It only took me 11,819 days.
Released in the UK only in 1992 Frozen Metal Head is an EP I have coveted hugely for the last 32 years, since I saw it in the collection of a really pleasant chap* who put my friend Matt and I up at his parents house in Golders Green when we saw Beastie Boys at London Astoria on 22 June 1994** only running it to ground last month; some records you want to find rather than just buy online.
So whatcha, whatcha get?
Frozen Metal Head kicks the front doors in with ‘Jimmy James (Single Version)’ as the Beasties light up and lit out for the hills propelled by a hyper kinetic beat, dropping some of my favourite rhymes from Check Your Head in the process. This ain’t stoned, its sped. Okay so the single version is missing the cool intro sampled from Cheap Trick, but that’s the only crit I call.
‘Jimmy James’ is a worthy LP and 12″ opener , worth it for the line about ‘8 Bazookas’ and just its general joie de vivre. There is another, possibly slightly idiosyncratic reason I just love this track which is the fact that Mike D namechecks my cat on it – ‘I’m Mike D and this is Prudence’ he slips into the last verse; Prudence being the feline love of my life back then^.
We then get a remix of ‘So What’cha Want (All The Way Freestyle Version)’, which is actually … okay. It is too light and bouncy and lacks the hard-charging heft and snap of the original, so it scores okay, whereas the original storms the Top 5 in my Beastie parade
Flip the white vinyl and just marvel at the real draw of Frozen Metal Head, aside from the ace Glen E Friedman photos, ‘Jimmy James (Original Original Version)’. So hepcats, sit back and make a lap while I lay the rays upon you Lord Buckley style.
The Beasties first made ‘Jimmy James’ by sampling the Jimi Hendrix on ‘Foxy Lady’, ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ and ‘Happy Birthday’^*. The Hendrix estate were not down with that. Then the estate changed ownership and grew hipper over time, so the Beasties put out the Original Original version. Reader, I married him.
It’s a much rawer, harder wired version of the track, it contains the samples but no vocals, which were added later. It is simply brilliant, still sounding fresh and vibrant all these millennia later.
The final cut is the woozy, room-spinning while I’m lying on my bed, pre-chunder psychedelia of ‘Drinkin’ Wine’. I haven’t drunk any alcohol for nigh on 4 years now but it’s all coming back (up) to me now. I really enjoy this cut, which I’d picked up elsewhere as a B-side.
Add in some slick white vinyl and the afore-mentioned cool photos and Frozen Metal Head is a wonderful reminder of one of the best bands of my lifetime at the peak of their powers. The prey was worth the hunt here.
I'm Mike D, and this is Prudence
I love it when I see the party people just movin'
Strapped on my ear goggles and what did I see?
But the music brought the people into harmony
1330 Down.
*who’s name I have ungratefully forgotten. Sorry.
**contender for the best gig of my life, so far. A strong contender in fact, support from Luscious Jackson and the Goats; I was on the barrier front and centre and touched all 3 Beasties and DJ Hurricane too.
^she still is, despite the fact she’s 12 years gone now^^.
^^and yes I know, now that the real line is ‘I’m Mike D, and it’s been proven’ but I have forgotten that again already; it makes me too happy when I hear it. Away with you and your facts, they hold no dominion over me, mortal.
^*those are just the main samples, there is a full list here which includes another 4 Hendrix tunes!
Congratulations! That’s a great experience to find a long-sought slice in the wild. May it give you boundless pleasure.