0475. Beastie Boys
Ill Communication

So, we've been blown away by their first and listened intensely to their second, and now we go straight to their fourth album. A double LP, Ill Communication also throws a wider net than both Paul's Boutique and Licence To Ill as they've kicked the frat boy antics to the curb (going on record saying that "the disrespect agains women has got to be through" in the last verse on the first track), and mix it up musically.

In this they succeed both in creating hip hop at its best (Root Down) as well as updating their punk-roots, going into hardcore territory (Heart Attack Man), but more importantly combining the two into a massive hit called Sabotage (although I got to say Root Down's better, cause damn! that's an infectious flute). There's also latin funk-jams (Futterman's Rule, with Bobo from Cypress Hill on percussion) and guest vocals from both Q-Tip and old school great Biz Markie as well as a Tibetan choir (cause somewhere along the way they for some reason became Bhuddists).

Sometimes, though, just here and there, the megaphone effect on the vocals gets a bit too much, but mostly it suits the album very well.