WEEK IN PREVIEW:
BEASTIE BOYS THE BOMB

As the retail reports continue to be tallied and the numbers re-sifted and analysed by the esteemed sales analysts who make our humble Sherman Oaks stink-tank tick, the news isn’t exactly unexpected: Yes, the Beastie Boys’ To the 5 Boroughs (Capitol) will be #1 on this week’s chart.

Driven by a major radio, MTV and press story for first single “Ch-Check It Out,” the new album is proving the Beasties can still dominate 18 years after Licensed to Ill.

Indeed, their first album since 1998’s Hello Nasty appears likely to log first-week sales in the 350k-400k range, putting it well ahead of last week’s #1, Velvet Revolver’s Contraband (RCA), which is expected to settle by the usual 50% in its second week, barring a serious boost from Father’s Day weekend, which at this point does not seem to have been a major factor.

The rest of the Top Five should end up being some combination of last week’s Top Five, which included Usher’s Confessions (LaFace/ZLG), Avril Lavigne’s Under My Skin (Arista/RMG), Gretchen Wilson’s Here for the Party (Epic/Sony Nashville) and Hoobastank’s The Reason (Island/IDJ), each of which may have received a modest F-day lift.