After their watershed album DAYDREAM NATION (1988), Sonic Youth moved from the minor to the major leagues, and, as part of the deal, their back-catalogue was reissued. SCREAMING FIELDS OF SONIC LOVE (1995) is a "greatest hits" package assembled from that material. Though SY purists will no doubt argue endlessly over the inclusion of one song over another--like the omission of "Catholic Block" from SISTER (1987) in favor of, say, the somewhat flimsy novelty of "Into the Groove(y)," a Madonna cover from 1988--this collection was really designed to introduce the band's older stuff to fans of their newer stuff.

Arranged in reverse chronological order, it opens with three tracks from DAYDREAM--"Teen Age Riot," "Eric's Trip," and "Candle"--and are all jewels in the band's catalogue. The tracks from SISTER, EVOL, and BAD MOON RISING are also classics, ranging from the creepy, echo-draped song-stories of "Beauty Lies in the Eye" and "Halloween," to the experimental post-punk of "Expressway to Your Skull," and the strident political sloganeering of "Flower." This is the place to start investigating the career of SY, but keep in mind that you'll end up wanting to buy all the original albums.

Q (7/95, p.147) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...smartly encapsulates everything right about Sonic Youth--the delicate balance between abrasive dynamic noisy guitars, far-reaching space-bound melodies and poetic stream of consciousness..."