Back in 1986, the de facto European manager of Sonic Youth, Paul Smith compiled and sold this “bootleg” presentation of the young NYC-based band. The double live LP contains pieces of Sonic Youth’s 1985 live shows (complete with tuning, and chatter) from their early concerts in England. The band was not happy with this ‘unofficial’ release from Smith and ended up eventually parting ways with him, but now officially released the original effort titled Walls Have Ears.
The first half of the release presents excerpts from two shows (10/30/85 and 11/8/85) recorded during the early stages of the classic lineup of SY. Kim Gordon – bass, vocals, guitar, Thurston Moore – guitar, vocals, bass, Lee Ranaldo – guitar, vocals, Steve Shelley – drums, form the quartet as they play through their no wave-influenced material.
Shelley had just joined SY and added extra heft to the sound. After an opening speech about censorship, the group starts clanging with the meandering “Green Love” before locking into gear for “Brother James” which uses swirling guitar sounds, overdriven screams from Gordon, and a palpable sense of danger to push things forward.
“Kill Yr. Idols” is hindered by a muddy-sounding low end, while “I Love Her All The Time” is captivating with its hypnotic groove. The new effort “Expressway To Yr. Skull” had not yet evolved into the raging monster it would become but SY hit its peak during the 10/30 show via a stirring rendition of “Death Valley ‘69” (labeled here as “Spahn Ranch Dance”) as the raging, banging, and clanging is pushed forward by Shelley’s driving drums.
For the 11/8 show, the recording is closer to bootleg sound with a raw “Blood On Brighton Beach” finding Gordon at her most guttural. A screaming post-punk dance freakout for “Burning Spear” interestingly drips into another rendition of “Death Valley ‘69” that is just a step below the previous.
Feedback, dissonance, and vibrating noise kick off the second half of the album which showcases an earlier show from April 1985 with SY’s previous drummer Bob Bert on the kit. His drumming is a bit looser, and these songs have an artsy vibe as the slow-building “World Looks Red” is drawn out, the second “Brother James” is a tamer, cymbal-focused version while the highlight is Gordon’s feminist-focused “The Word (E.V.O.L)”.
The early years of SY fused no-wave, experimental art rock, punk mischief, and a super loud sense of visceral energy. The lower-fidelity recordings presented here capture the time and spirit but not the power of the band. Perhaps no live album can accurately portray those early concerts, but thankfully in recent years Sonic Youth has been going through their archives and releasing many shows that fully demonstrate their later-day prowess and young raw energy.
Sonic Youth is criminally underrated and fans of adventurous, guitar-driven rock will find tons to like from their wide-ranging, rich career. Walls Have Ears is just an early drop in the sonic bucket.
