Licensed to Ill
| Licensed to Ill | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Beastie Boys | ||||
| Released | November 15, 1986 | |||
| Recorded | 1986 | |||
| Genre | Rap rock | |||
| Length | 44:33 | |||
| Label | Def Jam/Columbia CK-40238 |
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| Producer | Rick Rubin, Beastie Boys | |||
| Beastie Boys chronology | ||||
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Licensed to Ill is the debut album by the Beastie Boys, released in 1986.
It is the first rap LP to top the Billboard 200 chart. It is Columbia Records' fastest selling debut record to date and sold over 9 million copies.
Contents |
Background
Kerry King of Slayer made an appearance on the album playing lead guitar on "No Sleep Till Brooklyn", and appeared in the music video, which is a parody of glam metal. The name of the song itself is a spoof on Motörhead's No Sleep 'til Hammersmith album. King's appearance on the track came about because Rick Rubin was producing both bands simultaneously (Slayer's Reign in Blood was originally released on Def Jam).
The full album cover, front to back, features a Boeing 727 — with "Beastie Boys" emblazoned on the tail — crashing head-on into the side of a mountain. The tail of the plane has the Def Jam logo and the legend '3MTA3' which spells 'EATME' when viewed in a mirror.
The original title for this album was Don't Be a Faggot but Columbia Records flatly refused to release the album with this title and pressured Russell Simmons (their manager and label Def Jam head) into having the Beastie Boys to come up with another name. Adam Horovitz has since apologized for the band's earlier title.[1]
Music videos were made for the songs "Fight for Your Right", "No Sleep Til Brooklyn", "Hold It Now, Hit It", "Rhymin' and Stealin'" and "She's Crafty".
CBS/Fox Video released a video album of the five Licensed to Ill videos, plus "She's On It" in 1987 to capitalize on the album's success. A Laserdisc version was also released in Japan. All versions of the CBS/Fox release are currently out of print due to the rights to the album passing from Columbia and Sony Music to Universal Music Group, and also because of the acrimonious nature of the band's departure from Def Jam Records. To date, none of the Def Jam-era videos are available on any current Beastie Boys video compilations, and are unlikely to be included in future compilations.
Reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.8/10) [2] |
| Robert Christgau | (A+) [3] |
| Allmusic |  [4] |
| The Source | |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
| RapReviews | (10/10) [6] |
| Rhapsody | (Favourable) [7] |
In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums.[8]
In 2003, the album was ranked number 217 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[9]
Vibe (12/99, p. 158) - Included in Vibe's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century.
Q magazine (9/94, p. 123) - 4 Stars - "Licensed to Ill remains the world's only punk rock rap album, arguably superior to Never Mind the Bollocks...knowing that apathy and slovenliness were just around the corner."
Melody Maker (7/22/95, p. 35) - Bloody Essential - "There's lots of self-reverential bragging, more tenuous rhymes than are usually permitted by law and, most importantly of all, an unshakably glorious celebration of being alive....A surprisingly enduring classic."
In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at #16 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s". [10]
Track listing
- "Rhymin & Stealin" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 4:08
- "The New Style" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 4:36
- "She's Crafty" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 3:35
- "Posse in Effect" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 2:27
- "Slow Ride" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 2:56
- "Girls" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 2:14
- "Fight for Your Right" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 3:28
- "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 4:07
- "Paul Revere" (Horovitz/McDaniels/Rubin/Simmons) – 3:41
- "Hold It Now, Hit It" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 3:26
- "Brass Monkey" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 2:37
- "Slow and Low" (McDaniels/Rubin/Simmons) – 3:38
- "Time to Get Ill" (Beastie Boys/Rubin) – 3:37
Personnel
- Beastie Boys - Group, producer
- Joe Blaney - Mixing
- Steven Ett - Audio engineer
- Kerry King - Lead Guitar on "No Sleep till Brooklyn" and solo on "Fight for your Right"
- Rick Rubin - Producer
- Howie Weinberg - Mastering
- Steve Byram - Art direction
- Sunny Bak - Photography
- World B. Omes (David Gambale) - Cover art
Chart positions
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Billboard 200 | 1 |
| Top Hip-Hop/R&B Albums | 2 |
Singles
Billboard (North America) - singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Hold It, Now Hit It | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 55 |
| Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 41 | ||
| The New Style | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 22 | |
| Paul Revere | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 20 | |
| 1987 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 34 | |
| Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 41 | ||
| (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) | The Billboard Hot 100 | 7 | |
| Brass Monkey | The Billboard Hot 100 | 48 | |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks | 83 |
Samples
"Rhymin & Stealin"
- "Sweet Leaf" by Black Sabbath
- "When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin
- "I Fought the Law" by The Clash
"The New Style"
- "2-3 Break" by The B-Boys
- "Drop the Bomb" by Trouble Funk
- "Peter Piper" and "Here We Go (Live) by Run-D.M.C.
"She's Crafty"
- "The Ocean" by Led Zeppelin
"Posse in Effect"
- "Change le Beat" by B-Side & Fab Five Freddy
- "Pee Wee's Dance" by Joeski Love
"Slow Ride"
- "Low Rider" by War
"Paul Revere"
- "I Like Funky Music" by Uncle Louie
"Hold It Now, Hit It"
- "The Return of Leroy" by The Jimmy Castor Bunch
- "Drop the Bomb" & "Let's Get Small" by Trouble Funk
- "Funky Stuff" by Kool & The Gang
- "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" by Bob James
- "Christmas Rappin'" by Kurtis Blow
- "La Di Da Di" by Slick Rick
"Brass Monkey"
- "Bring it Here" by Wild Sugar
"Slow and Low"
In the booklet included with the Beastie Boys' anthology set The Sounds of Science, Adam Yauch (M.C.A) noted that "Slow and Low" was first recorded by Run-D.M.C. in the sessions for their second album, King of Rock, but was ultimately left off the original release (though the demo version later appeared on the album's 2005 Deluxe Edition re-release). Being one of the Beasties' favorite songs from the sessions, they got Run-D.M.C.'s permission to record a cover version. Yauch states that only two lines were changed for the Beastie Boys' version: "D sees real well 'cause he has four eyes" was replaced with "White Castle fries only come in one size", and a line stating Run-D.M.C.'s name was changed to "We're the Beastie Boys, not Cheech and Chong". The notes for The Sounds of Science expand the writing credits to "Beastie Boys/J. Simmons/D. McDaniels/R. Rubin/D. Hayden", a credit corroborated by ASCAP's database.[11]
"Time to Get Ill"
- "Boogie on Reggae Woman" by Stevie Wonder
- "Take the Money and Run" by the Steve Miller Band
- "Down on the Corner" by Creedence Clearwater Revival
- "Custard Pie" by Led Zeppelin
- "Gucci Time" by Schoolly D
- "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby" by Barry White
- "Funky Stuff" by Kool & The Gang,
- Excerpts from the theme music from Green Acres and Mister Ed
References
- ↑ Williams, Zoe (April 29, 2003). "Hiphopophobia". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Columnists/Column/0,5673,945461,00.html. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
- ↑ Pitchfork Media Review
- ↑ Robert Christgau Review
- ↑ Allmusic Review
- ↑ Rolling Stone Review
- ↑ RapReviews.com Review
- ↑ Rhapsody Review
- ↑ "100 Best Rap Albums". The Source #100. January, 1998. http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/source.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
- ↑ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939357/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
- ↑ Q August 2006, Issue 241
- ↑ ""Slow And Low" listing at ASCAP.com". http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=490604905&search_in=i&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=10&start=1. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
| Preceded by Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi |
Billboard 200 number-one album March 7 – April 24, 1987 |
Succeeded by The Joshua Tree by U2 |
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