• Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Jun 15, 2004
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 75 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 75
  2. Negative: 8 out of 75

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  1. Spider
    Jun 15, 2004
    5
    I hate to say it but this may be the weakest BB album to date. The whole thing sounds tired and a bit confused. I'm not really sure what they were thinking this time. And no killer single like the last two times up.
  2. razLdazL
    Jun 17, 2004
    4
    the political spin is hard to swallow - 'specially from the BBoys. Stick to fun rhymes and cool tunes and you'll do better the next time out (unless you're just past your prime and there's no going back)
  3. briand
    Jun 19, 2004
    4
    Worst Beastie album ever! They over do it with there anti-Bush lyrics, and the beats sound like they were made by Michael Moore. The Beasties should go back to being rappers and get out of politics.
  4. mikmakerel
    Jun 15, 2004
    6
    Beasties got no flow left + why did they haveta slam Regina!?!?! Grey cup Babee!
  5. MarkO
    Jun 17, 2004
    5
    15 versions of the same song is a bit much.
  6. PatrickC
    Aug 19, 2004
    5
    I don't know how anyone can say this is a great album. Its 'alright' but where is the inovation and the Beastie Boys we love? None of their lyrics really do anything for me, neither does the beat programming. It sounds like they wrote it in a weekend with one drum machine and were really lazy about it. Are they scared to do anything we haven't heard before? I know this I don't know how anyone can say this is a great album. Its 'alright' but where is the inovation and the Beastie Boys we love? None of their lyrics really do anything for me, neither does the beat programming. It sounds like they wrote it in a weekend with one drum machine and were really lazy about it. Are they scared to do anything we haven't heard before? I know this might be considered to be 'old-school hip hop style', but the Beasties are better than that. Don't get me wrong I love the Beastie Boys, but can they please do something a little more cutting edge than this! What made the Beastie Boys so wonderful to listen to was the inovation that they had on all their albums prior to 5 Boroughs. Collapse
  7. [Anonymous]
    Apr 21, 2005
    5
    For what the old beastie boy albums used to be, this is less than average. Bring Back the old Beastie Boys!
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 25
  2. Negative: 2 out of 25
  1. Blender
    60
    This formula wears thin over the 15 cuts here. [#27, p.137]
  2. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    Like Missy Elliott, the Beasties are reimagining hip-hop--what it was, what it is, what it can be. [12 Jun 2004, p.47]
  3. Q Magazine
    60
    The Beastie Boys have always been at their best when gleefully rhyming and stealing from a variety of sources--both musically and lyrically--and the self-imposed adherence to hip hop traditionalism here, and indeed musically on the album as a whole, rather subdues their famously free-form sonic palette. [Jul 2004, p.108]