12 years, three studio albums, and an innumerable number of concerts later, the Beastie Boys have released what is quite likely thier finest album. Although they evolved beyond beer-swilling misogyny long ago, they haven't forgotten their sonic roots: "Hello Nasty" contains echos of the bass-n-beats style they brought to the masses. The odious punk blitzes and trippy musical meanderings of "Ill Communication" are conspicuously absent here, save a track or two. Also absent is the lyrical preaching; at one point MCA says you'll never see him in a commercial, but for the most part ! ! "Hello Nasty" is the Beastie Boys doing what they've always done best: talking about how great they are, waxing about world peace, and inserting nifty samples (courtesy of turntable phenom Mix Master Mike) into the mix. Think "Paul's Boutique" with a little "Check Your Head" thrown in for good measure.

"Hello Nasty" is 22 tracks' worth of great rap peppered by the occasional aural experiment. The Beasties have simply and effectively nullified the hype surrounding this album in one fell swoop; it is simultaneously behind and beyond all critical expectations.


my favorite of the beastie boys collection   November 24, 2004
B. Dunn (OH, USA)
9 out of 13 found this review helpful

I'm a relatively " late" beastie fan, because I only really started listening to them when this CD first came out. I decided to check it out because some of my friends were recommending them and Intergalactic had sounded pretty nice on the radio.

I was pleasantly rewarded when I indeed bought this album. Unlike some albums, it has A LOT of solid songs, and are all well-balanced. These guys can flow.

I then checked out their previous albums, which arent bad, but I still say this one is their best. (song-wise though, nothing tops Fight for your right and Sabatoge!!!).. But for total number of good songs on one CD, this one is up there.

Highly recommended.


Filler up   February 4, 2003
H3@+h (VT)
7 out of 11 found this review helpful

Everytime I listen to this, I can't help thinking how good "Check your head" and "Paul's Boutique" are. This is just not that solid. I'm all up for expierimentation, but the last half of this is just not that fun to listen to. There are numerous good rap tracks that remind me of their first 2 albums, but too much that simply does not satisfy what most B-Boy fans are looking for. If this could have been only 12-15 songs it would have come off much better. All the filler just drags this down from being really good, to really ok.


Downright crummy, and quite a letdown   March 19, 2003
D. Levy (New York, NY USA)
6 out of 23 found this review helpful

After the stunning trifecta of "Paul's Boutique", "Check Your Head", and "Ill Communication", the Beastie Boys released "Hello Nasty", which has almost no socially redeeming or musical value.

Musicianship, sonics, wit, humanitarian politics, obscure in-jokes, references to arcane sports figures, and just plain entertainment--all the hallmarks of the Beasties' best work--are notably absent from "Hello Nasty", replaced by generic turntablism, sophomoric social commentary, uglyass-sounding sonics... blech!


Could have been so much better   February 10, 2003
Jeff Beal (Schaumburg, IL United States)
5 out of 9 found this review helpful

The Beastie Boys, while remaining one the world's premiere acts, have never put released an album that can live up to their stance as hip-hop's thinking white boys. "Hello Nasty", in fact, takes a step forward and backward at the same time. Yes, they've progressed in terms of maturity, and this album is more strict hip-hop than anything in their output. However, the entire album has such a cut-and-paste feel that listening to it in one sitting proves nearly impossible. Interludes and vignettes appear between, and sometimes even within the tracks, distracting the listener from the album's real substance. Don't get the wrong impression; the Beastie's best material can be found here, like their best-ever single "Intergalctic", the wonderfully sampled "Unite", and the aptly titled "Flowin Prose". However, throw-away tracks like "Song for the Man" and "Dr. Lee PHD" are all too frequent. If it were more consistant, "Hello Nasty Would be the Brooklynn trio's testament to greatness. Unfortunately, though, in order for it to be a milestone, the skip button on the stereo needs to be employed a bit too often.