Sonic Youth
Splitting The Atom

THE REVIEW

In the vast discography of Sonic Youth, dear friends, you may have noticed the lack of an official live recording… something that has contributed to the belief that Sonic Youth wasn't as good live as they were in the studio… lies!!!!

Our guys live are a unique experience, I recommend everyone rush to one of their live shows when they come back to Italy (I went to the first one many years ago…). In the meantime, you can entertain yourself with this nice little record… maybe there’s a record fair coming up in your city, or there’s a second-hand shop nearby… either way, don’t let it pass you by!

The record is very well recorded (live in the 1992 in the States) really, it doesn’t even sound like a bootleg (it sounds much better than other official bootlegs such as Hold That Tiger and Wall Have Ears), the sound is warm, enveloping, powerful… if you turn up the stereo, you'll feel like you're right there… moshing when Dirty Boots or Drunken Butterfly starts up!

The setlist is thrilling, the initial noises introduce a great version of 100%, the crowd's roar is loud when Moore and company hit Dirty Boots and it continues superbly with two very "intense" versions of Kool Thing and Swimsuit Issue. Then there's a space for Ranaldo singing in Genetic (a somewhat underrated B-side from the 'Dirty' era) and the devastating Theresa's Sound World, truly incredible live. It then moves on with other hits like Tom Violence, Sugar Kane, Schizophrenia, Drunken Butterfly, and Youth Against Fascism.

It's truly a pleasure to listen to this record, which captures Sonic Youth in a very good period of their career and is really good for the heart.

I propose 4 stars only for the difficulty in finding it. If you find it, grab it with your eyes closed… so you can dream with your eyes open.