Sure Shot

by The Beastie Boys

~ A flute? Yes, a g-d flute ~

People forget how groundbreaking the Beasties were. Sure, some drunk idiot wearing his frat pin at 53 is going to talk about the crunchy metal guitars on their debut, but that’s because he didn’t know about all the samples & cuts they pulled in from everywhere they could on Paul’s Boutique. To say there’ll never be another album like it is no exaggeration: they changed the copyright laws after it was recorded and it would be insanely, prohibitively expensive to ever consider making a record like that again.

So they pivoted — again — and started playing more of their own instruments, like the churning bass on “Sabotage”. On this album, they ended up blending a bunch of ‘70s-style synthesizer sounds with some ’80s club beats on a live drum kit. There’s some stray guitar here & there and the usual rolling basslines, but there’s also off-the-wall instruments throughout the album, which is how you get one of the catchiest hip hop riffs of all time being played on a flute. Yes, a g-d flute.

Originally published at http://www.sixdegreesofradio.com on September 28, 2020.

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