Sonic Youth
Goo (Geffen)
By Jim Keller
Published: October 13th, 2005 | 10:39am
Sonic Youth
Goo - deluxe edition
Aside from having one of the coolest album covers, Sonic Youth's Goo packed such a wallop when released in 1990 that it landed on Billboard's Top 100 and compelled Neil Young to invite the band to tour with Crazy Horse. Fifteen years later, after landing on Billboard, the band releases a double-disc deluxe edition, with demos and goodies galore, including a promotion-only interview, all concealed snuggly behind a plastic sleeve.
Whether it’s the eerie presence of instruments rubbed so wrong it’s right or disdain for social normality, Sonic Youth offer a place for outcasts everywhere. Largely unpopular itself in the beginning, the band bided its time wisely, perhaps knowing un-cool would be the new cool. Goo ended up reaching more people than the band’s previous six albums and remains a staple in the alternative-rock canon. Songs like “Kool Thing,” featuring Public Enemy’s Chuck D, and “Dirty Boots” became almost tangible rock-out anthems, while others like “Cinderella’s Big Score” and “Titanium Expose” offered quirky soundscapes to plunge in and out of.
Though Goo is sure to garner the band more fans, the bonuses on this deluxe edition are largely geared towards longtime followers. Boasting demo versions of nearly every song, b-sides, and a handful of unreleased and live material, the journey culminates in an interview where Thurston Moore (guitar-vocals) and Kim Gordon (bass-vocals) provide commentary on album tracks.
So grab onto music writer Byron Coley’s essay on the album’s creation, which is also included here, and enjoy a slice of history that put Sonic Youth on track to stardom and universal musical respectability.
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