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PAUL'S BOUTIQUE is a sample-fest--a post-modern epic of cut and splice studio wizardry. Taking snippets of music from sources as disparate as Curtis Mayfield, The Beatles, B.D.P., The Ramones and The Jaws soundtrack (as well as countless others), they built songs out of the debris of modern culture. Over these mind-blowing tracks, they weaved tall tales, self-promotional proclamations and sheer non-sense into a singular vision of inspired lunacy. Besides Public Enemy, no one else was producing albums as complex as this. PAUL'S BOUTIQUE sounds two or three years ahead of its time, perhaps this is why the album was considered such a failure upon its release.
Whatever the case, there really is no album that sounds quite like this one does; the Beasties returned to the top of the charts a few years later with CHECK YOUR HEAD, but they may never be able to top the originality and depth of their stunning sophomore effort.
When The Beastie Boys hit platinum with their debut album, they were instantly labeled the Elvises of rap, accused of being just another bunch of white musicians stealing from black music. But what was overlooked was that the Beasties actually had some interesting ideas to take hip hop to new levels. While in the years to come other white rappers like Vanilla Ice and Jesse Jaymes would prove they were the true cultural thieves, the Beasties defended themselves by recording a seminal rap album, PAUL'S BOUTIQUE. The record was, in fact, so legit that it eroded their commercial appeal in middle America.
The Beastie Boys: Mike D, Ad-Rock, M.C.A.
Rolling Stone (p.72) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] high-water mark of hip-hop's golden age of sampling....PAUL'S BOUTIQUE became a dense, dizzying collision of lyrical references..."
Rolling Stone (4/11/02, p.105) - Ranked #5 in Rolling Stone's "50 Coolest Records" - "...Their accidental turn into great artists..."
Rolling Stone (12/11/03, p.134) - Ranked #156 in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" - "[I]t ambitiously stitches together song fragments in a way rarely seen before or since."
Rolling Stone (2/6/03, p.65) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...A celebration of American junk culture that is still blowing minds today - even fourteen years of obsessive listening can't exhaust all the musical and lyrical jokes crammed into PAUL'S BOUTIQUE..."
Spin (p.95) - "Dense, arty, and with enough production hijinks to fill a junkshop, it honored hip-hop history while predicting the future."
Q (1/95, p.268) - 3 Stars - Good - "...betters its Bud-spraying predecessor on all counts: slower, funkier, funnier more diverse in reference....there is upbeat fun...silliness...and brooding invention..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.118) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Put together on samplers with tiny memories, small fragments of staggeringly disparate musics drop in, then are snatched away abruptly; rhythms and melodies remain in focus as textures and sounds constantly shift."
Mojo (Publisher) (6/00, p.125) - "...An album which shredded the rulebook. From 'Psycho' to 'Superfly', from Sly Stone to Ringo's dope beats on SGT. PEPPER, there's so much going on here that it sounds like a compilation....one of the most inventive rap albums ever made."
NME (Magazine) (11/19/94, p.46) - 9 - Excellent Plus - "...Five years on from its release way back in August '89, [PAUL'S BOUTIQUE] is still an electrifying blast of cool....If you thought ILL COMMUNICATION was cool, check its younger incarnation..."
Pitchfork (Website) - "PAUL'S BOUTIQUE is a landmark in the art of sampling, a reinvention of a group that looked like it was heading for a gimmicky early dead-end, and a harbinger of the pop-culture obsessions and referential touchstones that would come to define the ensuing decades' postmodern identity..."
Record Collector (magazine) (p.79) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[M]usic that seemed to digest all that had gone before it....An astonishing coming of age document..."
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique Songs
Paul's Boutique Music Review
Average Rating: (4.7 out of 5 stars)    List All 7 Reviews The Best!!!
Adam, Adam, and Mike's best album of them all including the anthology! Such a variety of sounds and styles makes this one of the most underrated of all time. One of my personal top 5 cds.
Submitted by kool_moe_dee (Essex, IA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
Nothing wrong with my leg, I'm just B-Boy Limpin'
This is my favorite of all the Beastie Boys releases and most people (I'm not sure if I have ever met anyone who doesn't like the Beastie Boys I mean c'mmon now .... paleeease!) usually agree. In fact, ... personally, Paul's Boutique is one of, if not THE, most persistant album ever. It just amuses me over and over and over again. If you don't have it yet then I'm not sure what you are waiting for.
Submitted by petruzzi (Wallingford, CT)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No Daaaayyyummm
I've had the red tape for at least 10 years now, but my friend's car stereo almost ate it. What a relief that this album is on CD! As another reviewer put it, "To All the Girls" is the best song to wake up to. I set my alarm an hour early just so I can lay in bed and listen to the other songs. This album is so diverse - you can dance to it, chill to it, drive to it, sing it to your friends :) It instantly puts you in a good mood, and is the best album of all time, hands down.
Submitted by a reviewer (Seattle, WA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 0 of 1 found this helpful. the greatest ever
the first song on this cd is the best song to wake up to ever. this cd stays in my clock radio. I have either lost or broke this record about ten times, but i always have to it. the rest of the cd is great, too.Car Thief is one of the best songs ever.
Submitted by a reviewer (lavergne,tn) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 0 of 2 found this helpful.  miles davis commented on pauls boutique:
he claimed it was the only album he owned that he never got tired of listening to.
how about that for a review.
Submitted by robert (los angeles, ca.)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 0 of 2 found this helpful.
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