Wonderful words by Balearic Mike.

In the completely wonderful ‘Beastie Boys Book’, Ad-Rock makes a fairly convincing argument for Hello Nasty being the bands best record. I’m not sure if it’s my favourite, as it’s really hard – and quite pointless – trying to pick one from their back catalogue. I can agree that this album represents the band at the total peak of their powers and, released in 1998, it recently celebrated its Silver Jubilee.

Their 5^th proper studio album, Hello Nasty, was the Beastie Boys most successful LP since the crazy days of Licensed To Ill, becoming their first UK #1 album, and also going to #1 in the US, where it went triple platinum, selling 3,000,000 copies. The singles taken from the album are also some of their most successful, with Intergalactic almost certainly one of their finest songs, and also their biggest UK hit single. Both Body Movin’ and Three MC’s And One DJ were also hits, with the videos, now directed by MCA under his Nathaniel Hornblower alias, all mini-movie masterpieces. The Intergalactic video was a brilliant tribute to Japanese Kaiju films – specifically the series finale of Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot – while the video for Body Movin’ – made to accompany the massive Fatboy Slim remix – parodies and incorporates scenes from the 1968 Italian action film Danger: Diabolik, with Ad-Rock playing the titular character, MCA playing the villain, and Mike D as the villain’s assistant. Truly peak Beastie!

The guys now owned their own record label, Grand Royal, releasing music from other artists as well as their own. They also published an irregular, hysterical and chaotic, magazine of the same name. In addition, Mike D was also involved in the X-Large clothing shop and label, so The Beasties had quite a lot going on. The recording of Hello Nasty began at their studio and command centre G-Son, in the sleepy Atwater Village, in Los Angeles, where they’d been living since 1989, but at some point, during this period they made the decision to relocate back to their hometown of New York. The 3 friends set about completing the album at a number of studio’s, including John Lennon’s old practice space – after becoming friends with Sean Lennon. It was finished at RPM Studios in Manhattan. It would be the last record that they co-produced with Mario Caldato Jr., and the first with their new DJ, Mix Master Mike. Hello Nasty also has some notable guests, with old friend Jill Cunniff of Luscious Jackson making an appearance, as well as legendary reggae / dub producer Lee “Scratch” Perry, who contributes to the excellent Dr. Lee, PhD.

Hello Nasty has is sprawling, kaleidoscopic, and quite experimental in places. It lacks any of the ventures into their hardcore / punk past, which were prevalent on their previous 2 records, but there are still plenty of tracks which are not straight up rap records. There are a few very loose instrumentals, which highlight some of the band’s new influences, such as the Brazilian musical styles Tropicália and bossa-nova, plus the beautiful I Don’t Know – featuring Japanese singer Miho Hatori, and Picture This, sung by Brooke Williams. In some ways it’s their “White Album”, or akin to Prince’s “Sign “O” The Times”, in that it’s so diverse, almost schizophrenic in its variety. Ad-Rock has said that he’s proud of the fact that it “sounds like a few different bands all on the same record”.

The album marks a period of huge transition for The Beasties. It’s really the end of the imperial phase of their careers and the beginning of a new, grown-up chapter. They were all now in serious relationships. Adam Yauch and Mike D were both married, and Yauch’s first child had arrived by the time they toured the record. They now had a family tour bus… as well as a pot-head tour bus! The tour itself astonishing, and I was lucky enough to catch it in Manchester. They were playing large arenas, rather than the smaller theatres of before, and so decided to perform it ‘in the round’, with a revolving central stage. It’s still one of the best gigs I’ve ever seen. The band were absolutely at the top of their game as musicians, with Ad-Rock in particular a charismatic front man when called into the roll. Mix Master Mike also added something special to their stage presence. Who could have known, with the band at the peak of their powers, that we wouldn’t see another record from them for 6 years, and that they would only make one more album – I’m not counting The Mix-Up – together after that.

Hello Nasty is a handsome looking record. The cover shot of the three boys stuffed in a sardine tin, floating into the sun, is probably their best since Licensed to Ill, although my favourite is actually their final album’s cover. The gatefold and inner sleeves are also beautiful, co-designed by Bill McMullen and Yauch, showing the Beastie’s ‘inner world’… and it’s on sexy translucent gold vinyl! Yum!

It makes me really sad to think that there will be no more music from the Beastie Boys. They might have called it a day by now anyway, but actually, their final album, 2011’s Hotsaucecommitteeparttwo, was as bursting with ideas and invention as anything that they’d ever recorded – a real under-appreciated gem in their catalogue. I think, if we hadn’t tragically lost Adam, they would still be making music. 

Rest In Power Adam Yauch. 

For more from Balearic Mike you can find him on both Facebook and Instagram – @balearicmike. 

Mike has a Mixcloud page packed with magnificent, magical, music, and you can catch him live on 1BTN, from 12 noon until 2 (UK time) every 1st and 3rd Friday.

You can also check out the super silk screen prints of “Balearic Wife” over at @jo_lambert_print