A semi-bootleg of 1980s Sonic Youth is finally released, just in time for Kim Gordon's Grammy nomination.
Kim Gordon's first Grammy nomination for her new album, The Collective, likely brought public attention to his former band, Sonic Youth. The timing is therefore right for the official release next year of a rare live recording.
Hold That Tigerrecorded at Cabaret Metro in Chicago in October 1987, was first released as a semi-bootleg. On February 7, the Superior Viaduct label will finally make the album more widely available (on vinyl and CD).
Reuniting the band's founding members Gordon, guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo, and drummer Steve Shelley, Hold That Tiger captures Sonic Youth at a pivotal moment. After becoming known for their deconstruction of rock & roll earlier in the decade, the band began to sculpt their swirl of sound through more traditional song structures. At the time, they were promoting Sister and were a year away from the release of their double album Daydream Nation from 1988, which became one of the most beloved albums in indie rock. (It is even among the historical records of the United States Library of Congress.)
Hold That Tiger is based mainly on the songs of Sister, notably ” Schizophrenia », « White Cross », « Tom Violence », « Cotton Crown » et « Catholic Block “. But the set also includes older pieces like “ Brother James », « Death Valley 69 » and the epic « Expressway to Yr Skull “. To conclude the concert and give a nod to their predecessors on the CBGB's stage, the group performed four Ramones covers, one after the other: “ Loudmouth », « I Don’t Wanna Walk Around with You », « Today Your Love, Tomorrow the World » et « Beat on the Brat ».
The band was introduced onstage that evening by Steve Albini, the equally iconoclastic producer who died this spring. “ We stopped at Cabaret Metro to find our musician friend Steve outside the club, telling us he couldn't make it to the show tonight because he'd been banned for verbal provocation or somethingShelley tells Rolling Stone. We refused to accept this situation and demanded that our friend be allowed into the club so that we could perform that evening. Surprisingly, the club gave in “. As can be heard on the recording, Albini told the crowd: “ Ladies and gentlemen, from New York, the cough syrup kings – Richard Kern and the Black Snakes! » (Kern was the underground filmmaker who directed their music video for “ Death Valley 69 »).
True to the impertinence of Sonic Youth, the reissue of Hold That Tiger includes the original cover art: a photo of Bob Bert and Julie Cafritz of Pussy Galore, another noise rock band, rather than a photo of Sonic Youth themselves.
David Browne
Translated by the editorial staff
