Sonic Youth (EP)

Last updated
Sonic Youth
SonicYouthEP.jpg
EP by
Sonic Youth
ReleasedMarch 1982
RecordedDecember 1981 – January 1982
Studio Radio City Music Hall Studios, New York City, New York, United States
Genre
Length24:16
Label Neutral
Producer Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth chronology
Sonic Youth
(1982)		 Confusion Is Sex
(1983)

Sonic Youth is the debut EP by American rock band Sonic Youth. [1] It was recorded between December 1981 and January 1982 and released in March 1982 by Glenn Branca's Neutral label. It is the only recording featuring the early Sonic Youth lineup with Richard Edson on drums. Sonic Youth differs stylistically from the band's later work in its greater incorporation of clean guitars, standard tuning, crisp production and a post-punk style. [1]

Contents

Background

Sonic Youth is the only Sonic Youth release in which the guitars predominantly use standard tuning. [2] [3] James Jackson Toth of Stereogum stated that the album "sounds like the dark, post-punk cousin of Thurston's spunky new wave band the Coachmen." [4] Drum-wise, the songs feature the more "downtown" roto-tom-addled stylings of Richard Edson, approaching the quasi-funk/hip-hop rhythms of 99 Records bands like ESG and Liquid Liquid. The bass guitar, though often playing minor key riffs, is almost funk-based, which was a common feature of post-punk and no wave music. The clean guitar tones contain little of the trademark noise that Sonic Youth would eventually become known for. [5]

Although the original record clocks in at under 25 minutes in length, Sonic Youth is considered by the band to be their first studio album. [6] Kim Gordon has referred to it in her autobiography as an EP. [7]

Release

Sonic Youth was released on 12" vinyl in March 1982 on then-mentor Branca's record label Neutral. It was released in Europe on the German Zensor label in 1984.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Robert Christgau C [8]
Head Heritage mildly favorable [9]
Pitchfork 8.2/10 [10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Trouser Press unfavorable [12]

Sonic Youth has received a mixed reception from critics.

In his review of the 2006 reissue, Brandon Stosuy of Pitchfork gave the EP a grade of 8.2 out of 10, calling it "obviously more primitive than the quartet's later work [...] the recordings offer a ghostly, mesmerizing locked groove" and that "this is SY at their most icy; it's an erudite, windswept set, wrapping distortion inside danceable half-frozen Liquid Liquid beats." [10] Andy Kellman of AllMusic wrote, "Awkward and rather formative, the record sounds like a fusion of no wave and an early Factory band." [1] Trouser Press wrote of the album: "This disc is no fun." [12]

Influence

"She Is Not Alone" was covered by Slovenian band Borghesia, issued as a 1989 single by the Play It Again Sam label.

Reissues

In 1987, SST reissued the album in its original vinyl format, as well as on cassette with all five tracks running on its first side. The flip side of the cassette featured the same five tracks on the other side, but played backwards from last to first, and the printing on both the J-card and cassette matched this: side 1 had the band name and song titles printed forwards, side 2 had them printed as a mirror image. That same year, the EP saw its first CD release by SST in the U.S. and by Blast First in the UK. [13]

Sonic Youth was reissued by Geffen Records in 2006 on CD and as a double LP, with a number of bonus tracks that brought the running time to 63:04. Added were seven songs from a live performance recorded on 18 September 1981. Most of the tracks played were based on pieces composed by the band for the Noisefest festival held earlier in 1981, while others predate the band itself, such as Gordon's song "Cosmopolitan Girl". Several of these pieces are quite different from their studio counterparts, in particular the noisy early version of "She Is Not Alone". Among the tracks is the instrumental "Destroyer", previously coveted by bootleg collectors. Also added was a studio recording of a song that also appeared in a live version, "Where the Red Fern Grows". The song, an early version of "I Dreamed I Dream", was recorded in October 1981 at a studio in Chelsea during the band's first recording session. The session did not go well due at least partially to an engineer who did not understand the band's music. [14] The studio version was an instrumental, while on the live take, Lee sang two lines towards the end. The 2006 booklet contains new photos and extensive liner notes from Branca, Edson and Byron Coley, as well as a "few notes" concerning the album from Thurston Moore. On the CD reissue, the tray card is double-sided – the side that faces out contains the track listing with a bar code and an RIAA anti-piracy notice, and the opposite side has the same track listing without a bar code or an RIAA warning. Despite the CD reissue on Geffen, logos for Neutral Records can still be found in numerous places in the package.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, Richard Edson)

Side A
No.TitleLyricsVocalsLength
1."The Burning Spear"MooreMoore3:28
2."I Dreamed I Dream"Edson, RanaldoGordon, Ranaldo5:12
3."She Is Not Alone"MooreMoore4:06
Side B
No.TitleLyricsLength
4."I Don't Want to Push It"GordonMoore3:35
5."The Good and the Bad" Instrumental Instrumental7:55
2006 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLyricsVocalsLength
6."Hard Work (Live)"GordonMoore3:19
7."Where the Red Fern Grows (Live)"InstrumentalInstrumental5:47
8."The Burning Spear (Live)"MooreMoore3:23
9."Cosmopolitan Girl (Live)"GordonGordon3:35
10."Loud and Soft (Live)"RanaldoRanaldo6:48
11."Destroyer (Live)"InstrumentalInstrumental5:32
12."She Is Not Alone (Live)"MooreMoore3:29
13."Where the Red Fern Grows (Studio)"InstrumentalInstrumental6:45

Personnel

Sonic Youth
Technical

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonic Youth</span> American rock band (1981–2011)

Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City and formed in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo remained together for the entire history of the band, while Steve Shelley (drums) followed a series of short-term drummers in 1985, rounding out the core line-up. Jim O'Rourke was also a member of the band from 1999 to 2005, and Mark Ibold was a member from 2006 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thurston Moore</span> American guitarist (born 1958)

Thurston Joseph Moore is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running the Ecstatic Peace! record label. Moore was ranked 34th in Rolling Stone's 2004 edition of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Ranaldo</span> American rock musician

Lee Mark Ranaldo is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known as a co-founder of the rock band Sonic Youth. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Ranaldo at number 33 on its "Greatest Guitarists of All Time" list. In May 2012, Spin published a staff-selected top 100 guitarist list, ranking Ranaldo and his Sonic Youth bandmate Thurston Moore together at number 1.

<i>Daydream Nation</i> 1988 studio album by Sonic Youth

Daydream Nation is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth, released on October 18, 1988. The band recorded the album between July and August 1988 at Greene St. Recording in New York City, and it was released by Enigma Records as a double album.

<i>Psychic Hearts</i> 1995 studio album by Thurston Moore

Psychic Hearts is the debut solo studio album by former Sonic Youth member Thurston Moore released in 1995 through Geffen Records. The album was remastered and reissued in 2006. The two-record vinyl version of the reissue contains bonus tracks on the fourth album side where on the original vinyl release the fourth side had a drawing by cover artist Rita Ackermann etched directly into the vinyl.

<i>A Thousand Leaves</i> 1998 studio album by Sonic Youth

A Thousand Leaves is the tenth studio album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on CD and cassette on May 12, 1998, by DGC Records. A double-LP vinyl issue had been released three weeks earlier on My So Called Records. It was the band's first album recorded at their own studio in Lower Manhattan, which was built with the money they had made at the 1995 Lollapalooza festival. Since the band had an unlimited amount of time to work in their studio, the album features numerous lengthy and improvisational tracks that were developed unevenly. The highly experimental extended plays Anagrama, Slaapkamers met slagroom, and Invito al ĉielo were recorded simultaneously with the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flower (Sonic Youth song)</span> 1985 single by Sonic Youth

"Flower" is a song by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was originally released as a 12" single in 1985 by UK record label Blast First, with "Satan Is Boring" as the B-side. This version was quickly withdrawn at the band's request. In January 1986, Blast First and the band's American label, Homestead Records, both released "Flower" as a 12" backed by "Halloween"; the first run of the UK edition was on yellow/orange vinyl. Blast First also issued the song as a 7" single in edited form, retitled "Flower ", with a backwards version, "Rewolf ", on the flipside.

<i>Dirty</i> (Sonic Youth album) 1992 album by Sonic Youth

Dirty is the seventh full-length studio album and second double album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on July 21, 1992, by DGC Records. The band recorded and co-produced the album with Butch Vig in early 1992 at the Magic Shop studios. The sound on Dirty was inspired by the popularity of grunge music at the time, and has been described by Billboard magazine as experimental rock.

<i>Sister</i> (Sonic Youth album) 1987 album by Sonic Youth

Sister is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in June 1987 by SST Records. The album furthered the band's move away from the no wave genre towards more traditional song structures, while maintaining an aggressively experimental approach.

<i>Washing Machine</i> (album) 1995 studio album by Sonic Youth

Washing Machine is the ninth studio album by the American experimental rock band Sonic Youth, released on September 26, 1995, by DGC Records. It was recorded at Easley Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and produced by the band and John Siket, who also engineered the band's previous two albums. The album features more open-ended pieces than its predecessors and contains some of the band's longest songs, including the 20-minute ballad "The Diamond Sea", which is the lengthiest track to feature on any of Sonic Youth's studio albums.

<i>Confusion Is Sex</i> Album by Sonic Youth

Confusion Is Sex is the debut studio album by American noise rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in 1983 by Neutral Records. It has been referred to as an important example of the no wave genre. AllMusic called it "lo-fi to the point of tonal drabness, as the instruments seem to ring out in only one tone, that of screechy noise".

<i>Evol</i> (Sonic Youth album) Album by Sonic Youth

EVOL is the third full-length studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Released in May 1986, EVOL was Sonic Youth’s first album on SST Records, and also the first album to feature then-new drummer Steve Shelley who had just replaced Bob Bert.

<i>The Whitey Album</i> 1988 studio album by Ciccone Youth

The Whitey Album is an album by Ciccone Youth, a side project of Sonic Youth members Steve Shelley, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore, featuring contributions from Minutemen/Firehose member Mike Watt and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.

<i>SYR2: Slaapkamers met slagroom</i> 1997 EP by Sonic Youth

SYR2: Slaapkamers met slagroom is an EP by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released on 12" vinyl on September 2, 1997, and was the second in a series of experimental and mostly instrumental releases issued on the band's own SYR label.

<i>Rather Ripped</i> 2006 studio album by Sonic Youth

Rather Ripped is the fourteenth studio album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on June 13, 2006, by Geffen Records. It was the band's first album following the departure of multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke, who had joined as a fifth member in 1999. Unlike its immediate predecessors, the album was produced by John Agnello and recorded at Sear Sound in New York City, the same studio where the band's 1994 album, Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star, was recorded. It also completed Sonic Youth's contract with Geffen, which released the band's previous eight records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starpower</span> 1986 single by Sonic Youth

"Starpower" is a song by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in 1986 by record label SST as the first and only single from the band's third studio album, EVOL. It was re-released on colored vinyl in both 1990 and 1991.

<i>Lesson No. 1</i> 1980 EP by Glenn Branca

Lesson No. 1 is the debut solo EP by American avant-garde musician Glenn Branca. It was released in March 1980 on 99 Records.

<i>Master-Dik</i> 1987 EP by Sonic Youth

Master-Dik is the third EP by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released on November 4, 1987, in the United States by record label SST, and on January 22, 1988, in the United Kingdom by label Blast First.

Anne DeMarinis is an American musician and artist. She is a former member of Sonic Youth.

<i>Bad Moon Rising</i> (album) 1985 album by Sonic Youth

Bad Moon Rising is the second studio album by American rock band Sonic Youth, released on March 29, 1985, by Blast First and Homestead Records. The album is loosely themed around the dark side of America, including references to obsession, insanity, Charles Manson, heavy metal, Satanism, and early European settlers' encounters with Native Americans.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kellman, Andy. "Sonic Youth -– Sonic Youth | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  2. ↑ Fanelli, Damian (6 April 2012). "Interview: Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo Discusses Gear and His New Album, 'Between the Times and the Tides'". Guitar World. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Lawrence, Lawrence (April 2014). "The Sonic Youth Tuning Tutotial". Sonic Youth. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  4. ↑ Toth, James Jackson (September 6, 2012). "Sonic Youth Albums From Worst To Best: Sonic Youth EP". Stereogum . Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Sonic Youth EP". Ultimate Guitar. July 25, 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "sonicyouth.com Discography – Album: Sonic Youth". sonicyouth.com. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  7. ↑ Gordon, Kim (February 24, 2015). Girl in a Band: A Memoir . Dey Street Books.
  8. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Sonic Youth". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  9. ↑ Parkes, Jason (20 March 2007). "Julian Cope Presents Head Heritage | Unsung | Reviews | Sonic Youth – Sonic Youth". Head Heritage . Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  10. 1 2 Stosuy, Brandon (5 April 2006). "Thurston Moore: Sonic Youth / The Whitey Album / Psychic Hearts | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork . Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Sonic Youth: Album Guide". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  12. 1 2 Kot, Greg; Leland, John; Sheridan, David; Robbins, Ira; Pattyn, Jay. "trouserpress.com :: Sonic Youth". trouserpress.com . Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  13. ↑ "sonicyouth.com Discography". sonicyouth.com. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
  14. ↑ Browne, David (2008). Goodbye 20th century : a biography of Sonic Youth (First Da Capo Press ed.). New York. pp. 73–74. ISBN   9780306815157.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.