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Aglio e Olio (EP)

Aglio e Olio
EP by
Beastie Boys
ReleasedNovember 13, 1995
RecordedSeptember 1995
GenreHardcore punk
Length13:19
LabelGrand Royal
ProducerBeastie Boys
Beastie Boys chronology
Root Down
(1995) 		Aglio e Olio
(1995) 		The In Sound from Way Out! (Beastie Boys album)
(1996)

Aglio e Olio is an EP by the Beastie Boys, released in 1995. The EP showcases a return to the band's hardcore punk roots.

Recording and release

The EP was released after the band realized that it had written too many hardcore punk songs for its next record. Michael "Mike D" Diamond later said, "When we first started working on Hello Nasty in New York, Amery "Awol" Smith was around helping us get set up. Along with the usual bunch of experimental jamming/sampling etc., we started playing a bunch of hardcore, putting song arrangements together really quickly. Then I started writing vocals. Soon we realized that we had way too many hardcore songs to possibly put on the next album, so we decided to release them all together as an EP."[1]

"Aglio e Olio" means "garlic and oil" in Italian, a reference to spaghetti aglio e olio, one of the simplest pasta preparations. According to Mike D, the title was chosen "to let the kids know, it's eight songs but only ten minutes. It's important to let the people know".[1] All but one of the songs contained on the EP are under two minutes in length; each song is played quickly in the style of punk rock.[2] This made Aglio e Olio the first Beastie Boys release since 1982's Polly Wog Stew EP to feature entirely hardcore punk songs. Initial pressings of the CD and vinyl release came with a small adhesive label affixed with the following warning to music buyers: "Only 8 songs, Only 11 minutes, Only cheap $."[3]

The EP was released to digital streaming services in 2020.[4] A 180-gram clear vinyl reissue with two added bonus tracks, "Soba Violence" and a cover of "Light My Fire,"  was released for Record Store Day on July 17, 2021.[5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[6]
Punknews.org[2]

Despite the EP only being about 10 minutes in length, the record received mostly positive reviews. Punknews.org complimented the EP, saying that Aglio e Olio is "a testament to times when hardcore was about attitude, not drop D tuning, playing really fast, and listening to too much Pantera."[2] Similarly, Randy Silver, Amazon.com said, "[t]here are better hardcore albums out there, and there are better Beastie Boys discs, but fans will still enjoy Aglio E Olio."[1] Jam! Showbiz Music Reviews stated that the EP, and the song "Deal with It" in particular, "is entirely representative of the faster-louder sound, which makes the Ramones seem like restless experimentalists by comparison."[1]

AllMusic awarded the EP two out of five stars, but did not publish a review.[6]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Brand New"1:24
2."Deal with It"1:59
3."Believe Me"1:19
4."Nervous Assistant"0:43
5."Square Wave in Unison"1:02
6."You Catch a Bad One"1:21
7."I Can't Think Straight"1:20
8."I Want Some"2:02
9."Soba Violence" (bonus track on some releases)1:14
10."Light My Fire" (bonus track on some releases)1:59

Charts

Chart performance for Aglio e Olio
Chart (2021) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[7] 118

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Production Credits: Brand New". Beastiemania.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Beastie Boys – Aglio e Olio (1995)". PunkNews.org. Buzzmedia. October 31, 2001. Archived from the original on October 23, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  3. ^ "Aglio E Olio CD5 : US [GR026] – Front". Beastiemania.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  4. ^ Corocoran, Nina (September 10, 2020). "Beastie Boys' '90s Hardcore EP Aglio e Olio Comes to Streaming Services". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  5. ^ RSD '21 Special Release: Beastie Boys - Aglio E Olio, archived from the original on 2021-07-18, retrieved 2021-07-18
  6. ^ a b "Aglio e Olio – Beastie Boys". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Archived from the original on January 15, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
  7. ^ "Debuts on this week's #Billboard200 (3/4)..." Billboard on Twitter. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
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