Advanced Search Beta »
Basic Search Fields
Rather Ripped - Sonic Youth
Rather Ripped Image
Metascore
82 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 34 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.8 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 45 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Summary: This self-produced 20th album finds the New York band back down to a four-piece, with Jim O'Rourke dropping out after two albums.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 34
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 34
  3. Negative: 0 out of 34
  1. Stylus Magazine
    91
    This is their radio-rock record, and it's not a tribute, it's as close to the real thing as they've come since they actually had a chance at radio play back in the '90s.
  2. The A.V. Club
    91
    Rather Ripped is unmistakably a Sonic Youth album, right down to the snatches of amp-on-fire distortion, the tuneless speak-singing of Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon, and an emphasis on guitar texture that includes amplifying each strummed string. But the conventional rock-song structures of "Incinerate," while not unheard of for Sonic Youth, here feel unexpectedly and warmly classicist.
  3. Blender
    60
    Their songiest record in more than a decade. [Jun 2006, p.145]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 34 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 30
  3. Negative: 0 out of 30
  1. Veillantif
    10
    For a group whose reputation has long rested on tremendous risk-taking, to make a risk-averse album can be itself risky: it stands to be denigrated as dull and half-assed by some critics who think that innovation can only go in one direction—away from conventional song structures. As a reflexive stance, this is healthy: we should always be reserved toward, if not downright skeptical of, music that is melodic and accessible and catchy. In 2006, it would have been foolish to place Rather Ripped among the best of SY's albums, or with the best albums of the decade. Now that we have had five years to plumb its depth beyond surface appeal, that judgment seems fairly wise.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. MikeC
    10
    This album made me very happy. Personally, I think it's their best since Washing Machine, even though I enjoy pretty much everything they put out. They continue to be the band everyone wishes they were in. IMHO, You can't get any cooler than Sonic Youth.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. Joe
    4
    Hm, don't get me wrong. Sonic Youth is my favourite band, but this album just isn't that good. I find it pretty boring, and their worst album to date.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 30 User Reviews

Recommended Products

  1. Murray Street - Sonic Youth

    • Release Date: Jun 25, 2002
    Murray Street Image

  2. Sonic Nurse - Sonic Youth

    • Release Date: Jun 8, 2004
    Sonic Nurse Image

  3. The Eternal - Sonic Youth

    • Release Date: Jun 9, 2009
    The Eternal Image

Current Music Releases

Full List »
  1. Tago Mago [40th Anniversary Edition] - Can
    Metascore: 99
  2. Live in Europe 1967: Best of the Bootleg, Vol. 1 - Miles Davis
    Metascore: 99
  3. Siamese Dream [Deluxe Edition] - Smashing Pumpkins
    Metascore: 97
  4. The SMiLE Sessions - The Beach Boys
    Metascore: 96
  5. National Treasures: The Complete Singles - Manic Street Preachers
    Metascore: 95
  6. Achtung Baby [Super Deluxe] - U2
    Metascore: 93
  7. Some Girls [Deluxe Edition] - The Rolling Stones
    Metascore: 93
  8. Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down - Ry Cooder
    Metascore: 92
  9. Unto the Locust - Machine Head
    Metascore: 91
  10. Quadrophenia [The Director's Cut] - The Who
    Metascore: 90
  11. Rio [Live] - Keith Jarrett
    Metascore: 90
  12. What Were You Hoping For? - Van Hunt
    Metascore: 90
  13. Charity Starts at Home - Phonte
    Metascore: 89
  14. Bitch Magnet - Bitch Magnet
    Metascore: 89
  15. Nevermind [20th Anniversary Edition] - Nirvana
    Metascore: 89
  16. Journey of the Deep Sea Dweller, Vol. 1 - Drexciya
    Metascore: 88
  17. Bad as Me - Tom Waits
    Metascore: 88
  18. Undun - The Roots
    Metascore: 88
  19. The Wonder Years - 9th Wonder
    Metascore: 87
  20. Gish [Deluxe Edition] - Smashing Pumpkins
    Metascore: 87
All Current Music »