Sonic Youth - Murray Street

As Sonic Youth will testify, it's not easy being avant-rock superstars. Follow your urge to experiment, and you risk alienating your more conservative fans. Stop experimenting, and you lose the impetus that made you so exciting in the first place. Such is the dilemma faced by this exceptional band in 2002, now wryly rechristened "Radical Adults" in one Thurston Moore lyric. Given the bewilderment that's unfairly greeted recent attempts to push their remarkable music to new extremes--notably their contemporary classical project, Goodbye 20th Century --Murray Street initially feels like something of a compromise; the band themselves admit it's more "song-oriented" than their last few albums. But hell, what a magnificent compromise. Named after the New York street where their studio is situated--and where a plane engine landed on September 11, 2001--Murray Street is potent, accessible, daring, and often obliteratingly lovely. For a start, the first three songs ("The Empty Page," "Disconnection Notice," and "Rain On Tin") easily rank with the highlights of SY's previous 15 albums. Obliquely melancholic, tuneful but unorthodox, all are enriched by great cascades of intricate three-guitar noise. When the Youth spin off on one of these bright and wild trips, these rich musical elegies for their city, they remain one of the world's great musical wonders. --John Mulvey Amazon.com

a sonic masterpiece

the Youth channels Television on "Rain on Tin"

"Sympathy for the Strawberry" is one of the finest songs in their catalog.

Buy this asap March 3, 2008

Sonic Youth redefines the rock guitar.

Murray Street (2002) is one of Sonic Youth's finest hours. It begins a postmodern psychedelic garage rock set that continues into the 2004 release of Sonic Nurse. Both albums complement each other. Murray Street is the first album to include Jim O'Rourke as an official fifth member (other members being Thurston Moore on guitar and vocals, Lee Ranaldo on vocals and guitar, Kim Gordon on bass, guitar, and vocals and Steve Shelley on drums). It also marks a return to its true form for Sonic Youth. I read somewhere that one of those young girls on the album cover is Coco Gordon-Moore, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon's daughter. Brilliant album tracks include:

1. The Empty Page (4:19)
2. Disconnection Notice (6:24)
3. Rain On Tin (7:52)
4. Karen Revisited (11:10)
5. Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style (4:27)
6. Plastic Sun (2:11)
7. Sympathy For The Strawberry (9:07)

G. Merritt
January 31, 2008

top-notch Sonic Youth

As someone relatively new to SY (I first learned about them through their recent release "Rather Ripped") I have been discovering their catalogue over the last year and never cease to be impressed by their musical range, largely driven by having three active songwriters, each with their own style and sound, and by their exquisite skill at making noise sound beautiful. This album stands out for its more laid-back folky feel (Empty Page) and to the meditative sandpaper-like feedback on Disconnection Notice. A gem. July 18, 2007

To me, This is their Best since 'Daydream Nation'

With this release, Sonic Youth's 'Murray Street' sounds like a return to their indie masterpiece -Daydream Nation- with a more soothing better produced recording.
To this day in 2007, and out of all of Sonic Youth's releases I do believe this one will be considered one of the band's highpoints among their 25 + year career.
This is their most lush album yet, from the opening chords of "The Empty Page" on through one of Kim Gordon's best sung songs with "Sympathy for the Strawberry"-
I find myself a bit more relaxed listening to 'Murray Street' even though at times the listener can hear some frenetic jam sections. It's back to the longer instrumental passages, that the band hasn't shown much since the 80s and their indie days. Although, throughout the 90s, Sonic Youth had a few notable 10 + min. songs which includes the epic-suite off of 1995's 'The Washing Machine' and it's 20 minute closer "The Diamond Sea"-
I do believe that die hard S.Y. fans prefer Sonic Youth and their more jam band side rather then their poppier side like with 'Goo' and 'Dirty' (of course to me, their both fantastic).
-This 7 song album contains my absolute favorite SY song, the 11 minute Lee Ranaldo's Epic "Karen Revisited"-
Jim O' Rourke makes a nice addition, now the fifth member of Sonic Youth and remains in the line-up through the next album - 2004's 'Sonic Nurse'.
Kim Gordon sings lead on only the last two tracks -"Plastic Sun"- an energetic 'riot grrl' like song. A punkier edge from Kim, not heard since 'Daydream's' "Eliminator Jr." and possibly 'Dirty's' "Orange Rolls, Angel's Spit"-
And the closer "Sympathy for the Strawberry" is one of her best songs yet.
'Murray Street' is a much more rewarding effort then 1998's 'A Thousand Leaves' and the horrible Ep 'NYC Ghosts and Flowers' (2000).
As a long time devoted fan of Sonic Youth (N.Y. based) -'Murray Street'(released one year after 9/11) really is one of the band's best and most gorgeous offerings yet. July 15, 2007

Brilliant

okay, so i got this album without knowing what to expect. i fell in love.
THE EMPTY PAGE - such a clean, refreshing song. powerful.
DISCONNECTION NOTICE - very good song, dissonant guitar work.
RAIN ON TIN - second-best song on the album. the beginning part has very simplistic but nice vocal by thurston, and then comes the fun part, the next 7 hypnotic minutes. when i saw this live it was nothing short of AMAZING. amazing. seriously. it changed me, probably.
KARENOLOGY - something about this song has always bothered me somewhat, but it has grown on me a lot. i think mostly i just don't like lee's vocal here. maybe if it were in a different key or something. either way i do like the lyrics, and it's not a bad song. the static part at the end was somewhat interesting live, since Kim was rubbing her guitar in the bushes in front of the stage and stuff, but it got kind of boring, honestly. Sorry. I love noise and all, but..
RADICAL ADULTS.. - this song is pretty good sonically but i don't like the vocal.
PLASTIC SUN - okay this is good songwriting, but i don't like the production or the arrangement, or that annoying squeaky noise. i do like the lyrics a lot though. it would be better if it were done in a more traditional punk style in which it seems to kick back to, like on SISTER.
SYMPATHY FOR THE STRAWBERRY - i don't know what other people think of this song, but it's one of my favorite songs of ANY band. everything about it just sends me into euphoric intoxication. the noise builds and builds, until you almost can't take it any longer, and then cuts out to snare and guitar and some soft organ, and then kim's sultry vocals. these are some of my favorite lyrics ever, as well. 'i'm a girl scout searching for the new stuff!' this song is a bit esoteric, i'll admit, and some of my friends don't like it "what is this weird music?" but i think it's one of their best. the crashing guitars end the song as if to suggest that a small girl is being devoured by vengeful strawberry vines. but i was on acid. lol. not really. January 27, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...