Beastie Boys CHECK YOUR HEAD

The Beastie Boys: Adrock (vocals, guitar); MCA (vocals, bass); Mike D (vocals, drums).Additional personnel: Mark Ramos Nishita (keyboards); Sian Harwood (background vocals), Biz Markie.Recorded at G-Son Studios, Atwater Village, California.A marked improvement over the deluxe reissue of PAUL'S BOUTIQUE, this double-disc (or four-LP) set also befits the usual overstuffed retrospective more naturally, given the original CHECK YOUR HEAD's immersion in several styles. The 16 songs of bonus material feature familiar B-sides ((like "Drinkin' Wine"), live tracks, and instrumentals. Bute alternate versions of classic tracks (including two remixes and a live version of "So What'cha Want") are even more revealing, inspiring admiration for both HEAD's wide-openness for interpretation and its effectiveness as a stripped-down jam session. The original release, remastered or not, holds up as a bridge between the beat-and-sample mashing of old school hip-hop and the genre's alterna-esoteric future, a