Beastie Boys — Solid Gold Hits

With only one studio album separating it from 1999's far superior The Sounds Of Science comp, Solid Gold Hits finds the Beastie Boys shamelessly pimping their legacy. Hurriedly thrown together to capitalize on the trio's waning relevance, this lightweight hits package smacks more of desperate cash-in than triumphant career epilogue. True, most of the Beasties essential hits — from the obnoxious white-boy frat-rap of "Brass Monkey" through to the neo-old-skool throwdowns of "Ch-Check It Out" are present and accounted for, a disturbing 20 per cent of Solid Gold's 15 tracks are culled from last year's mediocre To The 5 Boroughs. Without even a token new track to lure in diehards, this slapdash collection is for completists only.

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