Ill Communication
Ill Communication | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | May 31, 1994 | |||
Recorded | 1993–1994 | |||
Studio | Tin Pan Alley (New York City), G-Son (Atwater Village, California) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 59:37 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Beastie Boys chronology | ||||
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Singles from Ill Communication | ||||
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Ill Communication is the fourth studio album by American hip-hop group Beastie Boys. It was released on May 31, 1994 by Grand Royal Records. Co-produced by Beastie Boys and Mario C., the album is among the band's most varied releases, drawing from hip hop, punk rock, jazz and funk. As with their prior release Check Your Head, this album continues the band's trend away from sampling and towards live instruments. It features musical contributions from Money Mark, Eric Bobo and Amery "AWOL" Smith and vocal contributions from Q-Tip and Biz Markie. Beastie Boys were influenced by Miles Davis' jazz rock albums Agharta and On the Corner while recording Ill Communication.[1]
Ill Communication became the band's second number-one album on the US Billboard 200 albums chart and their second triple platinum album. The album was supported by the single "Sabotage", which was accompanied by a music video directed by Spike Jonze that parodied 1970s cop shows.
Singles[]
The album's first single "Sabotage" was first laid down by the band members playing instrumental parts at Tin Pan Alley Studios in New York, the whole driven by Adam Yauch's fuzzed and twangy bass. With the working title of "Chris Rock", the track sat unused for a year, lacking a vocal part. According to Ad-Rock in the 2020 Beastie Boys Story documentary, the lyrics are a fictitious rant about how their producer "was the worst person ever and how he was always sabotaging us and holding us back." "Sabotage" was released on January 28, 1994.[2] The album's second single "Get It Together", which samples The Moog Machine's cover of "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In", was released on March 17, 1994.[3] The album's third single "Sure Shot" was released on May 31, 1994[4] and features a sample from jazz flautist Jeremy Steig's "Howlin' For Judy", thereby providing the main instrumental part of the song. The album's fourth single "Root Down" was released in 1995.[5]
Artwork[]
Beastie Boys' Michael Diamond and Adam Yauch collaborated with Gibran Evans, son of the artist and designer Jim Evans of T.A.Z., to create the album packaging. The cover photo they chose was taken by photographer Bruce Davidson in 1964 at a Los Angeles drive-in diner called Tiny Naylor's.[6] Davidson had been on assignment for Esquire, though the magazine ultimately did not publish the photos.[7] Although Davidson had not heard Beastie Boys and did not understand their music – he recalled thinking it sounded like a "secret language" when they sent him a demo tape – he agreed they could use his photo.[8]
Jim Evans also designed the hand-drawn typeface specifically for Ill Communication,[9] and it was used throughout the promotion of the album. The album booklet features the artwork "Gaia" by Alex Grey.
Critical reception[]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The A.V. Club | A−[11] |
Entertainment Weekly | B[12] |
Los Angeles Times | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | 8/10[14] |
Pitchfork | 8.6/10[15] |
Q | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolling Stone | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Select | 4/5[18] |
The Village Voice | A−[19] |
Rolling Stone included Ill Communication in its list of "Essential Recordings of the 90s".[20] Spin ranked it number 19 on its list of the "20 Best Albums of '94".[21] Q included it in its list of the "90 Best Albums of the 1990s".[22] The album placed at number 15 on The Village Voice's 1994 Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[23] Mojo ranked it number 54 on its list of "100 Modern Classics".[24] NME ranked it number three in its list of the "Top 50 Albums of 1994"[25] and it placed 13th in The Wire's annual critics' poll.[26] Guitar World included Ill Communication in the "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[27] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[28]
Track listing[]
All tracks are written by Beastie Boys except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Sure Shot" |
| 3:19 |
2. | "Tough Guy" |
| 0:57 |
3. | "B-Boys Makin' with the Freak Freak" | 3:36 | |
4. | "Bobo on the Corner" |
| 1:13 |
5. | "Root Down" | 3:32 | |
6. | "Sabotage" | 2:58 | |
7. | "Get It Together" (featuring Q-Tip) |
| 4:05 |
8. | "Sabrosa" |
| 3:29 |
9. | "The Update" |
| 3:15 |
10. | "Futterman's Rule" |
| 3:42 |
11. | "Alright Hear This" | 3:06 | |
12. | "Eugene's Lament" |
| 2:12 |
13. | "Flute Loop" |
| 1:54 |
14. | "Do It" (featuring Biz Markie) |
| 3:16 |
15. | "Ricky's Theme" |
| 3:43 |
16. | "Heart Attack Man" |
| 2:14 |
17. | "The Scoop" |
| 3:36 |
18. | "Shambala" |
| 3:40 |
19. | "Bodhisattva Vow" |
| 3:08 |
20. | "Transitions" |
| 2:31 |
Total length: | 59:37 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
21. | "Dope Little Song" | 1:51 |
22. | "Resolution Time" | 2:49 |
23. | "Mullet Head" | 2:52 |
24. | "The Vibes" | 3:06 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Root Down" (Free Zone Mix) | 3:49 |
2. | "Resolution Time" | 2:49 |
3. | "Get It Together" (Buck-Wild Remix) | 4:18 |
4. | "Dope Little Song" | 1:50 |
5. | "Sure Shot" (European B-Boy Mix) | 2:59 |
6. | "Heart Attack Man" (Unplugged) | 2:22 |
7. | "The Vibes" | 3:07 |
8. | "Atwater Basketball Association File No. 172-C" | 1:27 |
9. | "Heart Attack Man" (Live) | 2:10 |
10. | "The Maestro" (Live) | 3:16 |
11. | "Mullet Head" | 2:53 |
12. | "Sure Shot" (European B-Boy Instrumental) | 2:58 |
Personnel[]
- Beastie Boys – producers
- Money Mark – keyboards, organ
- Eric Bobo – percussion, drums on "Ricky's Theme"
- Amery Smith – drums on "Tough Guy" & "Heart Attack Man"
- Eugene Gore – violin on "Eugene's Lament"
- Q-Tip – vocals on "Get It Together"
- Biz Markie – vocals on "Do It"
- Mario Caldato, Jr. – producer
Charts[]
Weekly charts[]
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Year-end charts[]
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See also[]
References[]
- ^ Reynolds 2011, p. 182.
- ^ "Sabotage by Beastie Boys | Song Stories". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 17, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- ^ "Readers' Poll: The Best Beastie Boys Songs of All Time Pictures – 10. 'Get It Together'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 13, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- ^ "Readers' Poll: The Best Beastie Boys Songs of All Time Pictures – 8. 'Sure Shot'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- ^ "Root Down [Explicit]: The Beastie Boys: MP3 Downloads". November 8, 2005. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
- ^ "Change in the air: Rare images of 1964 Los Angeles". CNN.com. September 22, 2015. Archived from the original on March 29, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
- ^ "Bruce Davidson: Los Angeles 1964". Steidl Books. Archived from the original on March 29, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
- ^ "'Ill Communication' at 20: An Everything Guide to the Beastie Boys Masterpiece". Grantland.com. May 27, 2014. Archived from the original on February 12, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
- ^ "Hand lettering for Ill Communication". Instagram.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
@jimevanstaz: Yeah, it was a special hand-drawn alphabet just for this album – it is used throughout the booklet.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Ill Communication – Beastie Boys". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 4, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan (July 14, 2009). "Beastie Boys". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ Browne, David (June 3, 1994). "Ill Communication". Entertainment Weekly. No. 225. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ Gold, Jonathan (May 29, 1994). "Boys' One-Note Bray Is Still Fun". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ "Beastie Boys: Ill Communication". NME. May 29, 1994. p. 35.
- ^ Patrin, Nate (July 14, 2009). "Beastie Boys: Ill Communication [Deluxe Edition]". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on November 5, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ "Beastie Boys: Ill Communication". Q. No. 276. July 2009. p. 134.
- ^ Diehl, Matt (June 2, 1994). "Ill Communication". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ^ Grundy, Gareth (July 1994). "Beastie Boys: Ill Communication". Select. No. 49. p. 82.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (July 26, 1994). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ "Essential Recordings of the 90s". Rolling Stone. May 13, 1999. p. 54.
- ^ "20 Best Albums of '94". Spin. Vol. 10, no. 9. December 1994. pp. 76–78. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ "90 Best Albums of the 1990s". Q. No. 159. December 1999. p. 82.
- ^ "The 1994 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. New York. February 28, 1995. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
- ^ "100 Modern Classics". Mojo. No. 150. May 2006. p. 60.
- ^ "Top 50 Albums of 1994". NME. December 24, 1994. p. 22.
- ^ "Critics Choice: Record of the Year". The Wire. No. 131. London. January 1995. p. 29. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018 – via Exact Editions.
- ^ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. July 14, 2014. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
- ^ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (March 23, 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
- ^ "Beastie Boys Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
- ^ "Beastie Boys Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1994". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 6, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
- ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
Works cited
- Reynolds, Simon (2011). Bring the Noise: 20 Years of Writing About Hip Rock and Hip Hop. Soft Skull Press. ISBN 978-1-59376-460-9.
External links[]
- Ill Communication at Discogs (list of releases)
- 1994 albums
- Beastie Boys albums
- Capitol Records albums
- Grand Royal albums
- Albums produced by Mario Caldato Jr.