Very few bands in the history of
popular music have had the ability to cross genres and merge
styles as effectively as the Beastie Boys. However, long
time fans were still a little shocked when the news spread
that the Beastie Boys had recorded the full length Country
Mikes Greatest Hits album. In the August 15th,
1998 Much Music television interview with the Beastie Boys
prior to their performance in Barrie, Ontario Michael
Diamond jokingly hinted that the possibility of a country
album.
We working on this country album with
Garth (Brooks) because we figured inevitably this can only
last but so long. But then
ok then
we can come
with that...the country album with Garth and regain the
status. The blow by blow procedure. As is often the
case when the Beastie Boys are having their way with the
media, there was more than an ounce of truth mixed in with
Mike Ds words.
At first only a few songs leaked
out of the Atwater Village, California Grand Royal compound:
"Sloppy Drunks", "Country Mikes Theme",
and "Country Delight." They found their way into
the hands of a reputable Beastie Boys collector, and he
then in turn began spreading the word that the country music
recordings did indeed exist. Although he was on the cutting
edge having the tracks nearly a year before anyone else,
he had the titles slightly askew. Getting a hold of the
mythical tracks "Country Delight", "Country
Mikes TV Theme", and "Sloppy Drunk"
was suddenly all people in trading circles could talk about.
The envied collector proved to be a difficult fellow, and
it took the release of the Beastie
Boys Anthology: Sounds of Science (1999) for others
to get to listen to Country Mike croon. Even then many within
the Beastie Boys online community were still envious of
this now notorious collector, for he had spoke of three
songs and only two had now been released.
Who in all of Nashville, TN would
have ever dreamt that former NYHC (New York Hardcore) front
man, Michael Diamond, would release the most sought after
country record of the early twenty-first century. Approximately
least nine months after the three tracks were leaked and
also following the release of the Beastie Boys Anthology:
Sounds of Science, vinyl copies of Country Mikes
Greatest Hits began to appear on eBay.com. Online bids
were ranging from three to four hundred dollars for the
single 12 record. Yet amongst the crazy bidding there
were some who were cautious and held off on getting involved
with the auction wars. Many wondered if these were just
promotional albums and the commercial version would soon
be available for less than twenty dollars through the Grand
Royal online store. Fans were getting mixed singles from
the band too. Adam Yauch, who
was responsible for the liner notes regarding Country Mike
in the Beastie Boys Anthology: Sounds of Science,
said the following in a television interview conducted in
Portugal (1998). Well there is the country album.
It is pretty much done. Theres actually one song that
needs to be mixed. It was out but we recalled it. There
was one song
there were no sleigh bells on this one
song
so we need to record those sleigh bells and remix
that. Perhaps due to that remark message boards began
to contain an occasional post with a person swearing that
he or she had seen a phantom copy of Country Mikes
Greatest Hits in a record store. Since the album was
never sent to record stores, but instead sent to friends
and family as a holiday gift from the band , those sightings
rate right up there with Loch Ness Monster, Big Foot, and
Abominable Snowman encounters.
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