When
Hello
Nasty was released in 1999, I think it was the victim of heightened
expectations. Most fans liked it OK, but adjudged it a major letdown after
Check
Your Head and
Ill Communication. For me, it’s better than either of
its immediate predecessors and time has shown that it pointed the direction the
group would end up heading for the rest of their career. And more than that –
where
Check Your Head, to the delight of many fans, found the band
putting their dusty old instruments back in their hands to jam with the
inspired amateurism that’s the hallmark of punk rock, it also set them on the
wrong-headed idea that they could do no wrong as that rambling album became
noted as a landmark and a new direction. And it was a new direction, I suppose,
but it just wasn’t as good as what’s they’d done before.
Ill Communication
was a refinement of the ideas there and in some ways a move to break away from
Check
Your Head, but it wasn’t until they enlisted turntablist DJ Mixmaster Mike
and settled on a decidedly retro/electro sound for
Hello Nasty that the
group righted the drift of the last couple albums and put them back on par with
the denser, subtler work they essayed with
Paul’s Boutique.
For a
little enlightenment about the record, I would direct you past the songs that I
hope you already understand and enjoy - "Intergalactic" (and its
great video) and "Body Movin'" and "Three MC's and One DJ"
- to two other, subtler tracks that absolutely kill - "Flowin' Prose"
and the Lee 'Scratch' Perry feature "Dr. Lee, PhD" where the great
dub artist fits right in the varied, catchy picture (and also, probably joking,
calls them the Beastly Boys). Subtle is the key word for this album. Beyond
“Intergalactic” (which marks the last time the Boys were in the Billboard top
30), this album doesn’t jump out at you with a “Fight For Your Right to Party,”
a “Sabotage,” a “Hey Ladies.” It marks their move to a more mature sound and
style, even while keeping a youthful freshness to the proceedings. “Flowin’
Prose” does just what the title promises while “Dr. Lee, PhD” jokes back and
forth with Perry as peers, not students. Well, maybe T.A.’s in the Doctor’s
master class, but still, it’s not a one-sided collaboration by any means. Maybe
these two don't prove anything. Maybe the album's too long (though I can't find
a cut I would want nixed). Maybe people just still wanted that stand up bass
sound they had when they played at being a "live" band. Maybe I don't
know what people want. But I do know one thing for sure - this album works for
me from beginning to end. Throw it on, let the prose flows go, and you’re sure
to get the spirit. And unlike both
Check Your Head and
Ill
Communication before it, it doesn’t tail off at the end.
- Patrick Brown
When Hello
Nasty was released in 1999, I think it was the victim of heightened
expectations. Most fans liked it OK, but adjudged it a major letdown after Check
Your Head and Ill Communication. For me, it’s better than either of
its immediate predecessors and time has shown that it pointed the direction the
group would end up heading for the rest of their career. And more than that –
where Check Your Head, to the delight of many fans, found the band
putting their dusty old instruments back in their hands to jam with the
inspired amateurism that’s the hallmark of punk rock, it also set them on the
wrong-headed idea that they could do no wrong as that rambling album became
noted as a landmark and a new direction. And it was a new direction, I suppose,
but it just wasn’t as good as what’s they’d done before. Ill Communication
was a refinement of the ideas there and in some ways a move to break away from Check
Your Head, but it wasn’t until they enlisted turntablist DJ Mixmaster Mike
and settled on a decidedly retro/electro sound for Hello Nasty that the
group righted the drift of the last couple albums and put them back on par with
the denser, subtler work they essayed with Paul’s Boutique.
For a
little enlightenment about the record, I would direct you past the songs that I
hope you already understand and enjoy - "Intergalactic" (and its
great video) and "Body Movin'" and "Three MC's and One DJ"
- to two other, subtler tracks that absolutely kill - "Flowin' Prose"
and the Lee 'Scratch' Perry feature "Dr. Lee, PhD" where the great
dub artist fits right in the varied, catchy picture (and also, probably joking,
calls them the Beastly Boys). Subtle is the key word for this album. Beyond
“Intergalactic” (which marks the last time the Boys were in the Billboard top
30), this album doesn’t jump out at you with a “Fight For Your Right to Party,”
a “Sabotage,” a “Hey Ladies.” It marks their move to a more mature sound and
style, even while keeping a youthful freshness to the proceedings. “Flowin’
Prose” does just what the title promises while “Dr. Lee, PhD” jokes back and
forth with Perry as peers, not students. Well, maybe T.A.’s in the Doctor’s
master class, but still, it’s not a one-sided collaboration by any means. Maybe
these two don't prove anything. Maybe the album's too long (though I can't find
a cut I would want nixed). Maybe people just still wanted that stand up bass
sound they had when they played at being a "live" band. Maybe I don't
know what people want. But I do know one thing for sure - this album works for
me from beginning to end. Throw it on, let the prose flows go, and you’re sure
to get the spirit. And unlike both Check Your Head and Ill
Communication before it, it doesn’t tail off at the end.
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