Murray Street (album)
| Murray Street | ||||
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| Studio album by Sonic Youth | ||||
| Released | June 25, 2002 | |||
| Recorded | August 2001–March 2002 at Echo Canyon, New York City | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock, noise rock, experimental rock | |||
| Length | 45:37 | |||
| Label | DGC | |||
| Producer | Sonic Youth | |||
| Sonic Youth chronology | ||||
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Murray Street is the twelfth studio album by American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released on June 25, 2002, through DGC Records.
Background
Murray Street is the first album by the band to feature Jim O'Rourke as an official fifth member.
The record is named after Murray Street, a road on which Echo Canyon, Sonic Youth's studio from 1996 to 2006, was located.
Members of the noise improv group Borbetomagus appear on the track "Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style".
The young blonde-haired girl to the right on the album's cover is Coco Hayley Gordon Moore, Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon's daughter.
Track listing
All music composed by Sonic Youth (Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley).| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Empty Page" | 4:20 | |
| 2. | "Disconnection Notice" | 6:24 | |
| 3. | "Rain on Tin" | 7:56 | |
| 4. | "Karen Revisited" | 11:10 | |
| 5. | "Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style" | 4:27 | |
| 6. | "Plastic Sun" | 2:14 | |
| 7. | "Sympathy for the Strawberry" | 9:06 | |
Total length: |
45:37 | ||
| Japanese CD bonus track | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 8. | "Street Sauce" | 7:34 | ||||||||
Total length: |
53:11 | |||||||||
Note: On the LP edition of the album, "Karen Revisited" is ordered before "Rain on Tin".
Critical reception
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 82/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| Robert Christgau |  [3] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[4] |
| NME | 6/10[5] |
| Pitchfork | 9.0/10[6] |
| PopMatters | [7][1] |
| Rolling Stone | [8] |
| Piero Scaruffi | 6/10[9] |
| Stylus Magazine | B+[10] |
| Trouser Press | favorable[11] |
Murray Street so far has a score of 82 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "universal acclaim".[1] Entertainment Weekly wrote that with the album, "Sonic Youth find a balance – between formlessness and structure, melody and cacophony – that's eluded them for a while."[4] Playlouder gave the album four-and-a-half stars out of five and said, "There is just enough balance between the tune, and the unexpected jazz chords, ear-splitting squeals, and lovely harmonic noises to make it forever listenable."[12] The A.V. Club gave it a favorable review and said the album "doesn't mark an epochal moment for Sonic Youth, but its familiar nods and new ingredients--from Steve Shelley's occasionally near-funky drumming to O'Rourke's tingly laptop textures--stake out another high point for a band achieving self-realization by reconciling self-absorption with a sigh and a smile."[13] Neumu.net gave it a score of eight stars out of ten and stated: "Written with some basic, inviting rock structures, the album replaces the hyper energy and angst of older material with slowed-down, complex textures and delicate grooves -- but still rocks out intermittently."[14] Nude as the News gave it a score of eight out of ten and said, "Whether they came on board at Daydream Nation or Experimental Jet Set, true believers will relish this one."[1] Uncut gave it four stars out of five and said that the album "contains some of the best music Sonic Youth have recorded since the landmark Daydream Nation in 1988."[1] Blender also gave it four stars out of five and said of Sonic Youth, "They've got more sweet-and-bitter guitar muscle than ever."[1] Q likewise gave the album four stars and called it "An essay in coolly assured, sophisticated leftfield rock, occasionally laden with trademark discordance yet also full of scintillating tunes."[1] Billboard gave it a favorable review and said the album "features some of the group's most focused and seductive work ever."[15] Mojo also gave the album four stars while labeling it as the "Album of the Month" and said, "The band's conventional elements are even more conventional while the boundary-pushers stretch as far as ever."[1] Spin likewise gave the album a score of eight out of ten and said, "This time around, the band square their artier tendencies with their sweet tooth for classic psych-rock."[1] No Ripcord gave it eight stars out of ten and said, "If you doubt the importance of Sonic Youth then a few listens to Murray Street will make you think again. Yes, there are only seven rather lengthy tracks here but you'll have to look elsewhere for signs of indulgence."[16]
Alternative Press gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five and said it "features less avant-garde noodling and more straight-up Youth."[1] However, The Village Voice gave it a mixed review and said, "The new album isn't terrible, just dull."[17]
Accolades
Pitchfork Media placed Murray Street at number 108 in their list of the two hundred greatest albums of the 2000s.[18]
Chart positions
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Ö3 Top 40 | 52[19] |
| Belgian Albums Chart (Vl) | 28[20] |
| French SNEP Albums Chart | 48[21] |
| German Albums Chart | 63[22] |
| Irish Albums Chart | 67[23] |
| Norwegian Albums Chart | 16[24] |
| UK Albums Chart | 77 |
| US Billboard 200 | 126 |
Personnel
- Sonic Youth
- Thurston Moore – vocals (1–3, 5), guitar, photography
- Kim Gordon – vocals (6, 7), bass, backing vocals (5)
- Lee Ranaldo – vocals (4), guitar, backing vocals (1)
- Jim O'Rourke – guitar, bass, recording, engineering, mixing
- Steve Shelley – drums, percussion
- Additional musicians
- Jim Sauter – horns (5)
- Don Dietrich – horns (5)
- Technical personnel
- Sonic Youth – production
- Aaron Mullan – assistant engineering
- John Golden – mastering
- Design personnel
- Frank Olinksy – art direction
- Monique Voorhout – photography, artwork
- Stefano Giovannini - photography
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 "Critic Reviews for Murray Street – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ Phares, Heather. "Murray Street – Sonic Youth : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Robert Christgau: CG: Sonic Youth". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hermes, Will (June 28, 2002). "Murray Street Review". Entertainment Weekly (660-661): 142. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ↑ Naylor, Tony (June 14, 2002). "NME Album Reviews – Sonic Youth: Murray Street – nme.com". NME. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ Mitchum, Rob (June 25, 2002). "Sonic Youth: Murray Street | Album Reviews | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ Thill, Scott (July 25, 2002). "Sonic Youth: Murray Street | PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ Powers, Ann (July 2, 2002). "Murray Street | Album Reviews | Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ Scaruffi, Piero. "The History of Rock Music. Sonic Youth: Biography, Discography, Reviews, Links". scaruffi.com. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ Panzner, Joe (September 1, 2003). "Sonic Youth – Murray Street – Review – Stylus Magazine". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ Kot, Greg; Leland, John; Sheridan, David; Robbins, Ira; Pattyn, Jay. "trouserpress.com :: Sonic Youth". Trouser Press. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ Jeres (June 12, 2002). "Murray Street by Sonic Youth". Playlouder. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ↑ Battaglia, Andy (July 22, 2002). "Sonic Youth: Murray Street | Music | MusicalWork Review | The A.V. Club". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ↑ Tatone, Jenny (2002). "Sonic Youth: Murray Street". Neumu.net. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ↑ "Sonic Youth: Murray Street". Billboard. July 6, 2002. Archived from the original on July 6, 2002. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ↑ Coleman, David (July 4, 2002). "Sonic Youth: Murray Street". No Ripcord. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ↑ Phillips, Amy (July 9, 2002). "Sonic Euthanasia". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
- ↑ Harvell, Jess (September 29, 2009). "Staff Lists: The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 150–101 | Features | Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ↑ "Sonic Youth – Murray Street". austriancharts.at (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Sonic Youth – Murray Street". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Sonic Youth – Murray Street". lescharts.com (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Album – Sonic Youth, Murray Street". Media Control Charts (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Discography Sonic Youth". irish-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ↑ "Sonic Youth – Murray Street". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
External links
- Murray Street at Discogs (list of releases)
| Preceded by Vespertine by Björk |
The Wire's Record of the Year 2002 |
Succeeded by Cuckooland by Robert Wyatt |
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