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Still the same old Beastie Boys: Hot Sauce brings back the rhymes, the fun & the"Jewish Brad Pitt"
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"Hit Sauce Committee, Part 2"
Hot Sauce Committee, Part 2? Where’s Part 1? Apparently, the Beastie Boys are throwing a little curve ball at us, especially since the trio promise that Part 1 is still coming. Whatever the case, it’s good to have them back.
And, I’m glad to mention, in fine form, which was no given considering they hadn’t rapped together on an album since 2004’s To The 5 Boroughs.
In the meantime Adam Yauch (MCA) survived a cancer scare. Knowing that, we might have expected the Boys, which also include Adam Horowitz (Ad-Rock) and Michael Diamond (Mike D), to give us a meditation on middle-aged malaise and mortality. Well, short of Ad-Rock’s admission, in a wise-guy Cockney accent, that “Grandpa been rappin’ since ’83,” that’s not going to happen.
Instead we get the group as playful as ever, even if their rapping is far more clever than sophomoric these days. Mike D is still the Casanova outlaw, MCA remains the avuncular conscience of the group, and Ad-Rock still knocks off more one-liners per minute than any average stand-up. It’s a formula that’s been working for close to 30 years now, so tampering with it probably never crossed their minds.
The sound of the album is mostly electronic, albeit in a funky way. Lead-off track “Make Some Noise” sets the tone, with some squawks and squiggles accented by cowbells as typically random pop culture references to the Lambada and Ted Danson liven things up. “Here’s A Little Something For Ya” marries the robotics to a kicking beat, while Mike D calls himself the “Jewish Brad Pitt.” That kind of levity is prevalent throughout.
Any dalliance with punk thrash is limited to “Lee Majors Come Again,” as the boys strap on their instruments and set a hyper-frenetic pace. The boom-bap thrust of “Long Burn The Fire” is more typical of what can be found on the album. The rhythms may change throughout, but Hot Sauce locks into one good-natured groove and rides it all the way home.
As far as guest stars, Santigold takes center stage on “Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win” with the Boys willingly allowing her to provide a sinuous edge that they couldn’t possibly manage. Nas also lends a jovial hand on the rap throwdown “Too Many Rappers (as in “There’s too many rappers and still not enough MC’s.”)
Otherwise, it’s just the Beastie Boys doing the three-man weave like they always have, not really getting nostalgic, not really looking forward either. Heck, let’s face it: There are some bands that we don’t really want to mature. Hot Sauce Committee, Part 2 doesn’t cover any new ground, nor is it quite consistent enough to stand up with their very best albums (which would be the first two, Licensed To Ill and Paul’s Boutique.)
But it is quintessential Beasties. There’s something comforting in knowing that they’re still out there, rhyming “Excedrin” with “Tippi Hedron,” giving shout outs to Kenny Rogers’ Roaster, and acting silly for the rest of us. In a music scene that can be utterly devoid of humor, that’s more than enough to leave us wanting more.
Which, in the strange and wonderful world of the Beastie Boys, is Part 1.
SAMPLE HOT SAUCE COMMITTEE, PART 2
“Make Some Noise”
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“Long Burn The Fire”
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“Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win”
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