I hear you, Seerix. Their first three are classic. Nearly flawless, in my opinion. In fact, the first two are among my favorite albums of all time, and Check Your Head isn't too far off.
Ill Communication was the first time they didn't take a giant step forward. It sounded a lot like Check Your Head, only not as compelling. With time I've learned to like it a lot though. Hello Nasty is my least favorite. There's some great stuff on there, but it's... Well, you said it, "spotty". Still, a spotty Beastie Boys album is still a great thing, in my opinion.
I wonder how a six year break from recording is going to affect their sound. A lot of bands can't recover from that long of a dormant period. If any can though, it's the B-Boys. I have faith that the new one will be really good. I think they'll surprise us this time like they did with the first three.
Even if they don't, we'll get to see them live again.
