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excerpt from smart bar liner notes:
³The ideal archival offering would meet a list of criteria: it should be an
unreleased and sonically compelling recording of an amazing performance,
which not only sheds some light on the known Sonic Youth catalog for the
serious aficionado, but also captures the attention of the general fan. Itıs
a pretty tall order, but I think this tape from Chicago 1985 fits the billŠ.
[i]tıs the earliest live multitrack of a Sonic Youth show known to exist.
³Having now listened to this tape maybe 100 times, I can say this: itıs a
killer show. The material was mostly released on the studio album Bad Moon
Rising. The album is brilliant, but the material is also so visceral and
improvisatory that it greatly benefits from the additional perspective
offered by a live recording. Kimıs vocals, more detached on the album, are
fierce here. Sheets of feedback insanity on the album which I always assumed
to be lucky studio accidents turn out to be actual parts that Lee and
Thurston can re-create at will. The album was recorded with Bob Bert on
drums, but this show was one of the first after Bob left and Steve took
over. Bobıs primal stomps doubtlessly propel the studio versions, but
hearing these parts as interpreted by Steveıs systematic pummeling,
illuminates the crucial transition to the Evol and Sister albums and beyond.
We do get a taste of Evol too, with an early performance of ŒExpressway To
Yr Skullı and the first known live performance of ŒSecret Girl,ı plus an
instrumental version of the rarely performed, and never released, ŒKat ını
Hat.ı² ‹Aaron Mullan, Feb. 2012
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