BEASTIE BOYS - AGLIO E OLIO (EP)

Originally released in 1995, the collection of tracks that make up Aglio E Olio (‘garlic and oil’ in Italian) were all written during the Beasties’ Hello Nasty sessions, and released as an EP simply because they had too many hardcore songs to include on that album. Although 10 tracks long – including a beguiling and absolutely not-punk cover version of ‘Light My Fire’ (one of two bonus tracks) featuring Cibo Matto’s Miho Hatori on vocals – like the best hardcore albums, brevity is key, and there is only one track (the awesome ‘I Want Some’) that scrapes past the two-minute mark, hence the ‘EP’ denotation.
 
It’s no secret that the Beastie Boys started out as a hardcore band, in thrall to groups such as Bad Brains, but it’s kind of remarkable how good this aspect of their oeuvre was. If, like me, you love Ill Communication’s hardcore tracks ‘Heart Attack Man’ and ‘Tough Guy’, then Aglio E Olio is simply a must-have.