On the heels of February’s Paul’s Boutique 20th anniversary remastering and re-issue and announcement of the Beasties working on Tadlock’s Glasses, Dan LeRoy’s book on the Beastie Boys’ 1989 album Paul’s Boutique (part of the excellent 33 1/3 series on legendary albums) is now available to download and stream as a free audio book on Audible!

A complete turn-about from the fratboy rap-rock of Licensed to Ill, and despite initial poor commercial reception and fan confusion over their new musical direction, Paul’s Boutique has stood the test of time as one of the greatest, most frequently critically-acclaimed rap albums ever. This a singular, multi-layered experience, exemplified by the Dust Brothers’ innovative production and sampling work and the Beasties’ clever, often humorous adeptness in rhyme, their work on the album described by AMG’s Erlewine as a “a romanticized, funhouse reflection of New York where all pop music and culture exist on the same strata, feeding off each other, mocking each other, evolving into a wholly unique record, unlike anything that came before or after”. An essential album, carefully detailed in the backstory of all the players involved and the recording process, and track-by-track assesment in Dan LeRoy’s 33 1/3 volume- check out the audiobook now!

Beastie Boys Official Site - Paul’s Boutique | on MySpace | Continuum - 33 1/3 Series