Licensed to Ill had introduced the world to the Beastie Boys’ brattish brilliance, becoming the first hip-hop album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. But not everybody enjoyed the group’s intentionally crass frat-boy rapping. The Beastie Boys didn’t want to be taken seriously, and some people were happy to oblige. At times, Licensed to Ill represented the musical equivalent of National Lampoon’s Animal House, but the chemistry between Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam “MCA” Yauch, and Adam “Ad-rock” Horowitz was undeniable.
Tossing lines back and forth like playing cards with rhymes that drifted between genius and wonderful stupidity, the trio’s dialogue-driven anecdotes provided a new template for rap music. Aspects of Licensed to Ill may not have aged like fine wine, but the trio showed they could craft an anthem with ‘Fight For Your Right’, a parody that became a voice for dissatisfied, rebellious teenagers. The Beastie Boys ruled the airwaves of MTV in the mid-eighties, their music videos cultivating an image of juvenile hellraisers that became hard to shake off. But Paul’s Boutique did that. Overnight the Beastie Boys went from loveable goofs to vital visionaries.
New York has a rich musical heritage, supplying us with the genius of Sonny Rollins, Ella Fitzgerald, The Velvet Underground, Patti Smith, and the Talking Heads. Paul’s Boutique saw the Beastie Boys join such illustrious names, ascending into the Big Apple’s musical stratosphere. Regarding musical influence, Paul’s Boutique is New York’s hip-hop equivalent of the Velvet Underground’s self-titled debut. Now sampling was nothing new, but nobody had done it like the Beastie Boys, aided by the superb production skills of the Dust Brothers.
Hip-hop was in the grips of a golden period during the late eighties. 1988 saw N.W.A release the revolutionary, confrontational Straight Outta Compton, while Public Enemy provided the brilliantly bombastic, socially and politically charged It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. On the other side of the spectrum, you had De La Soul and Eric B. & Rakim producing chilled-out classics with 3 Feet High and Rising and Paid In Full, respectively. But none of them altered the landscape like Paul’s Boutique.
Paul’s Boutique arose out of something of a crossroads for the group, having been cast aside by their label Def Jam and producer Rick Rubin. Seeking more depth to their music, a chance meeting with the Dust Brothers’ John King (King Gizmo) provided an apt opportunity. The Dust Brothers’ had built up an impressive catalogue of music, intending to release a record of dance instrumentals. Upon hearing some of their stuff, Ad-Rock started freestyling over the top and asked if he could buy their music. The Dust Brothers and Matt Dike ended up producing and co-writing Paul’s Boutique, putting their dance ambitions on hold.
Paul’s Boutique is a sampling smorgasbord encompassing a vast array of genres, creating the world’s greatest musical jigsaw. The choices were inspired, inventive, and surprising but wonderfully cohesive. Take the brooding ‘Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun’, where Pink Floyd and the Incredible Bongo Band form an unlikely but amazing alliance, with MCA jamming along on the bass. ‘Johnny Ryall’ reaches from Paul McCartney to Jean Knight and throws in a catchy chorus for good measure. While on the slower ‘3-Minute Rule’, the samples are dialled down, but the sound of the group playing ping pong is overdubbed alongside some fierce scratching.
‘Sound of Science’ is a dazzling tribute to the Beatles, with the sample of ‘The End’ being particularly inspired. ‘Hey Ladies’ is a funk-borrowing fiesta, while the riotous ‘Shake Your Rump’ is a tour de force of jazz’s great drummers and a celebration of Rose Royce’s excellent Car Wash soundtrack. Incredibly, nearly all of the samples were cleared before release, a move that would require the finances of a Premier League football club today. When the Beatles’ lawyers filed preliminary papers against the group, Mike D’s reported response was, “What’s cooler than getting sued by the Beatles”.
It’s not just the samples that sparkled. The trio took the interplay and rhymes of Licensed to Ill and dialled them up to eleven, volleying bars around like prime Marco van Basten, bouncing and overlapping with unparalleled synchronicity. Despite being manic, Paul’s Boutique reflected the group’s growing maturity, the opening track ‘To All The Girls’ serving as a semi-apology for some of Licensed to Ill‘s more vulgar moments. However, tracks like ‘Egg Man’ shows the group hasn’t fully grown up, hilariously detailing their antics hucking eggs at people, turning it into a military-esque operation: “Scoped him with my scopes, he had no hair”.
The group’s anecdotes are bolstered by some fantastic wordplay, such as on ‘Johnny Ryall’, a real story about a vagrant who hung out near Mike D’s apartment: “Donald Trump and Donald Tramp living in the men’s shelter”. The supreme ‘Shadrach’, arguably the group’s best-ever track, has them on flying form: “Because I’ve got more stories than JD’s got Sallinger/And I’m always going out dapper like Harry S. Truman”. The trio’s wit is razor-sharp, matching their machine gun-like delivery.
A slew of cultural references supplements their witticisms with an abundance of namedrops and film quotations- it’s kinda like having the internet smashed through your skull at 100 miles an hour. ‘High Plains Drifter’ sees them driving around like Travis Bickle with the coolness of Clint Eastwood: “I feel like Steve McQueen/”On the run from Dirty Harry”. ‘The Sounds of Science’ is like falling down a Wikipedia rabbit hole, bouncing from “Shea stadium, the radium” to being “kicked out of the Palladium”. While ‘Hey Ladies’ has them celebrating the three Tom’s: “Tom Thumb, Tom Cushman or Tom Foolery”.
The album closes with the epic 12 minutes ‘B-Boy Bouillabase’, a tour of downtown Brooklyn and its many characters. Paul’s Boutique has often been called the “Sgt. Pepper of hip-hop”, but the snippet-fest, ‘ B-Boy Bouillabase’, is closer to the closing section of Abbey Road. Filled with scratching, beatbox and non-melodic textures, it’s a suite of nine different songs forged together. ‘Year and a Day’ is a highlight of the album with its groovy blend of the Isley Brothers and Led Zeppelin, while the darker ‘Hello Brooklyn’ features a rare instrumental, MCA creating a monstrous bass line. ‘Hello Brooklyn’ also demonstrates the excellent ability to perfectly shoehorn samples in, Johnny Cash finishing the line “I shot a man in Brooklyn” with his iconic “Just to watch him die”.
Paul’s Boutique is a flowing panorama, a rich tapestry of music expertly fused together, creating a seamless and utterly rewarding experience. In an era of innovation, Paul’s Boutique is the flag that flies the highest, with no one able to reach its dizzying heights. It tanked on release, a commercial failure, but those who dove in were blessed with a treasure trove. In a brilliant career, Paul’s Boutique is the Beastie Boys’ magnum opus and a jewel in hip-hop’s crown.