The Witzard

First and foremost: I would like to take this opportunity to extend a very special "THANK YOU!" to Jesse Dangerously, John "Jumbled" Bachman, Pat "Pecue" Quinn, Dan LeRoy, Paolo Gilli, Nate LeBlanc, Height Keech, Joshua Rogers, Sahan Jayasuriya, Danny Cheap Date, Emceein' Eye, KID ACNE, Jeremy Shatan, clint. AKA salk. Myrrow's Outlet, Awkward, Jim Mahfood AKA FOODONE, Steve Baril, DJ Bacon, David "unheard78" Taylor, bigfatlove at Beastiemania.com, BRZOWSKI, Harvey Cliff MC, and Jay "Hawk" Myers at Beastie Family for their parts in helping create and put together this comprehensive track-by-track breakdown in honor of the recent 30th anniversary of the Beastie Boys' July 1989 sophomore album, Paul's Boutique. Make sure to Follow @JesseDangrsly, @NapalmDef, @Pecuedesign, @danleroy, @natejleblanc, @Heightkeech, @pathilluminated, @sahanicyouth, @dontpanicrecs, @emceeineye, @AnEarful, @myrrowsoutlet, @AwkwardUK, @JimMahfoo...

"attempted or done before. (The vinyl edition will have extra-copious multi-panel artwork in its first print only. Hey collectors!) "Yea, but who cares what it looks like. What about the tunes??!!" Not only is Paul's Boutique harder than their hysterical historical multi-platinum Licensed to Ill outing, but it's "deeper." The record is a never ending flow of freaky, left-field samples (everyone from the Beatles to Mountain to a bunch of obscure '70s funk that one's ever thought about biting) that sucks you in and then spits you out, leaving you punch-drunk and frenzied. The Dust Brothers (Matt Dike, John King, and Mike Simpson) have outdone themselves on the production front, and have given the record an earthy home grown aura. And the Boys themselves are in tip-top form. Check this: "I got more rhymes than J.D.'s got Salinger" (from "Shadrach"). Taking you, the listener, on a psychedelic mind-trip, the Beasties ...

"Paul's Boutique was and continues to be a mysterious object, definitely, more than a just record. By now, everyone knows that when it came out in 1989, it wasn't the follow-up people expected, after Licensed to Ill; an opportunity for the Beastie Boys to weed out the real fans from the rest. To this day, Paul's Boutique is the Beasties' album we know [the least] about. At the time, they did only a handful of interviews, between television and magazines. Even the photographs from that period—mostly, shot by Ricky Powell—are not that many. Still, the record was light-years ahead of it's time and even if the whole sampling approach is similar to De La Soul's contemporary 3 Feet High & Rising. , it's success and reputation has only gown over time. Now, it is (rightly so) considered a unique masterpiece that could not be made today or probably, ever again. Maybe, it's because of the whole concept the Beasties put into the record—the cover, the ton...