Sonic Youth will give legendary bootleg ‘Walls Have Ears’ an official release on February 9th.
The bootleg drew on recordings of three seminal UK shows, each taking place on their epochal 1985 tour. The band’s previous visit to the UK in 1983 had essentially cleared the room with their ear-scorching volume, yet was rewarded with music press plaudits.
Returning two years later, the 1985 tour proved to be enduringly influential, cementing Sonic Youth’s relationship with the UK.
Out on February 9th – pre-order it now – ‘Walls Have Ears’ offers a pristine take on those live recordings, long sought after across various bootleg forms. Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley assisted in tracking the tapes down, and it’s now being given a full release.
Available on vinyl, CD, and cassette (in addition to digital download), ‘Walls Have Ears’ contains the earliest recording of fan favourite ‘Expressway To Yr. Skull’. A long-time war horse in the Sonic Youth live set, this version is feral, unbound, and totally direct.
Alongside this, Sonic Youth have shared a video teaser featuring archive footage.
Tracklisting:
1 C.B.
2 Green Love
3 Brother James
4 Kill Yr. Idols
5 “Mad” Groove 06 I Love Her (All the Time)
7 Expressway to Yr. Skull
8 Spahn Ranch Dance
9 “Blood on Brighton Beach”
10 The Burning Spear
11 Death Valley ’69
12 Speed JAMC
13 Ghost Bitch
14 I’m Insane
15 World Looks Red
16 The Word (E.V.O.L)
17 Brother Jam-Z
18 Killed and Kicked Off
—