed beat from an 808 drum machine.

Hold It Now, Hit It
This was the first single to be released from the album, and was ranked number 27 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.  The video switches between concert footage, and the band lip synching in front of a fish-eye lens.  

Brass Monkey
This is a later-produced song that takes its name from an alcoholic drink by the Heublein Company.  It samples Wild Sugar's “Bring It Here” in the song.

 

ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:

If I Only Had A Brain by Ray Bolger and Judy Garland (from the motion picture “The Wizard of Oz”)
Actor, dancer, and singer Ray Bolger who played the scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz” died in January of 1987.

 

STAFF PICKS:

Still In Hollywood by Concrete Blonde
Wayne kicks off the staff picks with the debut single from American alternative rock group Concrete Blonde's first and self-titled album.  This post-punk sound was bubbling up in the LA street scene at the time, and the lyrics portray a life in Hollywood where the town drags you down.  

Right Next Door (Because of Me) by Robert Cray
Bruce's staff pick is a song off Robert Cray's fifth studio album, “Strong Persuader.” The lyrics chronicle an infidelity breaking up a marriage as told from the man who had an affair with th