Name: Check Your Head
Brand: Beastie Boys

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

6942251

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2016-09-16

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Universal

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

5099969422515

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Total Cap

2 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

Beastie Boys

Genre GB

Hip Hop

Label GB

The Beastie Boys are an American hip hop band that formed in New York in 1981. Originally a hardcore punk combo, they gained success with their first hip hop track, "Cooky Puss" in 1983. The group transitioned into a rap group that occasionally incorporated punk rock tracks into their albums. From 1992 to 2001, they operated the Grand Royal label. Following the death of Adam Yauch in 2012, the band officially disbanded in June 2014.

The original members of the Beastie Boys included Ad Rock (Adam Horovitz) on vocals and guitar from 1982 until 2014, MCA (Adam Yauch) on vocals and bass from 1981 until his passing in 2012, and Mike D (Michael Diamond) on vocals and drums from 1981 until 2014. The band also had additional members during various periods including Kate Schellenbach on drums from 1981 to 1984.

Throughout their career, the Beastie Boys collaborated with several touring members such as Rick Rubin as DJ Double R from 1984 to 1985, DJ Hurricane from 1986 to1997, Mix Master Mike from1998 to2014 among others. Their unique blend of genres and energetic performances made them one of the most influential groups in hip hop history.

UMC, short for Universal Music Catalogue, is a prominent label under the UK branch of Universal Music. Established around 2016, UMC has been dedicated to preserving and promoting an extensive collection of music from various genres and eras. With its rich catalogue, UMC offers music enthusiasts a diverse range of timeless classics and hidden gems.

In 2023, UMC underwent a rebranding process and emerged as Universal Music Recordings. This new identity further solidifies their position as a leading force in the music industry. As Universal Music Recordings, they continue to curate and release exceptional music that resonates with audiences worldwide.

Whether you're seeking iconic hits or discovering lesser-known treasures, UMC (now known as Universal Music Recordings) ensures that the power of music remains accessible to all who appreciate its magic.

Check Your Head brought the Beastie Boys crashing back into the charts and into public consciousness, but that was only partially due to the album itself -- much of its initial success was due to the cult audience that Paul's Boutique cultivated in the years since its initial flop release, a group of fans whose minds were so thoroughly blown by that record, they couldn't wait to see what came next, and this helped the record debut in the Top Ten upon its April 1992 release. This audience, perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, was a collegiate Gen-X audience raised on Licensed to Ill and ready for the Beastie Boys to guide them through college. As it happened, the Beasties had repositioned themselves as a lo-fi, alt-rock groove band. They had not abandoned rap, but it was no longer the foundation of their music, it was simply the most prominent in a thick pop-culture gumbo where old school rap sat comfortably with soul-jazz, hardcore punk, white-trash metal, arena rock, Bob Dylan, bossa nova, spacy pop, and hard, dirty funk. What they did abandon was the psychedelic samples of Paul's Boutique, turning toward primitive grooves they played themselves, augmented by keyboardist Money Mark and co-producer Mario Caldato, Jr.. This all means that music was the message and the rhymes, which had been pushed toward the forefront on both Licensed to Ill and Paul's Boutique, have been considerably de-emphasized (only four songs -- Jimmy James, Pass the Mic, Finger Lickin' Good, and So What'cha Want -- could hold their own lyrically among their previous work). This is not a detriment, because the focus is not on the words, it's on the music, mood, and even the newfound neo-hippie political consciousness. And Check Your Head is certainly a record that's greater than the sum of its parts -- individually, nearly all the tracks are good (the instrumentals sound good on their subsequent soul-jazz collection, The in Sound From Way Out), but it's the context and variety of styles that give Check Your Head its identity. It's how the old school raps give way to fuzz-toned rockers, furious punk, and cheerfully gritty, jazzy jams. As much as Paul's Boutique, this is a whirlwind tour through the Beasties' pop-culture obsessions, but instead of spinning into Technicolor fantasies, it's earth-bound D.I.Y. that makes it all seem equally accessible -- which is a big reason why it turned out to be an alt-rock touchstone of the '90s, something that both set trends and predicted them.

Check Your Head

Music GB

Buy Beastie Boys - Check Your Head (Vinyl, CD) now from Rough Trade - independent purveyors of great music, since 1976.