Check Your Head [Explicit Lyrics]

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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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 ...
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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 4/21/1992
  • Label: Capitol
  • UPC: 077779893829
  • Catalog Number: 98938
  • Sales rank: 30,906

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 Jimmy James (3:14)
  2. 2 Funky Boss (1:35)
  3. 3 Pass the Mic (4:17)
  4. 4 Gratitude (2:45)
  5. 5 Lighten Up (2:41)
  6. 6 Finger Lickin' Good (3:39)
  7. 7 So What'cha Want (3:37)
  8. 8 The Biz vs. The Nuge (0:33)
  9. 9 Time for Livin' (1:48)
  10. 10 Something's Got to Give (3:28)
  11. 11 The Blue Nun (0:32)
  12. 12 Stand Together (2:47)
  13. 13 P.O.W. (2:13)
  14. 14 The Maestro (2:52)
  15. 15 Groove Holmes (2:33)
  16. 16 Live at P.J.'s (3:18)
  17. 17 Mark on the Bus (1:05)
  18. 18 Professor Booty (4:13)
  19. 19 In 3's (2:23)
  20. 20 Namaste (4:01)
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Album Credits

Performance Credits
Beastie Boys Primary Artist
James Bradley Percussion
Mike D Drums
Drew Lawrence Percussion
MCA Bass
Money Mark Organ, Synthesizer, Keyboards, Clavinet, Wurlitzer
Art Oliva Percussion
Juanito Vazquez Percussion, Conga, Culca
Ad-Rock Guitar
Technical Credits
Beastie Boys Producer
Adam Horovitz Composer
James Bradley Contributor
Mario Caldato Jr. Composer, Producer, Engineer
Adam Yauch Composer
Mike Diamond Composer
Mark Nishita Composer
Tom Baker Mastering
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Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Multi-talented Beastie Boys

    This album kicks off nicely with their ode to Jimi Hendrix. After the mediocre Funky Boss the songs don't stop getting better until So What'cha want. This would make a good album in and of itself, but fortunately the Beastie Boys seemingly start phase two of Check Your Head with Biz Markie for 30 seconds, then some hardcore punk Beastie style, followed by the very artsy Something's Got To Give, and on and on with odd songs that are from a multitude of genres. The samples and quotes they uses are as fitting as they are humorous. The Beastie Boys truly shine when they just whatever they think of, as opposed to their more single vein attacks like their ground breaking Liscense To Ill, or their latest (also good) album Hello Nasty. This along with Ill Communication put the Beastie Boys in their element, which I feel is with not only a DJ, but with instruments in their hands.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review