Paul's Boutique

Infobox Album
Name = Paul's Boutique
Type = Album
Artist = Beastie Boys


Released = July 25, 1989
Recorded = 1988–1989
Mario G's
(Los Angeles, California)
The Opium Den
The Record Plant
(New York, New York)
Genre = Alternative hip hop
Length = 53:03
Label = Capitol
C1-92844
Producer = Dust Brothers
Mario Caldato Jr.
Reviews =
*Allmusic rating|5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Apr1m964o3ep6 link]
*Review-Christgau|album=3479|A
*"Music City" (favorable) [http://www.music-city.org/Beastie-Boys/Paul&039;s-Boutique-1167/ link]
*"MusicHound" Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A759.htm link]
*"NME" Rating|9|10 [http://www.tower.com/pauls-boutique-beastie-boys-cd/wapi/106067946 link]
*"Q" Rating|4|5 [http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=10894 link]
*RapReviews rating|10|10 [http://www.rapreviews.com/archive/BTTL_paulsbot.html link]
*"Rolling Stone" rating|4|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/117996/review/5942329/paulsboutique 1989]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|5|5 [http://www.tower.com/pauls-boutique-beastie-boys-cd/wapi/106067946 2003]
*"Spin" Rating|10|10 [http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A759.htm link]
*Yahoo! Music (favorable) [http://music.yahoo.com/release/151988 link]
Last album = "Licensed to Ill"
(1986)
This album = "Paul's Boutique"
(1989)
Next album = "Check Your Head"
(1992)

"Paul's Boutique" is the second studio album by hip hop group Beastie Boys, released July 25, 1989 on Capitol Records. Featuring production by the Dust Brothers, recording sessions for the album took place at Mario G's Studio in Los Angeles and The Opium Den in Brooklyn, New York from 1988 to 1989, after which the recordings underwent audio mixing at the Manhattan-based Record Plant Studios.

"Paul's Boutique" was initially considered a commercial failure by the executives at Capitol Records, as its sales did not match that of the group's previous record, and the label eventually decided to stop promoting the album. Despite this, however, it gained a cult following in the years following its release and became known as their artistic breakthrough. Highly varied lyrically and sonically, "Paul's Boutique" secured the Beastie Boys's place as critical favorites in the nascent field of popular hip hop and has been recognized by many as the group's magnum opus. [ [http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS281US281&q=Paul%27s+Boutique+opus Paul's Boutique opus - Google Search] ] The album's rankings near the top of many publications' "best albums" lists in disparate genres has given "Paul's Boutique" critical recognition as a landmark album in hip hop. [http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A759.htm Acclaimed Music - Paul's Boutique] ] RS500|156cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6599020/156_pauls_boutique |title=156) Paul's Boutique : Rolling Stone |publisher=Rolling Stone |accessdate=2008-08-25] On January 27, 1999, "Paul's Boutique" was certified double platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America. [http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS RIAA Searchable Database - Beastie Boys] . Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on 2008-08-26.]

Conception

Derided as one-hit wonders and estranged from their original producer, Rick Rubin, and record label, Def Jam, the Beastie Boys were in self-imposed exile in Los Angeles during early 1988 and were written off by most music critics before even beginning to record their second studio album, "Paul's Boutique". Following the commercial success of "Licensed to Ill", the Beastie Boys were focusing on making an album with more creative depth and less commercial material. The group's previous album had been enormously popular and received critical acclaim among both mainstream and hip hop music critics, although its simple, heavy beats and comically juvenile lyrics led it to be labeled as "frat rap". Recorded for Capitol Records, "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. While the Dust Brothers were set on making a hit record, they agreed with the group on producing a more experimental and sonically-different record. In total, 105 songs were sampled on the album, including 24 individual samples on the last track, alone. The backing tracks were allegedly produced with the intention of being released under the production team's name, but the Beastie Boys convinced the duo to use their prospective debut studio album, "Licensed to Ill", as the basis for their sophomore effort. The sampling for "Paul's Boutique" was uncleared, which was only possible during before Grand Upright Music, Ltd. v. Warner Bros. Records, Inc., the landmark lawsuit against Biz Markie by Gilbert O'Sullivan, which changed the process and future of hip hop sampling.

All of the songs for "Paul's Boutique" were recorded at Mario G's Studio in Los Angeles, [ [http://www.discogs.com/release/1405831 Discogs.com - Paul's Boutique (1989 LP)] ] with the exception of "Hello Brooklyn". The fifth part to the album's finale suite "B-Boy Bouillabaisse", the song was recorded at the apartment building of Beastie Boy-member Adam Yauch, aka MCA, in Brooklyn, New York. The location of recording was credited in the album liner notes as The Opium Den. [http://books.google.com/books?id=zou4D6wYjwkC&pg=PA106&vq=opium+den&dq=chuck+d+paul's+boutique&source=gbs_search_s&sig=ACfU3U12bmzbX8clAeG1Kn5mlg8X5icnnA#PPA106,M1 Google Book Search: Paul's Boutique.... - pp. 100-106] ] The recordings for "Paul's Boutique" were later mixed by Mario Caldato, Jr. at Record Plant Studios in New York City.

The album cover folds out to show an (almost) 360° panoramic view as seen from the corner of the Ludlow and Rivington streets. As can be seen by the keen eye in the cover and album 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 99 Rivington Street, where Rivington intersects Ludlow in Manhattan's Lower East Side [http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=99+Rivington+St&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=25.897616,82.265625&ie=UTF8&ll=40.720024,-73.988234&spn=0.000927,0.002511&t=h&z=19&om=1 (see street view of intersection)] . The "Paul's Boutique" awning sign was hung on the building specifically for the cover photo shoot. Until early 2007, the building contained an eatery inside named 'Paul's Boutique' in honor of the album. It has been renamed as 'Three Monkeys' and a new bar was opened across the street, called 'Spitzer's Corner'.

Reception

Upon initial release, "Paul's Boutique" was alienated commercially for its experimental and dense sampling and lyricism, in contrast to the Beastie Boys's previous album, "Licensed to Ill". [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Apr1m964o3ep6 allmusic - Album Overview] ] Music critic David Handelman called the record a "rap opera." While major music publications such as "Rolling Stone" favored the album's unique name-dropping lyrics and the album peaked at #14 on the Pop Albums chart, "Paul's Boutique" did not equal its predecessor's commercial success with hip hop fans, as it only peaked at #24 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0pfwxqy5ldse~T30 allmusic - Album & singles charts] ] The album received a gold certification by the RIAA on September 22 of its release year. "Paul's Boutique" would go on to sell over 2 million copies by 1999. In retrospect, the album has also gone on to receive much critical acclaim and has been recognized as a landmark album in hip hop. In a review of the album for Allmusic.com, contributor Stephen Thomas Erlewine summed the initial reaction to "Paul's Boutique" and praised the density that the album contains:

Later in a "VIBE" interview of all three Beastie Boys, 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." [ [http://www.twelvebar.com/astorytotell/2007/01/shake-shake-shake-shake-your-boutique.html Twelve Bar - A Story To Tell: Shake, Shake, Shake. Shake your Boutique] ] 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, including the song "Back in the USSR" on "The Sounds of Science". He claimed that the Beatles filed preliminary legal papers, and that his response was "What's cooler than getting sued by the Beatles?" [ [http://www.beastiemania.com/songspotlight/show.php?s=soundsofscience BeastieMania.com - Song Spotlight] ]

Awards and accolades

List of the album's rankings and listings on selected publications and top album lists: [ [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/feature/36736-top-100-albums-of-the-1980s The list at Pitchfork Media] ] [ [http://rateyourmusic.com/list/tha_flu/chris_rocks_top_25_hip_hop_albums Chris Rock's 25 Hip Hop Albums] ] [ [http://www.time.com/time/2006/100albums/index.html "TIME.com" - The All-TIME 100 Albums] ]

*Ranked #37 on "Blender's" "The 100 Greatest American Albums of All Time"
*Ranked #2 on "Ego Trip"'s "Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year (1980-1998)"
*Ranked #156 on "Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"
*Ranked #12 on "Spin's" "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005"
*Ranked #74 on VH1's "Top 100 Albums"
*Ranked #98 on "Q's" "Q Magazine Readers' 100 Greatest Albums Ever"
*Ranked #3 on Pitchfork Media's "Top 100 Albums of the 1980s"
*Ranked #8 on Chris Rock's list of the "Top 25 Hip-Hop Albums"
*Selected as one of "Rolling Stone" magazine's "The Essential 200 Rock Records"
*Selected as one of The Source magazine's "100 Best Rap Albums"
*Selected as one of "TIME" magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of All TIME".

Track listing

"All songs written by the Beastie Boys and the Dust Brothers." [ [http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?pid=1007&aid=351135 Billboard.com - Discography - Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique] ]

ide one

# "To All the Girls" – 1:29
# "Shake Your Rump" – 3:19
# "Johnny Ryall" – 3:00
# "Egg Man" – 2:57
# "High Plains Drifter" – 4:13
# "The Sounds of Science" – 3:11
# "3-Minute Rule" – 3:39
# "Hey Ladies" – 3:47

ide two

# "5-Piece Chicken Dinner" – 0:23
# "Looking Down the Barrel of a Gun" – 3:28
# "Car Thief" – 3:39
# "What Comes Around" – 3:07
# "Shadrach" – 4:07
# "Ask for Janice" – 0:11
# "B-Boy Bouillabaisse" – 12:33
#* "59 Chrystie Street"
#* "Get on the Mic"
#* "Stop That Train"
#* "Year and a Day"
#* "Hello Brooklyn"
#* "Dropping Names"
#* "Lay It on Me"
#* "Mike on the Mic"
#* "A.W.O.L."

Bonus tracks

"Japanese CD release bonus cuts." [ [http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B000005JUQ Info about the Japanese release on Amazon Japan] ]
# "33% God"
# "Dis Yourself In '89 (Just Do It)

Chart history

Album

ingles

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

amples list

The following lists all 105 songs and sounds sampled for "Paul's Boutique". [ [http://www.the-breaks.com/search.php?term=Beastie+Boys&type=6 www.the-breaks.com, AKA The (Rap) Sample FAQ - Search: Beastie Boys] ]

;To All the Girls

*"Loran's Dance" by Idris Muhammad

;Shake Your Rump

* "That's the Joint" by Funky 4+1
* "Cut the Cake" by Average White Band
* "8th Wonder" by the Sugarhill Gang
* "Jazzy Sensation" by Afrika Bambaataa
* "Good Times Bad Times" by Led Zeppelin
* "Dancing Room Only" by Harvey Scales
* "Funky Snakefoot" by Alphonze Mouzon
* "Tell Me Something Good" by Ronnie Laws
* "Unity" by James Brown and Afrika Bambaataa
* "Get the Funk Out Ma Face" - Brothers Johnson
* "6 O'Clock DJ (Let's Rock)", "Born to Love You", & "Yo Yo" by Rose Royce
* "Super Mellow", by Paul Humphrey, Willie Bobo, Shelly Manne, & Louis Bellson

;Johnny Ryall
*"AJ Scratch" by Kurtis Blow
*"Sharon" by David Bromberg
*"Mr. Big Stuff" by Jean Knight
*"One of These Days" by Pink Floyd
*"Momma Miss America" by Paul McCartney
*"Magnificent Sanctuary Band" by Donny Hathaway
*"Military Cut (Scratch Mix)" by DJ Grand Wizard Theodore
*"(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)", & "The New Style" by the Beastie Boys

;Egg Man

*"Aliens"
*"Sport" by Lightnin' Rod
*"Superfly" by Curtis Mayfield
*"Pump it Up" by Elvis Costello
*"Cheech & Chong's Next Movie"
*"Jaws Theme" by John Williams
*"I'm Ready" by The Commodores
*"Shower Theme" by Bernard Hermann
*"Drop it in the Slot" by Tower of Power
*"Dance to the Music" by Sly & the Family Stone
*"Bring the Noise" & "You're Gonna Get Yours" by Public Enemy
* The lyrics in the song's middle eight (starting with "We all dressed in black...") are interpolated from the Beastie Boys' earlier punk rock song "Egg Raid On Mojo."

;High Plains Drifter

*"Those Shoes" by The Eagles
*"Suzy Is a Headbanger" by The Ramones
*"Your Momma Don't Dance" by Loggins & Messina
*"Put Your Love (In My Tender Care)" by The Fatback Band

;The Sounds of Science

*"Don't Sniff Coke" by Pato Banton
*"Walk from Regio's" by Isaac Hayes
*"My Philosophy" by Boogie Down Productions
*"Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" by James Brown
*"Back in the USSR", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)", "The End", & "When I'm Sixty-Four" by The Beatles

;3-Minute Rule

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

;Hey Ladies

*"Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet
*"Party Time" by Kurtis Blow
*"Holy Ghost" by the Bar-Kays
*"Shake Your Pants" by Cameo
*"Pumpin' It Up" by P-Funk All Stars
*"Jungle Boogie" by Kool & the Gang
*"Machine Gun" by The Commodores
*"Jazzy Sensation" by Afrika Bambaataa
*"Change Le Beat/B-Side" by Fab 5 Freddy
*"Come Let Me Love You" by Jeanette "Lady" Day
*"Heartbreaker", & "So Ruff, So Tuff" by Zapp & Roger
*"Ain't It Funky Now", & "Funky President" by James Brown
*"Hey DJ" by Malcolm McLaren & the World Famous Supreme Team
*"High Powered Rap" by Disco Dave & the Force of the Five MC's (Crash Crew)

;5-Piece Chicken Dinner

*"Shuckin' the Corn" by Eric Weissberg

;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

*"Hurdy Gurdy Man" by Donovan
*"I'll Bet You" by Jackson 5
*"Woodstock" (Max Yasgur speech)
*"Drop the Bomb" by Trouble Funk
*"Rien Ne Va Plus" by Funk Factory

;What Comes Around

*"Moby Dick" by Led Zeppelin
*"It's Hot Tonight" by Alice Cooper
*"Put on Train" by Gene Harris & The Three Sounds

;Shadrach

*"Say What" by Trouble Funk
*"Catch A Groove" by Juice
*"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

;59 Chrystie Street

*"Here We Go" (Live) by Run-DMC
*"Rocket in the Pocket" by Cerrone
*"Buffalo Girls" by Malcolm McLaren
*"Burundi Black (Pt. 2)" by Burundi Black
*"Are You Experienced?" by Jimi Hendrix
*"Change Le Beat/B-Side" by Fab 5 Freddy
*"My Philosophy" by Boogie Down Productions

;Get on the Mic;

*"At the Fever" by Lovebug Starski

;Stop That Train

*"Draw Your Brakes" by Scotty
*"Save the World" by Southside Movement

;Year and a Day

*"Ebony Jam" by Tower of Power
*"When the Levee Breaks" by Led Zeppelin
*"That Lady, Pt. 1 & 2" by The Isley Brothers
*"High Powered Rap" by Disco Dave & the Force of the Five MC's (Crash Crew)

;Hello Brooklyn

*"Breathe" by Pink Floyd
*"Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash

;Dropping Names

*Bob Marley interview.
*"Into the Night" by Sweet
*"Hey Pocky A-Way" by The Meters
*"The Well's Gone Dry" by The Crusaders

;Lay It on Me

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

;Mike on the Mic

*Lloyd Lindsay Young quote.
*"At the Fever" by Lovebug Starski

;A.W.O.L.

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

Notes

External links

* [http://paulsboutique.info/ "Paul's Boutique" Samples and Reference List]
* [http://aol.musicnow.com/az/playlist.jhtml?id=1177221 "Paul's Boutique" Sample Vault Playlist on AOL Music Now]
* [http://beastieboysannotated.com/paul.htm Annotated lyrics to "Paul's Boutique"]
* [http://www.sklar.com/page/article/shadrach A Postmodern Analysis of Beastie Boys' "Shadrach"]
* [http://www.beastiemuseum.de/services/thepbc The "Paul's Boutique" Corner]