0724352294022. Pre-Owned: Good condition. CD. At the close of the 90s the Beastie Boys had only released five albums which may not seem like enough music to provide the foundation for a double-disc retrospective. But between 1981 and 1999 they released countless B-sides non-LP singles and EPs resulting in a sprawling discography ripe for a compilation. So in 1999 the Beasties released the two-disc compilation The Sounds of Science which covers every incarnation of the band from Pollywog Stew to Hello Nasty. Inevitably some well-known songs are missing -- only three cuts from Licensed to Ill are here and their breakthrough single Rock Hard had to be pulled when AC/DC refused permission for a sample. Ultimately that doesn t matter since the set captures the spirit of the Beasties so well. Usually compilations that don t follow chronological order are a little muddled but The Sounds of Science benefits from its jumbled sequencing since it emphasizes the band s astonishing musical reach and consistency. After all every album since Paul s Boutique has followed a similarly unpredictable pattern as the group moved from hip-hop to punk to funk to jazz. What s remarkable about The Sounds of Science is that it has all the obvious suspects but since they re rubbing singles with album tracks and B-sides like Skills to Pay the Bills two outtakes from the abandoned country album alternate versions of Jimmy James and Three MC s and One DJ Fatboy Slim s brilliant remix of Body Movin goofs like the Biz Markie-sung cover of Benny and the Jets and the excellent new single Alive it all sounds fresh. There s much more than hits here but The Sounds of Science achieves something most anthologies don t: it summarizes the attitude and spirit of the band while offering some new revelations even for dedicated fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine Rovi