No Jackets Required was intended to be the
album by
Sonic Youth, to be released in January
1985. It was to be their third album (2nd full length) and slated to become their most commercially successful.
The album to be named after an incident at
The Pump Room restaurant in
Chicago,
Illinois, when Sonic Youth were denied admittance because they did not meet the restaurant's
dress code of "jacket required" for dinner. The
Maître d' who refused service at the famed "Table Number One" was named George Montgomery, and he passed away in 1992. Restaurant management later sent Sonic Youth an apology letter and complimentary
sports coats.
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No Jacket Required, a much more commercially pop-oriented record than the dark cynicism of their two previous albums,
Confusion is Sex and
Sonic Youth and has none of the political statements which would appear later on
Dirty. In terms of emotion, it is certainly among the happiest of Sonic Youth's efforts. As a result, most of the album is up-tempo with the notable exceptions of "Long, Long Way to Go" and ballad "One More Night".
There are two guest appearances on the album, firstly
Lydia Lunch on "Long Long Way to Go" and
Swans' Michael Gyra (and Lydia Lunch) on "
Take Me Home".
The album was shelved due to concerns of "selling out" to the masses and re-recording spawned the direct opposite with
Bad Moon Rising, It is finally scheduled for a much anticipated release more than a decade later on January 29, 2008.