...the only rap overtone on 'Goo' is a Chuck D cameo on "Kool Thing". But the writing is even stronger than it was on 'Day- dream Nation', meaning that not only are songs like "Dirty Boats", "Titanium Expose" and "My Friend Goo" blessed with sharper melodies and more tightly constructed soundcapes, but the lyrics are often ingeniously affecting, as with "Tunic (Song for Karen)".

(ROLLING STONE ALBUM GUIDE, ****1 / 2)

Any doubts as to the continuing relevance of Sonic Youth upon their jump to major-label status were quickly laid to rest by Goo, their follow-up to the monumental Daydream Nation. While paling in the shadow of its predecessor, the record is nevertheless a defiant call to arms against mainstream musical values; the Geffen logo adorning the disc is a moot point -- Goo is, if anything, a portrait of Sonic Youth at their most self-indulgently noisy and contentious, covering topics ranging from Karen Carpenter ("Tunic") to UFOs ("Disappearer") to dating Jesus' mom ("Mary-Christ"). Even Public Enemy's Chuck D joins the fracas on the single "Kool Thing," which teeters on the brink of a cultural breakthrough but falls just shy of the mark; the same could be said of Goo itself -- by no means a sellout, it nevertheless lacks the coherence and force of the group's finest work, and the opportunity to violently rattle the mainstream cage slips by.

(by Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide)