Walls Have Ears＜Red & Yellow Vinyl＞

Sonic Youths best live albums shed light on their mood and creative process at the time of recording, and Walls Have Ears is no exception. Gathering recordings from their second tour of the U.K. in 1985, the album reveals them as a band on the verge of a breakthrough -- even though they werent quite ready to share it yet. Paul Smith, the owner of Blast First, Sonic Youths U.K. label at the time, recorded their April and October shows in London and a date at Brighton Beach and issued them as Walls Have Ears in 1986, shortly before the release of their third album, EVOL. Since those shows featured EVOL songs as works in progress, the band objected to Walls Have Ears, and it was quickly pulled, only getting an official release on Sonic Youths Goofin label nearly 40 years later. Despite its thorny history, this is an exhilarating portrait of the bands shift from their no wave beginnings to the more complex and melodic style that defined their later work. As they tear through songs from Confusion Is Sex, Bad Moon Rising, and what would become EVOL, Walls delivers reminder after reminder of just how dangerous the group sounded at this time. Though the Goofin edition cleans up some of the originals murky sound quality, the extra noise is a feature, not a bug; within the thunderous, sludgy churn of "Kill Yr. Idols," its possible to hear the birth of grunge, shoegaze, and alternative rock as theyd come to be known for decades afterward. "Blood on Brighton Beach," an ultra-noisy rendition of "Making the Nature Scene" taken from the bands November Brighton date, merely heightens the fury in Kim Gordons vocals and the gouging guitars that surround her ("Burning Spear," where Lee Ranaldo plays an actual drill, sounds almost tame by comparison). Within this context, the songs destined to appear on EVOL feel especially singular: "Green Love," an embryonic incarnation of "Green Light," clears away most of Walls din in favor of shimmering chasms that foreshadow the stunning rendition of "Expressway to Yr. Skull." Though this is one of the first times Sonic Youth played this iconic song live, its a note-perfect performance filled with all of the swelling, vertiginous ecstasy of its final form. That this moment and the rest of the October show at ULU London make up Walls Have Ears most revelatory performances probably has a good deal to do with the addition of Steve Shelley to the band. However, the April date at the Palais London -- one of Sonic Youths last shows with Bob Bert -- is more than solid, with blazing versions of live favorites "Brother Jam-Z" and "Death Valley 69" as well as "Ghost Bitch" and "The World Looks Red." Having your mind and eardrums blown at any of these shows would have been amazing, but witnessing Sonic Youth reclaim this part of their history with an official, cleaned-up version of Walls Have Ears comes close. ~ Heather Phares