Deconstructing “Johnny Ryall”

I think most sentient beings can agree that Paul’s Boutique is one of the greatest albums of the last 20-30 years. Catch me on the right day and I might say it’s the greatest album ever. Released in 1989, Paul’s was the by-product of 7 men: The Beastie Boys, an LA DJ named Matt Dike (who later went on to co-found Delicious Vinyl), two other LA DJs named Mike Simpson and John King (better known as the Dust Brothers), and producer/engineer Mario Caldato, Jr.

Some critics have asserted that Paul’s Boutique is the Sgt. Pepper’s of rap, no doubt inspired by the group’s ballsy samples of The Beatles. But, I think that’s both inaccurate and underselling Pauls’ brilliance. If anything, it’s the musical equivalent of The Simpsons, strafing our frontal lobes with absurdist tom foolery and dropping more cultural references than JD’s got Salinger.

Beastie Boys – Johnny Ryall

Paul’s Boutique, 1989
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With the Paul’s Boutique Samples and References List at my disposal (i.e. nerd heroin) and strategic doses of Dan LeRoy’s 33 1/3 book, I want to lift the hood on “Johnny Ryall,” a brilliant microcosm of Paul’s Boutique‘s meta-genius. According to LeRoy, Dike was responsible for the basic track, but the song soon became the pet project of Mike D with his bad self running things.

David Bromberg – Sharon
1972
Sample: Main guitar riff
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David Bromberg was an interesting choice for source material. Where the Beasties were anomalous white Jews in predominantly black rap music, Bromberg was one of the few Jews totally fluent in American roots music. Doug Sahm fans may know him as the dobro player on Doug Sahm and Band. And while I’m only casually familiar with the Bromberg catalog, I can’t imagine him producing another track as straight-up funky as “Sharon.”

Johnny Ryall [Excerpt]

 

Donny Hathaway – Magnificent Sanctuary Band
1971
Sample: Opening drum beats.
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This song is slap yo mama good and a wonderful intro to Donny Hathaway. If you’re unfamiliar with his work, I suggest starting with his self-titled 1971 album, which includes “Magnificent Sanctuary Band.” “Sanctuary” was written and originally released by Dorsey Burnette in 1970. This is noteworthy because, like Johnny Ryall, Dorsey Burnette was “a rockabilly star from the days of old.” With brother, Johnny Burnette, and guitar player, Paul Burlison, the group was known collectively as The Rock and Roll Trio, purveyors of such classics as “Honey Hush” and “Train Kept A-Rollin.’” Furthermore, when the Beasties namedrop Elvis (“Elvis shaved his head when he went into the Army”) that, too, is appropriate. As it happens, Elvis, Paul Burlison, and Dorsey Burnette were all employees with the Crown Electric Company in the mid-’50s. “Memphis is where he’s from” indeed.

Johnny Ryall [Excerpt]

 

Paul McCartney – Momma Miss America
1970
Sample: Drum beats, particularly after “bottle after bottle he’ll always drink more.”
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I know this is gonna be a shocker, but Paul McCartney‘s fat bassline makes this song. Paul said of ‘Momma’ in 1970, “An instrumental recorded completely at home. Made up as I went along. First a sequence of chords, then a melody on top. Piano, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar. Originally it was two pieces but they ran into each other by accident and became one.”

Johnny Ryall [Excerpt]

 

Jean Knight – Mr. Big Stuff
1971
Sample: “Who do you think you are?”

Johnny Ryall [Excerpt]

 

I’m pretty sure this song was created in a bootyshaking R&D facility. A monster jam upon its release in 1971, “Mr. Big Stuff” seemed to herald big things for singer Jean Knight, but sadly, this was her brief moment of fame. In 1987, the song gained currency within rap circles when Heavy D cut his own “Mr. Big Stuff,” featuring the same “Who do you think you are?” sample appropriated by the B Boys.

Johnny Ryall [Excerpt]

 

Pink Floyd – One Of These Days [Excerpt]
1971
Sample: Wind sound.
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According to Wikipedia, the wind sound is “a delayed wind drum slowed down to half speed.” I was wondering where my wind drum went. By the way, this is precisely what I love about the Beasties. How many rap groups have had the jimmy hat to bump Meddle samples? Maybe Outkast.

Johnny Ryall [Excerpt]

 

DJ Grand Wizard Theodore – Military Cut [Excerpt]
1983
Sample: The PBSRL says chimes. I’m dubious.
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This is one of the few times where I disagree with the PBSRL. What they call chimes, I call a triangle sound effect or a kid’s toy. Whatever it is, it isn’t chimes. “Military Cut” is the first track on the Wild Style soundtrack, which along with the film itself, is one of the earliest legitimate artifacts featuring rap, graffiti, and breakdancing. The precursor to Beat Street, Wild Style emerged in that halcyon 1982-83 period with “The Message,” “White Lines,” the first Run-DMC singles on Profile, Afrika Bambaataa at his peak, KDAY (LA radio station) incorporating rap into its playlist, and mainstream nods like Blondie‘s “Rapture” and the breakdancing sequence in Flashdance. Individually, these are curious blips on the radar. But with the benefit of hindsight, Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys seem almost inevitable.

Johnny Ryall [Excerpt]

 

Kurtis Blow – AJ Scratch [Excerpt]
1984
Sample: “That’s right, y’all, his name is … “
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On the other hand, some early rap has aged poorly. God bless Kurtis Blow, he’s an OG, and a great spokesman for the early days in NYC. But, these beats are so dated. Nevertheless, he was a pioneer and the Beasties do right by sampling his wares.

According to the PBSRL, “The ‘one, two, three, four’ chants can be heard in an Ofra Haza remix of ‘Galbi.'” This may be true, but none of the clips on YouTube contained this chant and I Bataan death marched through 37 different versions. I try to keep an open mind — and I’m mindful of her unfortunate death due to complications from AIDS — so I come not to mock. But, the door is shut on Israeli synth-pop from the 1980s.

Finally, so much has been written about Paul’s Boutique the cultural phenomenon that a smaller truth has been ignored. With the Hoskyns book in mind — and Barney drops the ball on this one big time — surely Paul’s stands as one of the finest albums Los Angeles has ever produced. Right up there with the heavyweights, like Gun Club – Fire Of Love, X – Under The Big Black Sun, and the Minutemen – Double Nickels On The Dime.