Four albums and more than a decade into their career, the Beastie Boys found themselves at a crossroads with Ill Communication. It wasn't that they were looking for a new direction; rather, they were stretching themselves in any direction they wanted. In their G-Son studio in the Atwater Village neighborhood of Los Angeles, MCA, Ad-Rock and Mike D had the luxury of time and space to develop anything they could think of. Ill Communication was released on May 23. Ill Communication was released on May 23, 1994, just two years after the previous album Check Your Head - a quick turnaround in the Beasties' world - and built on its turn to live instrumentation, moving forward and backward at the same time: The hardcore punk of their early '80s incarnation ("Tough Guy," "Heart Attack Man") sat alongside newly forged rare-groove-style workouts; Old-school hip-hop melded with the postmodern aesthetic of the '90s, allowing a track like "Sure Shot" to mix jazz flute (a loop from Jeremy Steig's "Howlin' For Judy") with a crisp drum beat and a lyric that moved through references to '70s crime movies (The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three) and sonic pioneers like Lee "Scratch" Perry, with the Beasties endorsing feminist politics on top of their patented goofy humor. Despite the conceptual elements running throughout the album, Ill Communication is grounded in the Beasties' inimitable, anarchic DIY vibe. From the distorted vocals to the "what happens if we pull this off?" approach, it's an album steeped not only in experimentation, but also in the curiosity that makes the whole enterprise fun. And then there's the video for "Sabotage": clothes from the thrift store and an almost guerrilla-style shoot on the streets of L.A. meant that one of the best songs of the 90s also got one of the best videos of the era; it's fair to say that the parody of a 70s cop show did more than anything else to kick-start the decade's retro fashion craze. This deluxe limited edition reissue celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Beastie Boys' multi-platinum album "Ill Communication" and is a rare version of the album originally released in limited quantities in 2009. Long out of print and coveted by fans and collectors, it features a lenticular cover and a bonus LP with 12 bonus tracks (remixes, B-sides and rarities), all packaged in a sturdy slipcase and pressed on 180g vinyl.