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Considering that Sonic Youth lost Jim O'Rourke and found the custom-tweaked, irreplaceable guitars that were stolen in 1999 before heading into the studio to make Rather Ripped, it seemed that the album could be a big departure from what they'd been doing on Murray Street and Sonic Nurse -- possibly a return to the kind of music they could only make with those instruments, or perhaps an entirely different approach that reflected their revamped, old-is-new-again lineup. Rather Ripped ends up being of a piece with their previous two albums, and often plays like a stripped-down, slightly less-inspired Sonic Nurse. Once again, Kim Gordon contributes some of the best tracks here; "Reena" and "Jams Run Free" are equal parts dreamy and driving, while "The Neutral" is a sweet, low-key love song. Thurston Moore contributes a gently but powerfully political track à la Sonic Nurse's "Peace Attack" with "Do You Believe in Rapture?," a reflection on peace and apocalypse that's mostly serene, even if the guitar harmonics throughout the song add shivers of doubt and tension. "Rats" is a standard-issue Lee Ranaldo song, freewheeling and poetic (and with lines like "Let me place you in my past/With other precious toys," it has the sharpest lyrics on Rather Ripped), even if it's not quite as amazing as the previous album's "New Hampshire." Rather Ripped's rock songs are solid, but not amazing -- the interplay of Moore's and Ranaldo's guitars and Steve Shelley's drumming are the best things about "Sleepin' Around" and "What a Waste." Actually, the more atmospheric songs end up being some of the most compelling. "Lights Out" reeks of whispery, late-night cool, and the closing track, "Or," is one of the sparest and most oddly unsettling songs Sonic Youth has done in a while (not to mention a reminder that quiet doesn't always mean peaceful in this band's world). Rather Ripped is also surprisingly lean, with the songs on its first half feeling so tightly structured that they seem like radio edits. Only "Turquoise Boy" and "Pink Steam" really open up and deliver Sonic Youth's famously sprawling, jam-based sound. If Rather Ripped is a tiny bit disappointing, it's only because the band's playing outpaces their songwriting ever so slightly. It's a solidly good album, and if taken as part of a trio of albums with Sonic Nurse and Murray Street, it shows that Sonic Youth is still in a comfortable yet creative groove, not a rut. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
more albums by this artist
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- Daydream Nation
- Released 1988
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- Goo
- Released 1990
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- Dirty
- Released 1992
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- Daydream Nation (Deluxe Edition) (Remastered)
- Released 2007
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listener reviews
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Perfection in Electric Sound
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- By PICKLEStheCAT
- 6/25/2008 00:51:56
- Out of all the many albums released over the years, Sonic Youth’s 2006 release of Rather Ripped is probably without a doubt my absolute favorite, the album is a perfect example of the unique and energetic power Sonic Youth created. A mixture of their vintage equipment, experimentation, unique guitar techniques and tunings, creative lyrics, melodic guitar parts, and their overall look and performance in general which spanned decades back, only getting better and better. Rather Ripped is an entire career spent, and it feels all the while they perfected what they created and concentrated it into an album balanced by perfect examples of grunge-esque male and female singers backed with other very talented musicians. Rather Ripped<br/>If you want to hear a good example of that Sonic Youth sound, THEIR sound, perfect picks would be “Reena“(Kim singing), “Incinerate“(Thurston), “Jams Run Free“(Kim), and not to mention what I consider one of the greatest ‘Sonic Youth Moments’ found 3 minutes and 8 seconds into the song “Turquoise Boy“(Kim). Those 20 or so seconds perfectly balance each member at their finest, maybe even summarizing EVERY moment drenched in their genius and super-evolved sound. <br/>I could go on and on about this albums sheer greatness, hands down, a must have. If you want to get into Sonic Youth and you’re not sure which album to buy first, shoot for Rather Ripped and you too will quickly understand just how great they can be.
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