Licensed To Ill

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The joke of Licensed to Ill's cover--that the Beasties could crash their jet into the side of a mountain and keep on tickin'--serves as a good metaphor for a career that even some of their 1986 admirers thought might be over after the one-time-only shock of this full-length debut. That thousands of funk-junkie wannabes have since failed at re-creating its groove, breaking-the-law vibe, and ear-splitting mix of rock and rap is an even better joke. And funniest of all is the record itself, which packs aural puns and lots and lots of yelling into an album that can still be listened to with as much pleasure as it gave in 1986. --Rickey Wright

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Description
'Licensed To Ill' with its do it yourself aesthetics of hip-hop and punk appealed to a mass audience making it the first rap album to reach no.1 in the USA. The singles 'No Sleep Till Brooklyn' and 'You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party'are both featured on this release.

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Customer reviews

review by: chiggs58th date: 2007-12-01 rating:
A TIMELESS AND AGELESS CLASSIC!
What more needs to be said about what is probably one of the top five, perhaps top three rap albums of all time. It's just packed to bursting point with beats and ryhmes that are as "FRESH" today as they were twenty odd years ago. If you have any respect for classic old school rap you have to own this album!

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review by: date: 2006-03-17 rating:
wow
getting older but never tired, this album of 13 tracks has nearly 13 styles on it displaying a range of sounds and rhythms. this album still makes me laugh and remains one of my all time favourites. if you don't own it, then buy it today. if only to hear 'she's crafty". thanks beastie boys.

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review by: kennybrackfan date: 2005-08-22 rating:
Still awsome but showing signs of ageing
Although this was the first Beastie Boys recording I really listened to, I only heard it for the first time in 2003. I was born the year after this recording was made and it beggars belief that a band like this could ever last until the present day.
Initially, I was put off by the whiney-nazel voices I was hearing, but the Beastie Boys is as much about just listening (or deciphering) the lyrics as it is about the music. The offbeat lyrics remind me a little of Beck, just because they can be so random at times but still with a direction within the songs.
This album has obviously remained popular due to the infamous 'Fight for Your Right' song, but is actually so much more. try to get the CD + DVD version available on amazon (keep searching, it's quite far back!) so you can check out the ill videos for 'No Sleep til Brooklyn', 'She's Crafty' and 'Fight for Your Right'. As I said in the summary, the album is finally starting to show signs of ageing, but the power of nostalgia just keeps bringing me back for more. Enjoy.

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review by: date: 2005-04-02 rating:
Still licensed still brass monkeyed
I remember buying this on vinyl when i was 16. Run DMC and Public Enemy were mashing things up when this hit my record deck.
My stepdad banned me from playing it in the house, due to all the media crap when they arrived in the uk with Run DMC. when they were out shopping Friday night though the whole street was rocking to tracks like Brass Monkey, No Sleep till Brooklyn and paul Revere. Inspiring stuff this album and even though they were dismissed as a joke band they are more hip hop today than many of these so called "gangsters" Retro- yes but if you heard it the first time around you are still going to want to blow it up full watts. Grab your vw signs and your tins of bud, Cus im out on my little horsey named Paul Revere, me an my horsey and a quart of beer........


review by: patrick10589 date: 2004-01-13 rating:
Raw and Nasty, as it should be
To say that this was a defining album in the history of rap would be an understatement. I remember buying the original vinyl LP as a 16 year old, putting it on the turntable and being completely blown away. The mix of metal, funk and heavy drum tracks throughout was very original and coupled with them being one of the only white rappers around made them stand out from the crowd. Tracks such as the new style, hold it now hit it, she's crafty and no sleep till Brooklyn come to epitomise exactly what the boys were about. OK, they were not good rappers like say Snoop or Eminem are but that was not what they were about. Remember they were white, Jewish, middleclass boys who were out to joke and fantasise about being babe magnets and living the life of a hardcore gansta. Although I remain a fan of the group, this hardcore, tongue in cheek hip hop album definitly remains my all time favourite. Buy this and LLCoolJ's I can't live without my radio album and you will have 2 of the most raw and basic hip hop albums of all time. One thing is for sure, VolksWagen's will never be the same again.

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