Daydream Nation

Sonic Youth

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 23, 1993)
• Original Release Date: 1988
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Geffen Records
• ASIN: B000003TAL
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (160 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #835 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #2 in	Music > Alternative Rock > Alternative Styles > Rock > Noise
  #3 in	Music > Miscellaneous > Experimental Music
  #7 in	Music > Alternative Rock > Alternative Styles > Rock > Experimental Rock

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
The essential New York rock band of the post-punk era, Sonic Youth care as much about the quasi-symphonic, microtonal art-guitar music of composers like Rhys Chatham and Glenn Branca as they do about the rock-song form, and with Daydream Nation, they struck their greatest balance between the two. The songs hover gorgeously for extended lengths, letting guitarists Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo intertwine fragile tonalities as carefully as it's possible to do at wall-shaking volume, while Moore and bassist Kim Gordon's untutored voices disaffectedly intone words that flirt with pop stupidity, high-art eloquence, and urban cool. When they bear down and rock, they do it with a blurry intensity that finds gorgeousness at the heart of discord. --Douglas Wolk

Product Description
Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. Universal. 2008. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Contrary To The CD Cover, This Ain't "Candle In The Wind"..., August 12, 1998

By	Scott Lindholm (Davenport, IA USA) - See all my reviews

I remember the day well. It was the day after Thanksgiving, 1989, and I was out shopping for CDs. "Rolling Stone" had just listed their top 100 albums of the '80's, and #45 on that list was "Daydream Nation." I liked what I had read, so I picked up the CD, and was blown away. From the opening track "Teen Age Riot" to the final "Trilogy," it's a non-stop stream of consciousness ride. The sheer guitar power of the duo of Thurston Moore and Lee Renaldo make this a tour de force of white noise and feedback. Many groups thought that Sonic Youth would be the group that led the "alternative" wave of the early '90's that was instead championed by Nirvana, and in a way, Sonic Youth had a hand in that, since Nirvana were proteges of the band. Indeed, Courtney Love met Kurt Cobain through Sonic Youth bassist (and Thurston Moore's wife) Kim Gordon, who produced Hole's first album. Although I believe that "Sister" is the best Sonic Youth album, this one is likewise a masterpiece, an excellent starting point to discover one of the most underrated bands in rock history.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Third best alt / indie rock album of the 80s, April 3, 2005

By	TimothyFarrell22 (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This is the masterpeice of the 80s alternative / indie rock scene right after the Pixies' "Surfer Rosa" and "Zen Arcade" by Husker Du. Sonically, it is an incredibly raw and distorted album, sort of like Velvet Underground and the Stooges combined. The most impressive thing about this album is, despite its massive length of seventy minutes, it all works incredibly well, and is never, ever boring. Stunning masterpeice, the pinnicle of Sonic Youth's career.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One original sound!, November 20, 2002

By	alexliamw (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

Daydream Nation is widely considered as one of the great alternative masterpieces of the 80s. I bought this album having heard only one song (Teen Age Riot) and reading the huge praise of the album. And this is one great sound: the energy, wit and rawness of punk mixed with the epic scope of progrock/artrock. It does take more than one listen to get. Here's a trackbytrack:

1. Teen Age Riot - Utterly brilliant. Great lyrics, riffage, drumming, craftsmanship - everything. Sums up everything DN is about. Rating: 10/10
2. Silver Rocket - Opens with doomy arpeggios and riffs. A very angry sounding song, and an excellent one, but the rock song doesn't last long - it moves into pure distortion before the second minute. Rating: 8/10
3. The Sprawl - Fantastic lyrics, ridiculously cool. Threatening sounding. Breaks down for the last few minutes. Rating: 9/10
4. Cross The Breeze - Gorgeous opening riff but soon moves into complex, fast art-punk. Great use of guitar duetting. Rating: 9/10

5. Eric's Trip - Sounds drug-fuelled. Very atmospheric and dark. Rating: 8/10
6. Total Trash - Good, memorable but sounds similar to whats gone before it. Rating: 7/10
7. Hey Joni - Ditto. Rating: 7/10
8. Providence - Dark, arty, neo-classical piece blending stark piano with a spoken sample and rumblings. Different, but not much of a composition on its own. Rating; 6/10
9. Candle - Opens with the most gorgeous guitar work you could imagine, then goes into good but standard DN. Wish they could have built the whole song round the intro. Rating: 10/10 (intro), 7/10 (main song)
10. Rain King - The most distorted, dischordant, challenging song and with the exception of Providence the least conventional. Screaming, burning, angry, excellent. Rating: 8/10
11. Kissability - Good lyrically, somewhat insubstantial musically until the last few seconds. Some of the moments of brilliance on DN are somewhat fleeting, while less inspired moments can be drawn out. Rating: 6/10
12. Trilogy - This song has everything you could want in its 14 minutes: straight-up rock, beauty, dischord, artiness - often all these at once. Rating: 10/10