Goo
The first album for Geffen's DGC: bigger budget, a Raymond Pettibon cover and Chuck D on Kool Thing.
Sonic Youth, 1990
- Released
- 26 June 1990
- Recorded
- March to April 1990
- Studio
- Sorcerer Sound and Greene St., New York City
- Label
- DGC
- Producer
- Nick Sansano, Ron Saint Germain and Sonic Youth
- Length
- 49:23
The first record for DGC, after the band was let down by how Daydream Nation was handled. The demos were made in November 1989 with Don Fleming and J Mascis, and the working title was Blowjob?. Sansano left partway through and Ron Saint Germain finished the mixes. The cost was about $150,000, roughly five times that of Daydream Nation. J Mascis and Don Fleming sang backing vocals and added production, Chuck D spoke on Kool Thing, and Raymond Pettibon drew the cover.
Goo reached number 96 on the Billboard 200, number 32 in the UK, 22 in New Zealand and 71 in the Netherlands, and went silver in the UK. uDiscover reports that it sold over 100,000 copies by the end of 1990. David Fricke of Rolling Stone called it a brilliant, extended essay in refined primitivism. Pitchfork gave it 8.5, NME 9 out of 10, and Rolling Stone placed it 358th on its 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums.
Track listing
- Dirty Boots5:29
- Tunic (Song for Karen)6:21
- Mary-Christ3:11
- Kool Thing4:06
- Mote7:37
- My Friend Goo2:20
- Disappearer5:08
- Mildred Pierce2:13
- Cinderella's Big Score5:54
- Scooter + Jinx1:05
- Titanium Expose6:26
Personnel
- Thurston Moore guitar, vocals
- Kim Gordon bass, guitar, vocals
- Lee Ranaldo guitar, vocals
- Steve Shelley drums
- Chuck D vocals on Kool Thing
- J Mascis backing vocals, additional production
- Don Fleming backing vocals, additional production
- Nick Sansano producer
- Ron Saint Germain producer, mixing
- Howie Weinberg mastering
- Raymond Pettibon cover art
More from Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth (1982), Confusion Is Sex (1983), Bad Moon Rising (1985), EVOL (1986), Sister (1987), Daydream Nation (1988), The Whitey Album (as Ciccone Youth) (1988), Dirty (1992), Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star (1994), Washing Machine (1995), A Thousand Leaves (1998), NYC Ghosts & Flowers (2000), Murray Street (2002), Sonic Nurse (2004), Rather Ripped (2006), The Eternal (2009)
Sources
- Goo (album), Wikipedia
- Sonic Youth, Goo, uDiscover Music