Sonic Youth

Fifteen years after Sonic Youth's startling alliance with David Geffen paved the way for a new generation of altrockers with major-label muscle, the band's DGC debut, Goo, is back in the form of this two-disc set, remastered and stuffed with outtakes, demos, and assorted rarities. And while Goo has always paled in comparison to its seminal predecessor, 1988's Daydream Nation, it remains a bruising portent of things to come, as Thurston Moore's and Lee Ranaldo's brawny riffs blend seamlessly with Kim Gordon's bass to create a trademark sound that is alternately hypnotic ("Tunic") and hard-nosed ("Mary-Christ"). The album retains its freshness, though the once-groundbreaking concept of a rap-rock collaboration -- with Chuck D on "Kool Thing" -- now seems almost quaint. The bonus disc unearths a pair of lush instrumentals, "Can Song" and "Isaac," but early takes on "My Friend Goo" and "Titanium Expose" may interest only hard-core collectors.