• Voto:
Questo disco non ama le mezze misure o i compromessi. È sfrontato, irriverente, grezzo e poco raccomandabile come i tre individui che l'hanno messo assieme: in arte MCA, MikeD e AdRock, tre ragazzacci da New York City. E come la città da cui trae ispirazione è sporca, caotica, alienante e disturbata, così "Check Your Head", uscito nel 1992, vuole esserne un ritratto in musica: parziale, fazioso e contraddittorio, forse, ma altrettanto genuino e sincero dal primo all'ultimo suono.
In questo calderone sonoro, vero melting pot musicale, se ne sentono di cotte e di crude: hip hop innanzitutto, ed è questo uno dei punti di forza dei Beastie Boys, tre ragazzi bianchi che si appropriano del linguaggio musicale d'elezione dei neri negli anni '80-'90, innervandolo però di influenze e contaminazioni che vengono dal rock, dal punk, dal garage. L'hip hop dunque è solo una delle componenti stilistiche di questo disco e anzi, è anch'esso graffiato e reso sporco dall'uso delle voci distorte, come nell'hit "So Watcha Want" o in "Stand Together". Per il resto, c'è una sezione ritmica interamente acustica: MikeD alla batteria e ben quattro percussionisti disseminati lungo le 20 tracce dell'album; MCA al basso e AdRock alla chitarra elettrica a dare all'insieme quel tocco "bianco", a volte hardcore punk come in "Time for Livin'", che evita ai Beastie Boys la monotonia sonora tipica di gran parte dell'hip hop meno creativo; c'è infine un musicista aggiunto, Mark Ramos Nishita, alle tastiere, organo e wurlitzer a rendere il tutto ancora più caldo e groovy.
E non finisce qui, non mancano gli effetti di scratch, gli spezzoni registrati dal vivo, le voci campionate da programmi televisivi o da chiamate rimaste incise sulla segreteria telefonica, il sitar presente in "Finger Lickin' Good" che lascia poi spazio a un sample di "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" di Bob Dylan (e che costò 700 dollari di diritti, ma Dylan ne aveva chiesti 2.000), e via di questo passo.
Una foto nel booklet del cd racconta questo disco meglio di quanto si possa fare a parole. È lo studio di registrazione dove è stato realizzato il lavoro (nei pressi di Los Angeles): i Beastie Boys più il gregario Mark Ramos Nishita dietro agli strumenti, luci soffuse, pieno zeppo ovunque di cavi, aste dei microfoni, giradischi, amplificatori accatastati in ogni angolo. Immagine che rende bene l'idea di saturazione sonora che non lascia mai la presa nei 53 densi minuti di questo album.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Jimmy James (03:14)
People How You Doing There's A New Day Dawning
For The Earth Mother It's A Brand New Morning
For Such A Long While There's Been Such A Longing
But Now The Sun Is Shining Let's Roll Back The Awning
This Is A Type Of Kinda Like A Formal Dedication
Giving Out A Shout For Much Inspiration
All I Ever Really Want To Do Is Get Nice
Get Loose And Goof My Little Slice Of Life
Sendin' Out Love To All Corners Of The Land
I Jump Up On The Stage And Take The Mic In My Hand
I'm Not Playin' The Roll Just Being Who I Am
And If You Try To Dis Me I Couldn't Give A Damn
'Cause I'm Rockin'
Bass From The Back Of My Car Feels Soothing
Right Bazookas Is What I'm Using
I'm Mike D And It's Been Proven
I Love It When I See The Party People Just Movin'
Strapped On The Ear Goggles And What Did I See
But The Music Brought The People Into Harmony
03 Pass the Mic (04:16)
If You Can Feel What I'm Feeling Then It's A Musical Masterpiece
But If You Can Hear What I'm Dealing With Then That's Cool At Least
What's Running Through My Mind Comes Through In My Walk
True Feelings Are Shown From The Way That I Talk
And This Is Me, Y'All - I M.C., Y'All
My Name Is M.C.A. And I Still Do What I Please
And Now I'd Like To Introduce I'll Pass The Mic To D. For A Fist Full Of Truth
The Name Is D., Y'All And I Don't Play
And I Can Rock A Block Party 'Til Your Hair Turns Grey
"So, What You Sayin'?" I Explode On Site
And Like Jimmy Walker I'm "Dynomite"
And Now I'd Like To Pass The Mic
To Adrock C'mon And Do Anything You Like
I'm The A.D.R.O.C.K.
In The Place With The Bass I'm Going All The Way
I Can't Stop Y'All Tick Tock Y'All
And If You Think That You're Slick You'll Catch A Brick Y'All
'Cause I'm A Turn It In And I'm A Turn It Out
But Now I Got To Pass The Mic To Yauch
Well On And On And On And On
I Can't Stop Y'All 'Til The Early Morn'
So Rock Rock Y'All Tick Tock Y'All
To The Beat Y'All C'mon And Rock Y'All
I Give Thanks For Inspiration
It Guides My Mind Along The Way
A Lot Of People Get Jealous, They're Talking About Me
But That's Just 'Cause They Haven't Got A Thing To Say
Well, Everybody's Rapping Like It's A Commercial
Actin' Like Life Is A Big Commercial
So This Is What I've Got To Say To You All
Be True To Yourself And You Will Never Fall
And Now I'd Like To Pass The Mic To The A
So What's Your Name, Yauch? My Name Is M.C.A.
I've Been Coming To Where I Am From The Get Go
Find That I Can Groove With The Beat When I Let Go
So Put Your Worries On Hold
Get Up And Groove With The Rhythm In Your Soul
And Now I'd Like To Pass The Mic
To My Brother Adrock C'mon And Shine Like A Light
Yes Yes Y'All And Yes Yes Y'All
I'm Always On Time Never The Less Y'All
And That's Right Y'All, I Shed Light Y'All
I've Got No Time In My Life To Get Uptight Y'All
So What You Gonna Say That I Don't Know Already?
I'm Like Clyde And I'm Rockin' Steady
But Time Flies When You're Having Fun
So Mike D - That's Me - C'mon And Get Some
M.I.K.E. To The D.
You Come And See Me And You Pay A Fee
Do What I Do Professionally
To Tell The Truth I Am Exactly What I Want To Be
Now Ad-Rock And M.C.A.
Let's Rock This Joint In The Old School Way
Well I'm On 'Til The Crack Of Dawn
Mowing Down M.C.'s Like I'm Mowing A Lawn
I Go Off Like Nothing Can Phase Me
You Think We'll Ever Meet Stevie? One Of These Days, D.
But I Can Stand My Ground And I Am Down
To Wax An M.C. Who Acts Like A Clown
But For Now, I'd Like To Ask You How
You Like The Feel Of The Bass In Your Face In The Crowd
04 Gratitude (02:45)
Good times gone
And you missed them
What's gone wrong
In your system
Things they bounce
Like a Spalding
What'd you think
Did you miss your calling
It's so free
This kind of feeling
It's like life
It's so appealing
When you've got so much to say
It's called gratitude & that's right!
Good times gone
But you feed it
Hate's grown strong
You feel you need it
Just one thing
Do you know
what you think
That the world owes you
What's gonna set you free
Look inside and you'll see
When you've got so much to say
It's called gratitude & that's right!
07 The Biz vs. The Nuge (00:34)
The Beatsie Boys They Are They're Comin' Home
They're Comin' Home They're Comin' Home
Oh They're Comin' Home
13 Mark on the Bus (01:07)
I Ride On The Bus Into The City Everyday
I Sit On The Seat And I Dream Myself Away
I Dream I'm On An Island With That Foxy Lady Too
But When I Awaken I Must Be Mistaken I'm On Third Avenue
Won't You Take Me Away And Take Away Me
15 Namaste (04:01)
A butterfly floats on the breeze of a sun lit day
As I feel this reality gently fade away
Riding on a thought to see where it's from
Gliding through a memory of a time yet to come
Smoke paints the air
Swirling images through my mind
Like a whirlpool spin beginning to unwind
And I stand at the edge cautiously awaiting
As time slips by
Carefully navigating by the stars in the sky
And I sit
And I think to myself
And on the horizon the sun light begins to climb
And it seems like it's been so long since he shined
But I'm sure it was only yesterday
A cold chill of fear cut through me
I felt my heart contract
To my mind I brought the image of light
And I expanded out of it
My fear was just a shadow
And then I voice spoke in my head
And she said dark is not the opposite of light
It's the absence of light
And I thought to myself
She knows what she's talking about
And for a moment I know
What it was all about.
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