My cousin said it best: "This is the perfect album. You can play it for any occasion. It's got soul if you just want to hang with your friends and talk, it's got groove if you want to put it on during a hoppin party, and it's got funk if you want to be alone with your girl in the bedroom. I play this disc more than any other." Amen, cous.

"In Sound" is a album of all instrumental music from the Beastie Boys. Part funk, part bluesy jazz, and part Beasties experimentation, it's all good. There's a track with some Tibetan monk chanting, some vaguely Zepplin tracks, and mostly funky hip-hop. It's got this "secret recording" feeling to it, because the album seemed to slip under the radar of many beastie fans. I was suprised at the musicianship of these guys, as its way better than anything they've done before. Check it.

An Album that was released only in France via their Beastie Boys club, finally gets to play to a wider audience. This is a purely instrumental album that culls some of the dynamic instrumentation & Stylistic diversity found on the Beastie's albums (especially "Paul's Boutique" & "Check your Head" albums). In actual fact, there's very little in the way of traditional Hip-Hop to be found here, as Gritty Funk and loose soul grooves make up much of the running order here. If most Hip-Hop acts could put together something as Elaborately funky or as jazzily sophisticated as "Namaste", "Groove Holmes" or "Rickys Theme" more people would seek out instrumental versions of their favourite albums. This bear in mind is all the more impressive by the fact that the beastie boys actually play their own instruments (one would assume with the help of session players). For people that like funk/ Groovy Soul or actually occasionally purchase instrumental albums, this purchase is a no brainer....because it's a fantastically realised album showing the beastie boys albums were built on a strong sonic foundation. For those unsure (like I was for a brief period before contemplating buying this) dig out your old beastie boys records (more specifically "Paul's Boutique / Check your Head"),and listen to some of your favourite tracks.....could you handle listening to them without the vocals???, your answer should make the decision as to whether or not to buy the album much easier.

from the start you should know that i essentially hate the beastie boys -- they started out when i was a college dj in the 80's and i thought of them then as i do now ... they're a joke that i *do* get, i just don't think it's funny ... not to mention that the last thing i want is a bunch of rich white kids rappin' at me ... but in some ways i guess my hatred of them makes this review even more sincere ...

this album, however, is a jewel.

money mark is all over this thing like white on rice and it just oozes funky coolness. you could say it sounds a little like if curtis mayfield had done porn soundtracks in the 70's. smooth, funky, cool with a nice soulful edge. completists will buy it anyway, but if you dig instrumental grooves, this disc is a must-have.

also, i saw a recommendation for the perrey and kingsley album of the same title ("in addition to this cd") -- THAT would be a mistake. this album is only about 100 times better than that one, and although i guess you could say that it pays some sort of homage -- the burps bleeps and blats on that thing are not nearly as cool as what the beasties have here.

if only more of their records were like this ...

Amaze your non-Beastie fan friends with this one -- not a rapper to be found anywhere (well, at least not with a mic in his hand)!

This tremendous disc compiles the various funk- and jazz- inspired grooves that crept onto the Beasties' releases starting around "Check Your Head". These are uniformly inspired tracks -- no filler here -- as each benefits in one way or another from the significant talents of Money Mark, Eric Bobo, and Mario Caldato, Jr.

Unlike most compilations, the tracks hang together so well here that you'd think you were listening to a reissue from some forgotten jazz/funk masters from the Seventies -- a joke which is not lost on the Boys from the look of its great faux vintage "sleeve" art.

A real (fake) rare groove treat!

A friend of mine said "this kind of music makes you feel supa-cool just listening to it". It does, who da thunk dirty funk from the old B-boys? You can always feel the groove ability they have on thier more mainstream albums, but I didn't know they had instrumental ability. These songs have the click, structure, feel, and clarity of smoke-filled studio room jazz funk. Each song cycling and varying around a smooth, kool repeating theme of its own. Some songs do flow into a jam feel. Its a fine cd, the songs are short, but I think thats what the boys were going for...old school defined jazz on the dirty funk tip, not out of control, just kool and funky.