Paul's Boutique

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Paul's Boutique
Paul's Boutique cover
Studio album by Beastie Boys
Released July 25, 1989
Genre Hip hop
Length 53:03
Label Capitol Records
Producer Dust Brothers
Mario Caldato Jr.
Professional reviews
Beastie Boys chronology
Licensed to Ill
(1986)		 Paul's Boutique
(1989)		 Check Your Head
(1992)

Paul's Boutique is the second album by American rap group the Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989.

The Beastie Boys' previous album, Licensed to Ill, had been enormously popular and received critical acclaim among both mainstream and hip hop critics, although its simple, heavy beats and comically juvenile lyrics caused it to be labeled as "frat rap".

Contents

[edit] Album information

Paul's Boutique was initially considered a commercial failure by the executives at Capitol Records, as its sales did not match that of their previous record, and Capitol eventually pulled the plug on promotion of the album. Despite this, it gained a cult following in the years after its release and became known as their artistic breakthrough.

Highly varied lyrically and sonically, the album secured the Beastie Boys' place as critical favorites in the nascent field of popular hip hop.

[edit] Production

Paul's Boutique was produced by the Dust Brothers, whose extensive, innovative use of sampling helped establish the practice of multi-layered sampling as an art in itself. In total, 105 songs are sampled on the album, including 24 individual samples on the last track alone. The musical backing tracks were allegedly initially produced with the intention to be released under the production team's name, but the Beastie Boys convinced the duo to use their prospective debut album as the basis for Paul's Boutique.[citation needed] The sampling on the album was uncleared, which was only possible back before the landmark lawsuit against Biz Markie by Gilbert O'Sullivan, which changed the face of hip hop sampling. It has been said that Paul's Boutique would be considered a too cost-prohibitive and risky album to produce in today's music industry climate.[1]

Some B-sides of Paul's Boutique are "Some Dumb Cop Gave Me 2 Tickets Already," "And What You Give is What You Get," "Caught in the Middle of a 3-Way Mix," "Your Sister's Def," "33% God" and "Dis Yourself in '89 (Just Do It)." The latter two compositions are also bonus tracks on the Japanese version of the CD.[2]

[edit] Reception and accolades

In a late-1990s VIBE interview of all three Beastie Boys, with the group displayed on the cover, Chuck D of Public Enemy was quoted as saying that the "dirty secret" among the black hip-hop community at the time of release was that "Paul's Boutique had the best beats."

During the same VIBE interview, Mike D was asked about any possible hesitation he or the band might have had regarding their overt "sampling" of several minutes of well-known Beatles background tracks. He claimed that the Beatles filed preliminary legal papers, and that his response was "What's cooler than getting sued by the Beatles?"

[edit] Artwork

The cover folds out to show an (almost) 360° panoramic view as seen from the corner of Ludlow and Rivington streets. As can be seen by the keen eye in the cover and sleeve art, the address that is supposed to be 'Paul's Boutique' (but can clearly be identified as Lee's Sportswear by the top sign) is on [1]99 Rivington St., where Rivington intersects Ludlow in New York City's Lower East Side. The 'Paul's Boutique' sign was hung on the building specifically for the cover photo shoot. Until early 2007, in this building was an eatery named 'Paul's Boutique' in honor of the album. It is now called 'Three Monkeys' and a new bar has opened across the street, called 'Spitzer's Corner.'

[edit] Track listing

  1. "To All the Girls" – 1:29
  2. "Shake Your Rump" – 3:19
  3. "Johnny Ryall" – 3:00
  4. "Egg Man" – 2:57
  5. "High Plains Drifter" – 4:13
  6. "The Sounds of Science" – 3:11
  7. "3-Minute Rule" – 3:39
  8. "Hey Ladies" – 3:47
  9. "5-Piece Chicken Dinner" – 0:23
  10. "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" – 3:28
  11. "Car Thief" – 3:39
  12. "What Comes Around" – 3:07
  13. "Shadrach" – 4:07
  14. "Ask for Janice" – 0:11
  15. "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" – 12:33

[edit] Japanese Bonus Tracks

  1. "33% God" (Japanese CD release)
  2. "Dis Yourself In '89 (Just Do It) (Japanese CD release)

[edit] Personnel

  • Beastie Boys - Producer
  • Allen Abrahamson - Assistant Engineer
  • Mario Caldato, Jr. - Producer, Engineer
  • Mike Simpson - Ensemble
  • The Dust Brothers - Producer
  • Matt Dike - Ensemble
  • Ricky Powel - Photography
  • Jeremy Shatan - Photography
  • Nathaniel Hörnblower - Photography
  • Dominick Watkins - Photography

[edit] Chart positions

[edit] Album

Year Chart Position
1989 The Billboard 200 14
1989 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 24

[edit] Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1989 Hey Ladies The Billboard Hot 100 36
1989 Hey Ladies Hot Rap Singles 10
1989 Hey Ladies Modern Rock Tracks 18

[edit] Samples list

The following lists all 105 songs and sounds sampled for Paul's Boutique.

To All the Girls

Shake Your Rump

Johnny Ryall

Egg Man

High Plains Drifter

The Sounds of Science

3-Minute Rule

  • "Feel Good" by Fancy
  • "Brave and Strong", & "Poet" by Sly & the Family Stone

Hey Ladies

5-Piece Chicken Dinner

Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun

  • "Time" by Pink Floyd
  • "Mississippi Queen" by Mountain
  • "Last Bongo in Belgium" by the Incredible Bongo Band
  • This track is the only track on the album to feature live instrumentation in the form of electric guitar played by Adam Horovitz, and bass played by Adam Yauch, as seen in the music video for this track.

Car Thief

What Comes Around

Shadrach

  • "Say What" by Trouble Funk
  • "That's the Joint" by Funky 4+1
  • "Do Your Dance" by Rose Royce
  • "Never Let 'Em Say" by Ballin' Jack
  • "Funky Drummer" by James Brown
  • "Hot and Nasty" by Black Oak Arkansas
  • "Sugarhill Groove" by the Sugarhill Gang
  • "Loose Booty" by Sly & the Family Stone

Ask for Janice

  • Ad from a Jamaican music show on a New York radio station

B-Boy Bouillabaisse

01. 59 Chrystie Street

02. Get on the Mic

03. Stop That Train

04. Year and a Day

05. Hello Brooklyn

06. Dropping Names

07. Lay It on Me

  • "Let the Music Take Your Mind" by Kool & the Gang

08. Mike on the Mic

  • "At the Fever" by Lovebug Starski

09. A.W.O.L.

  • "Good Times" by Chic
  • "Good to Go" by Trouble Funk
  • "Loran's Dance" by Idris Muhammad

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ White rappers
  2. ^ Info about the Japanese release on Amazon Japan
  3. ^ Chris Rock's 25 Hip Hop Albums
  4. ^ TIME.com - The All-TIME 100 Albums

[edit] External links

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Beastie Boys
Mike D · Adrock · MCA
Studio albums
Other albums
Singles
Producers
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