Daydream Nation (CD - 1988)

Recorded at Greene Street Recording, New York, New York in July and August 1988. Originally released as a 2-LP set on Enigma (5403). Includes liner notes by Jutta Koether.

Sonic Youth: Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, Thurston Moore.

By refining the song-oriented breakthroughs of Sister and developing their fascination with noise and alternate tunings, Sonic Youth created a masterpiece of post-punk art rock with the double-album Daydream Nation. Though the self-conscious sprawl of the album might appear self-indulgent on the surface, Daydream Nation is powered by a sustained vision, one that encapsulates all of the group's quirks and strengths. Alternating between tense, hypnotic instrumental passages and furious noise explosions, the music demonstrates a range of emotions and textures, and in many ways, it's hard not to listen to the record as one long piece of shifting dynamics. But the songs themselves are remarkable, from the anti-anthem of "Teen Age Riot" and the punky "Silver Rocket" to the hazy drug dreams of "Providence" and the rolling waves of "Eric's Trip." Daydream Nation demonstrates the extent to which noise and self-conscious avant art can be incorporated into rock, and the results are nothing short of stunning. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The double album that brought Sonic Youth to the attention of a wider audience and prompted the eager interest of a handful of major labels. DAYDREAM NATION, with its sleepy single candle flickering silently on the gatefold cover, harnessed their reckless live favourite, "Teenage Riot," while they ran gloriously roughshod over "Rain King" and "Silver Rocket," and offered the overtly camp glee of "Trilogy," which came with parts a, b and c. Their assured ascension to festival billing and the giant Geffen label came as no surprise to anyone who had heard this album. minimize