Customer Reviews

Paul's Boutique (20th Anniversary Edition)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm not going to waste your time reviewing the content of this classic album. If you haven't already heard Paul's Boutique- where the hell have you been for the past 20 years? This was probably the first relevant hip hop album ever made by whiteboys (back when sampling was free). Oh, and the Dust Brothers went on to do even MORE great things...

What I am going to review here are the improvements made to the quality of the content by way of remastering. I'm no rocket-surgeon (intended) but I do have VERY picky ears, and I seldom wanted to listen to Paul's Boutique due to the horrible (IMO) sound quality of the CD. The volume was very low and the quality and clarity of the sound was lacking. The bass frequencies were also dissapointing compared to all other Beasties albums. Well friends and lovers of great music, the answer to all of our prayers has come. The remastered 180 gram vinyl version will blow your doors off. The volume issue is fixed, the bass hits HARD and clear, and all of the little details/elements cut through and sound fantastic. There is nothing holding this album back anymore, and you will fall in love with it all over again.

The artwork is 8 panels of top-notch high-gloss panoramic goodness. The lyrics are included and the vinyl is 180 grams solid. Don't forget your free download- a 53 minute mp3 of the Beastie Boys discussing the making of the album while the album plays in the background.

The only negative thing I have to say, is that when I spend $25 on a record- I expect to be able to download the mp3's for free. This record does not come equipped with such a download. I had to log on to the Beasties web site and pay an additional $11.99 for the mp3 version of the album. This bummed me out because most new vinyl these days comes with a free digital download of the album. What gives?

I consider this one of the greatest albums ever made, and because of that, jumped at the opportunity to purchase this.

I'm still a bit "old fashioned" and bought the CD, and I still play the original CD periodically. So I guess doing this is the best way to notice any improvements. While it's not like night and day, the improvements are noticeable, especially at high volume levels. Are they noticeable enough to shell out $15 on the same CD I already own and have played nearly to death? I'm not 100% sure.

If you're going to buy the CD just to buy it, it's probably not worth it. If you're going to buy it to put into your Alpine and re-terrorize the neighborhood (like you used to), then this is a definate purchase. Both you and the album deserve that.

It sounds good. Really good. I can tell the difference- especially with Shadrach and B-Boy Bouillabaisse. Don't know what the casual fan will think but I think the remaster is a good idea. The classic, near-flawless album sounds even better.

This is not a review of the album per se (this is a great album if you don't already know), but a review of the re-released anniversary edition. That being said, for an anniversary edition I would expect some new liner notes, and some bonus material, none of which is here. For the track by track interview information you have to go to [...] and download it, but the directions on how to get this, (included on a card in the CD) are nebulous. So the 3 rating is for the anniversary edition. The album, of course, gets a 5!

I love the Beastie Boys and particularly this disc! If you don't own this disc already or have an old beat up copy, RUN out to buy this edition.
If you already own a good copy, don't waste your money.

Twenty years later, this still stands as one of the most creative CDs of all time. Paul's Boutique elevated hip-hop and rap into an art form with bits and pieces like an old Andy Warhol painting of sound with everything but the kitchen sink. There are sound bits from the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, Johnny Cash, Isley Brothers, Sly Stone, Curtis Mayfield, Loggins & Messina and more. If you don't like what you're hearing just wait five or ten seconds..it will change with another surpise. Question: Is that shrieking noise on "Egg Man" from the movie Psycho or Nightmare on Elm?" This one never gets boring. Highly recommended.

A very under-appreciated album. Amazing samples. Fantastic rhymes - who else can rhyme "the cellular" with "the hell you were"? The Boys' best still stands up after 20 years.

That's about it. No extras, no bonus, just a downloadable commentary that anyone can get if they go to the website. Don't get me wrong, I love the CD, and am happy that it sounds better, but if you already own the old one, this is not a "must have" if you don't care about sound quality. Plus they broke B-Boy Bouillabaisse up into like 8 different tracks, so you'll either like that ... or you won't.

This is a long overdue remaster of an album that was so far ahead of its time when released that we are still catching up to it now. These sample-loving pranksters joined with genius producers the Dust Brothers to create this out-of-left-field masterpiece of sound-collage art and bumpin beats the likes of which the world had never seen before. This is truly a pinnacle of the hip-hop art form and deserves every ounce of praise it receives (and more).

I have spun the original disc a zillion times and always found it to possess a kind of tinny sound (like many CDs originally mastered in the late 80s or early 90s). The remaster adds some depth to the sound, which is quiet frankly very much needed. The price, of course, goes up commensurately (and then some). There are no bonus tracks added, just the original album. Quite frankly I prefer this approach - the album is so thematically unified that adding extras would just be distracting.

Whether this is worth the buy depends on how you feel about the album. Big fan? Buy it and rock the house. Not sure? The original (if it's still available) is more affordable. Your call but in some form this album belongs in every serious music fan's collection - even for those who don't like hip-hop.

So nice to see this classic album finally get the remastering and cleaning up that it deserves! I would have liked to have some extra liner notes in the deluxe packaging as well, but I guess it's hard to improve on Dan LeRoy's 33 1/3 book on the album.