To the 5 Boroughs
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| To the 5 Boroughs | ||||
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| Studio album by Beastie Boys | ||||
| Released | June 15, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2002 - 2004 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop, alternative hip hop | |||
| Length | 44:37 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Beastie Boys | |||
| Beastie Boys chronology | ||||
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To the 5 Boroughs is the sixth studio album by the Beastie Boys. The album was released on June 14, 2004 internationally, and a day later in the United States. The album debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 with 360,000 copies sold in its first week. To the 5 Boroughs was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 47th Grammy Awards,[1] losing to Kanye West's The College Dropout.[2]
Contents |
Significance [edit]
- Their single "Ch-Check It Out" debuted on The O.C. in "The Strip" from Season 1, airing on April 28, 2004.[3]
- This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.
- The album was the cause of some controversy with allegations that it installed spyware when inserted into the CD-ROM of a computer.[4] The band has denied this allegation saying there is no copy protection software on the albums sold in the U.S. and in the U.K. While there is Macrovision's CDS-200 copy protection software installed on European copies of the album this is standard practice for all European releases on EMI/Capitol Records released in Europe and it does not install spyware or any form of permanent software.[5]
- The album is the first time the Beastie Boys did not work with a co-producer and the second album to feature Mix Master Mike.
- As the Beastie Boys were included in the game NBA Street V3, the track "An Open Letter to NYC" was included in its soundtrack.
- To the 5 Boroughs has two main themes — a tribute to their home town New York after the September 11 terrorist attacks (although, notably, the Twin Towers are on the cover drawing) and a criticism of George W. Bush's presidency.
- "An Open Letter to NYC" is built around a sample from the track "Sonic Reducer" by the punk band The Dead Boys from their 1977 album Young, Loud and Snotty.
Critical reaction [edit]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 71/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [7] |
| Robert Christgau | A−[8] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[9] |
| IGN | 8.5/10[10] |
| New York Times | mixed[11] |
| NME | 8/10[12] |
| Pitchfork Media | 7.9/10[13] |
| PopMatters | favorable[14] |
| RapReviews | 6.5/10[15] |
| Rolling Stone | [16] |
| Slant Magazine | [17] |
| The Village Voice | unfavorable[18] |
The album was met with positive reviews, with an aggregated score of 71 on Metacritic.[6] Playlouder said "To the 5 Boroughs is a triumph."[19] Rolling Stone said "To the 5 Boroughs is an exciting, astonishing balancing act: fast, funny and sobering."[16] Jason Thompson of PopMatters called To the 5 Boroughs "their best album since Paul's Boutique".[14] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "The beats are[...] simple and effective, with a welcome lack of bells and whistles that made Hello Nasty so distracting."[9] Allmusic said: "It's rather impressive that they're maturing gracefully turning into expert craftsmen who can deliver a satisfying listen like this".[7] The NME said: "Like Missy Elliott, the Beasties are re-examining hip hop — what it was, what it is, what it can be".[12] The Onion AV Club said: "With To the 5 Boroughs Beastie boys discover a musical entryway to an earlier, more innocent era, affording listeners the exuberance of youth together with the hard-won wisdom that can only come with experience.[20] E! Online rated the album as a B- saying it was "fun but hardly fresh.[21]
Track listing [edit]
- "Ch-Check It Out" – 3:12
- "Right Right Now Now" – 2:46
- "3 the Hard Way" – 2:48
- "Time to Build" – 3:11
- "Rhyme the Rhyme Well" – 2:47
- "Triple Trouble" – 2:43
- "Hey Fuck You" – 2:21
- "Oh Word?" – 2:59
- "That's It That's All" – 2:28
- "All Lifestyles" – 2:33
- "Shazam!" – 2:26
- "An Open Letter to NYC" – 4:18
- "Crawlspace" – 2:53
- "The Brouhaha" – 2:13
- "We Got The" – 2:27
- "Now Get Busy" – 2:25 Japanese bonus track
- Enhanced CD bonus
- "Rhyme The Rhyme Well" - Music Video
Australian 2CD Tour Edition [edit]
- "An Open Letter to NYC"
- "Rizzle Rizzle Nizzle Nizzle" (Remix for "Right Right Now Now")
- "MTL Reppin for the 514" (Remix for "Right Right Now Now")
- "Sabotage" (live)
- "Brr Stick Em"
Singles [edit]
- "Ch-Check It Out", released in May 2004
- United States: The song debuted April 28 on the iTunes Store.
- "Triple Trouble", released in July 2004
- United States: Played by world premiere from the Los Angeles, California station KROQ-FM and other stations.
- United Kingdom: Played by world premiere from BBC Radio 1 and other stations.
- "Right Right Now Now"
- United States: The song was first played by KNDD and KROQ-FM in September.
- "An Open Letter to NYC"
- United Kingdom: Charted at #38 in December 2004.
Chart positions [edit]
Album [edit]
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Billboard 200 | #1 |
| 2004 | European Album Chart | #1 |
| 2004 | Top Internet Albums | #1 |
| 2004 | Top Canadian Albums | #1 |
| 2004 | Top Hip-Hop/R&B Albums | #1 |
| 2004 | UK Albums Chart | #2 |
Singles [edit]
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | "Ch-Check It Out" | Billboard Hot 100 | #68 |
| 2004 | "Ch-Check It Out" | Modern Rock Tracks | #1 |
| 2004 | "Ch-Check It Out" | Canadian Singles Chart | #1 |
| 2004 | "Triple Trouble" | Modern Rock Tracks | #11 |
| 2005 | "An Open Letter to NYC" | UK | #38 |
References [edit]
- ^ Grammy Award Nominees. Retrieved on 2011.05.10.
- ^ Grammy Award Winners. Retrieved on 2011.05.10.
- ^ Yahoo Launch News Story
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Official Merchandise Store". Beastie Boys. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ a b "To The 5 Boroughs Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "To the 5 Boroughs review - Beastie Boys". Allmusic. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "To the 5 Boroughs review - Beastie Boys". Robert Christgau. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- ^ a b Sinclair, Tom (June 18, 2004). "To The 5 Boroughs Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
- ^ Gilchrist, Todd. "To the 5 Boroughs review - Beastie Boys". IGN. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (June 14, 2004). "To the 5 Boroughs review - Beastie Boys". New York Times. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
- ^ a b "NME Album Reviews - Beastie Boys : To The 5 Boroughs". Nme.Com. 2004-07-07. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ DiCrescenzo, Brent. "To the 5 Boroughs review - Beastie Boys". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- ^ a b Thompson, Jason. "To the 5 Boroughs review - Beastie Boys". PopMatters. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
- ^ Juon, Steve. "To the 5 Boroughs review - Beastie Boys". RapReviews. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- ^ a b Fricke, David (2008-07-09). "To The 5 Boroughs | Album Reviews". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ Henderson, Eric. "To the 5 Boroughs review - Beastie Boys". Slant Magazine. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
- ^ Caramanica, Jon. "To the 5 Boroughs review - Beastie Boys". Village Voice. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
- ^ "Playlouder MSP Music Service". Playlouder.com. Retrieved 2012-03-12.
- ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20040820010450/http://www.theonionavclub.com/review.php?review_id=7569
- ^ [2][dead link]
External links [edit]
| Preceded by Contraband by Velvet Revolver |
Billboard 200 number-one album June 27, 2004 - July 3, 2004 |
Succeeded by Kiss of Death by Jadakiss |
| Preceded by Under My Skin by Avril Lavigne |
European Album Chart number one July 3–9, 2004 |
Succeeded by Once by Nightwish |
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