Sonic Youth // Smart Bar Chicago 1985
One for the Sonic Youth aficianado rather than for the newcomer.
Released: 26th November 2012 My 'all-time favourite albums' list includes a number of Sonic Youth’s studio releases. However, I have never seen a good Sonic Youth gig and so I had low expectations of a live recording that has sat in the vaults and unreleased since 1985.
The sound is not great, best described as decent quality bootleg. Thankfully, the performance makes up for any lack in audio quality and this is a fascinating document of an important period in SY’s development. Featuring tracks that appear on SY’s first four albums, including the then yet to be released “EVOL”, this is clear evidence that the apparently accidental sheets of feedback on SY’s pivotal fourth album were deliberately created by guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo. Kim Gordon’s vocals are more shouty, simply more intense than her somewhat dispassionate and sometimes disengaged voice on record. Perhaps most importantly, this release shows what a difference Steve Shelley made having just joined on drums. Stand out tracks are visceral “Death Valley ‘69”, although it is a little disappointing that Kim Gordon doesn’t recreate Lydia Lunch’s yelps and screams from the recorded version, “Expressway To Your Skull” and “Brother James”. To summarise, this shows SY’s influence on grunge and post-rock but is for the SY aficionado and not for the newcomer. 8/10 Pavlis
