Beastie Boys Book

Now here's a little story I've got to tell. Back when I was 14 in 1985 I first heard the "She's on it" 12" round my friend's house and that was it - I was hooked on the Beasties. I bought the 12" for myself that weekend, and it's a record I still have to this day 34 years later. Since that moment I've been a huge fan buying all the early singles, with the release of "Licence to Ill" being a huge moment for me back then. I was there for the infamous Brixton date in 1987 with the go-go dancers in the cage and the hydraulic 'thingy' and I'm slightly ashamed to admit that I was one of thousands up and down the country that stole a VW badge or two (the technique, dear reader, was to use the brake level on your bmx for leverage to get them off. Sorry VW owners in my hometown, I was young and stupid.) Fast forward a few decades and we come to the release of this book. I pre-ordered this to get it on the day of release and then sat it on my book shelf for a while as I had tickets for the "Live and Direct" tour and I wanted to hear the stories within it told firsthand initially before reading them in print. That live and direct date was an absolute delight from start to finish, equal parts funny as hell and moving when speaking about MCA, and a real highlight of recent times for me. It's also sad realising that I'd never get to experience them live again and that was as close as I would get. On to the book itself - I'll refrain form spoiling it too much but it's been years in the making and it really shows, it's a fantastic heavyweight tome full of moments of brilliance and you don't need to be a hardcore fan to appreciate it. There's some amazing photos in there and my only regret is that I'd have liked some sort of deluxe edition with larger glossy pages to really show them off - but hey, thought might well be prohibitively expensive. I suspect that everything will find something in here and the tales of excess are stupidity are a real delight. It's a big old book but one that's east to dip into. You'll find yourself dipping in for long periods a lot though - to paraphrase it's because you can't, you don't and you won't stop reading this book until you get to the end.

A pleasure to read from start to finish & very well written. Insightful, funny, educational, illuminating history of possibly one of the most influential bands EVER! A must for all fans & even those with just a mild interest, can’t wait to re-read it

Bought as a Xmas present for family and impressed by the promise of great stories from a groundbreaking band. Can't wait for him to receive it on Xmas day. Great care taken on the the product and a mammoth amount of pages

The level of detail, sense of humour, honesty and integrity blew me away. I've been a fan of the Beasties since the 90s mainly but had forgotten much of what they did, especially at the finer detail level. This book tells a personal account from the 2 remaining members, presents a fantastic, and funny, tribute to the late Adam Yauch and presents it in such an engaging and exciting way. Hats off to the designers on this one. This brought me back to street level and tuned me in once more to their skill, charm and amazing musical talent. Wish I had a signed copy, but you can't have everything!

Really enjoyed this, a wonderful story from the boys themselves from their early days to the sad passing of Adam Yauch, a must for any Beatie Boys fan

So far, I've just looked at the pictures cos I'm kinda busy but I'll dip into it for years to come

My son requested this book for Xmas, which was a surprise to me but he was thrilled with it!

This is unlike any other musician biography, I have read many and this is by far the most entertaining and I'm not even a huge fan of the band, the interplay between Mike D and Ad-Rock is pure comedy gold, visually too, the pictures, the layout really enhances the experience, one can only speculate at how much better it would have been if Yauch was still alive.

Awesome book for Beasties fans: full of interviews, photographs and artwork. It's pretty thick and is good for a substantial cover-to-cover read or just a quick flick through. If you like the band I can't imagine you wouldn't enjoy the book.

La biblia de los beastie boys. Si eres fan, es para ti

Cumple mis expectativas

Fantastico, un libro emozionante e divertente, pieno di aneddoti e foto inedite del gruppo.

Excellent book!