25 Years of Beastie Boys' PAUL'S BOUTIQUE - "For Whom the Cowbell Tolls" by Dan LeRoy & Peter Relic
THIS BOOK FEATURES A FOREWORD BY SAGE FRANCIS writing about one of the albums that inspired his music career!
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A brand-new book about the Beastie Boys classic: exclusive information on the long-lost outtakes of Paul’s Boutique, Capitol Records’ misadventures with the Beasties, rare photos and much more.
"IF THE BEASTIE BOYS HAD WHAT WE FOUND, THE 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF PAUL’S BOUTIQUE WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH BETTER!" - Dan LeRoy
Think you know everything possible about the Beastie Boys classic album Paul’s Boutique? Well, get ready. On the album’s 25th birthday, author Dan LeRoy and journalist Peter Relic “drop the new science and kick the new knowledge” about this legendary 1989 release with an all-new book: For Whom the Cowbell Tolls: 25 Years of Paul’s Boutique.
From its samples list to lyric sheet, Paul’s Boutique may be the densest rap album. In 2006, LeRoy wrote a book about the platter for Bloomsbury/Continuum’s popular 33 & 1/3 series. He revealed the inside story of the album, speaking to those closest to its creation—including reclusive producer Matt Dike, co-producers the Dust Brothers, Beastie Boy Michael “Mike D” Diamond, and the late label executive Tim Carr. It recounted how the Beasties followed up their Number One smash Licensed to Ill with the shocking, sample-heavy Paul’s Boutique—and showed how the gamble nearly cost the trio their careers in the process.
But the story wasn’t over. Researcher Peter Relic recently uncovered a treasure trove of memorabilia from the Paul’s Boutique era, including previously unheard, undiscovered outtakes from the original recording sessions. Relic and LeRoy joined forces, and the result is For Whom the Cowbell Tolls: 25 Years of Paul’s Boutique, available now on 6623 Press’s creator-owned 66 & 2/3 imprint. The all-new book is crammed with info that just might startle the Beasties themselves.
Learn about the freshly unearthed outtakes from Paul’s Boutique—including the album’s great lost single. Get a behind-the-scenes look at Capitol Records’ fateful decision to sign the Beasties and its aftermath, featuring new interviews with all the top label executives. Dig into the “Paul’s Boutique Bouillabaisse,” a multi-part tribute to the album’s famous closing medley, jam-packed with inside information. Peek inside a one-of-a-kind notebook from the Paul’s Boutique sessions. Go track-by-track through a rare, telling Mike D mixtape. And learn more about legendary characters like Beastie “trim coordinator” Dave Scilken—plus more funky exclusives!
For Whom the Cowbell Tolls: 25 Years of Paul’s Boutique is guaranteed to make you as smart as when “Galileo dropped the orange”!
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Dan LeRoy is the author of a book about Paul’s Boutique for Bloomsbury’s 33 1/3 series and The Greatest Music Never Sold: Secrets of Legendary Lost Albums. He lives near Pittsburgh. @DanLeroy
Peter Relic is a Los Angeles writer whose work has appeared in Da Capo’s Best Music Writing anthology.
35 photos • 3 Ilustrations by Jim Mahfood, author of the Paul’s Boutique graphic novel
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR “FOR WHOM THE COWBELL TOLLS…”
“If you are a music fan, Dan LeRoy’s obsessive work covering the Beastie Boys’ most fascinating and complicated album, Paul’s Boutique, is essential reading. And if you thought that his brilliant 33 1/3 book on the album was the end-all/be-all, you haven’t yet read For Whom The Cowbell Tolls. It’s an even deeper and more captivating discussion about this hugely influential album in the hip-hop pantheon, conducted with the group and other key figures who helped usher it into the world in 1989. This book is a true gift for Beasties fans, as well as any music business history buff.”
— Brian Coleman, author of Check the Technique and Rakim Told Me:
"Just how the hell did three snot-nosed party boys from Brooklyn go from fighting for the right to party to creating 1989’s hip-hop masterpiece Paul’s Boutique? The album, with its thousands of samples, is an aural encyclopedia of musical landmarks, served up in a funk stew of arrogance, attitude, and ultimately, adoration for the components from which it comes. LeRoy has done a great job capturing the surroundings, the people involved, and the reaction then. The insights as to how the record was constructed, from the mighty foot of John Bonham to the scratchy guitar of ’70s funk, are illuminating. Fire up Paul’s on the iPod, crack the spine of this little tome, and ‘Shake Your Rump.’" — The Big Takeover, James Mann, author of About Face: A History of America’s Curious Relationship with China, from Nixon to Clinton
"…recognized as a cultish, kaleidoscopic classic…a frequently illuminating and entertaining tale…" — Stevie Chick, Mojo