Go-Go Boots (album)
Encyclopedia
Go-Go Boots is the ninth studio album
by American rock
band Drive-By Truckers
, first released February 14, 2011, on Play It Again Sam Records. It was produced by record producer David Barbe and recorded during 2009 to 2010, concurrently with sessions for the band's previous album The Big To-Do (2010). Upon its release, Go-Go Boots received positive reviews from most music critics.
The album was released in the United States on February 15 by ATO Records
and in Europe on February 14, 2011 by Play It Again Sam Records. The album's first single, "The Thanksgiving Filter" (with "Used To Be A Cop" as the b-side) was released as a limited edition vinyl on November 26, 2010.
and soul music
influences of the band's previous work. Phil Mongredien of The Observer
writes that "the influence of Aretha
and Otis
occasionally informs their country/southern rock
fusion [...] with a smattering of 60s soul-inspired flourishes". The band's guitarist and frontman Patterson Hood described the album as their "most different and most Muscle Shoals
sounding album." The band recorded two covers by fellow Muscle Shoals artist Eddie Hinton
for the album. Bassist Shonna Tucker sings Hinton's "Where's Eddie", while Hood performs "Everybody Needs Love".
Of the album's content, Hood commented in a letter to fans, "If The Big To-Do was an action adventure summertime flick (albeit with some brainy and dark undercurrents) this one is a noir film." According to The Guardian
s Michael Hann, the album's themes focus on "lives turned sour; [...] that shuffles around the Deep South
". Andy Gill of The Independent
writes of its themes and characters, "the brooding protagonists of songs such as 'Ray's Automatic Weapon' and 'Used to Be a Cop' are captured on the cusp of catastrophe, at the end of their tether, while the adulterous itch prompted by a dancer's boots in the title-track bristles with portents of recrimination".
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 79, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic editor Mark Deming gave it four out of five stars and complimented its noirish themes, stating "The craft of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley's songwriting is as strong as ever, drawing believable characters and giving them lives that make dramatic sense". Deming noted an "impressive sense of dynamics" in the band's music and commented that "There are moments where Go-Go Boots recalls Exile on Main St.
, another album that makes much out of feel and the way musicians play off one another". Rolling Stone
writer Jody Rosen
described the album as "a raggedy revision of classic southern soul" and stated "It's a slight shift from DBT's usual muscular alt-country
, but the rest is familiar: great storytelling [...] hinged to choruses that lodge in your cranium". Sean McCarthy of PopMatters
viewed it as an improvement over their previous album, The Big To-Do, stating "the statements aren’t nearly as boisterous, the mood is more consistent, and the characters that occupy the songs are more fleshed out". Peter Watts of Uncut
gave the album four out of five stars and praised the band's "writing absorbing tales of smalltown characters and setting them to raucous, life-affirming music", calling it "a more restrained affair, a country-soul stew populated by brooding ex-cops, frustrated movie stars, wife-murdering preachers and sweet old ladies".
However, Slant Magazine
's Jonathan Keefe criticized the band's songwriting and found Hood's observations "literal and tin-eared", writing that "Go-Go Boots aims for a soulful, introspective vibe, but it ends up as the dullest album in the Truckers's catalogue". Joseph Viney of Sputnikmusic
gave the album two-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote unfavorably of its musical style, stating "A majority of the songs keep to the same tempo and elicit little variety". Chicago Tribune
writer Greg Kot
commented that "a little more variation would’ve been welcome", but gave it three out of four stars and complimented its "acoustic-flavored country and soul colors". Pitchfork Media
's Stephen M. Deusner viewed the album as a departure from the "rock noise" of their previous albums, "indulging [Mike] Cooley's country jones as well as the band's more acoustic tendencies". Deusner called it "a more dynamic record" than The Big To-Do, noting "a greater textural range, from the noir ramble of 'Ray's Automatic Weapon' to the spidery tension of 'Used to Be a Cop', one of Hood's best character sketches". In his consumer guide for MSN Music
, critic Robert Christgau
gave Go-Go Boots an A- rating, indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction". Christgau wrote that "they turn down the boogie so we're sure to get the lyrics" and commented that "Cooley owns the best tunes and the best lines".
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers
Drive-By Truckers are an alternative country/Southern rock band based in Athens, Georgia, though three out of six members are originally from The Shoals region of Northern Alabama, and the band strongly identifies with Alabama. Their music uses three guitars as well as bass, drums, and now...
, first released February 14, 2011, on Play It Again Sam Records. It was produced by record producer David Barbe and recorded during 2009 to 2010, concurrently with sessions for the band's previous album The Big To-Do (2010). Upon its release, Go-Go Boots received positive reviews from most music critics.
Background
The majority of the album was recorded over three blocks of sessions during 2009. The 25 songs resulting from these sessions were split these between The Big To-Do and its follow-up Go-Go Boots. After The Big To-Dos release, the band continued working on and tweaking the album throughout 2010, eventually recording 5 more songs for Go-Go Boots during this period. Go-Go Boots marks the eighth Drive-By Truckers album produced by David Barbe, and is the eighth Drive-By Trucker LP with artwork designed by Wes Freed.The album was released in the United States on February 15 by ATO Records
ATO Records
According to Our Records was founded in early 2000 by Dave Matthews , Coran Capshaw, Chris Tetzeli, and Michael McDonald as a division of RCA Records...
and in Europe on February 14, 2011 by Play It Again Sam Records. The album's first single, "The Thanksgiving Filter" (with "Used To Be A Cop" as the b-side) was released as a limited edition vinyl on November 26, 2010.
Music
Go-Go Boots expands on the countryCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
influences of the band's previous work. Phil Mongredien of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
writes that "the influence of Aretha
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
and Otis
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
occasionally informs their country/southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
fusion [...] with a smattering of 60s soul-inspired flourishes". The band's guitarist and frontman Patterson Hood described the album as their "most different and most Muscle Shoals
Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, also known as The Swampers, are a group of American soul, R&B, and country studio musicians based in the town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama...
sounding album." The band recorded two covers by fellow Muscle Shoals artist Eddie Hinton
Eddie Hinton
Eddie Hinton was an American songwriter and session musician best known for his work with soul music and R&B singers...
for the album. Bassist Shonna Tucker sings Hinton's "Where's Eddie", while Hood performs "Everybody Needs Love".
Of the album's content, Hood commented in a letter to fans, "If The Big To-Do was an action adventure summertime flick (albeit with some brainy and dark undercurrents) this one is a noir film." According to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Michael Hann, the album's themes focus on "lives turned sour; [...] that shuffles around the Deep South
Deep South
The Deep South is a descriptive category of the cultural and geographic subregions in the American South. Historically, it is differentiated from the "Upper South" as being the states which were most dependent on plantation type agriculture during the pre-Civil War period...
". Andy Gill of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
writes of its themes and characters, "the brooding protagonists of songs such as 'Ray's Automatic Weapon' and 'Used to Be a Cop' are captured on the cusp of catastrophe, at the end of their tether, while the adulterous itch prompted by a dancer's boots in the title-track bristles with portents of recrimination".
Reception
Go-Go Boots received positive reviews from most music critics. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 79, based on 12 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic editor Mark Deming gave it four out of five stars and complimented its noirish themes, stating "The craft of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley's songwriting is as strong as ever, drawing believable characters and giving them lives that make dramatic sense". Deming noted an "impressive sense of dynamics" in the band's music and commented that "There are moments where Go-Go Boots recalls Exile on Main St.
Exile on Main St.
Exile on Main St. is the tenth British and 12th American studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones. Released as a double LP in May 1972, it draws on many genres including rock and roll, blues, soul, R&B, gospel and country. The release of Exile on Main St. met with mixed reviews, but is...
, another album that makes much out of feel and the way musicians play off one another". Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
writer Jody Rosen
Jody Rosen
Jody Rosen is an American journalist and author. He is the music critic for the online magazine Slate, and the author of White Christmas: The Story of an American Song....
described the album as "a raggedy revision of classic southern soul" and stated "It's a slight shift from DBT's usual muscular alt-country
Alternative country
Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...
, but the rest is familiar: great storytelling [...] hinged to choruses that lodge in your cranium". Sean McCarthy of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
viewed it as an improvement over their previous album, The Big To-Do, stating "the statements aren’t nearly as boisterous, the mood is more consistent, and the characters that occupy the songs are more fleshed out". Peter Watts of Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
gave the album four out of five stars and praised the band's "writing absorbing tales of smalltown characters and setting them to raucous, life-affirming music", calling it "a more restrained affair, a country-soul stew populated by brooding ex-cops, frustrated movie stars, wife-murdering preachers and sweet old ladies".
However, Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
's Jonathan Keefe criticized the band's songwriting and found Hood's observations "literal and tin-eared", writing that "Go-Go Boots aims for a soulful, introspective vibe, but it ends up as the dullest album in the Truckers's catalogue". Joseph Viney of Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
gave the album two-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote unfavorably of its musical style, stating "A majority of the songs keep to the same tempo and elicit little variety". Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
writer Greg Kot
Greg Kot
Greg Kot is an American writer and journalist. Since 1990, Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he has covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues...
commented that "a little more variation would’ve been welcome", but gave it three out of four stars and complimented its "acoustic-flavored country and soul colors". Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's Stephen M. Deusner viewed the album as a departure from the "rock noise" of their previous albums, "indulging [Mike] Cooley's country jones as well as the band's more acoustic tendencies". Deusner called it "a more dynamic record" than The Big To-Do, noting "a greater textural range, from the noir ramble of 'Ray's Automatic Weapon' to the spidery tension of 'Used to Be a Cop', one of Hood's best character sketches". In his consumer guide for MSN Music
MSN Music
MSN Music was a part of the MSN web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. In 2004, Microsoft created an MSN Music download store to compete with Apple's iTunes Music Store, though its sales in comparison were...
, critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave Go-Go Boots an A- rating, indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction". Christgau wrote that "they turn down the boogie so we're sure to get the lyrics" and commented that "Cooley owns the best tunes and the best lines".
Track listing
- "I Do Believe" (Hood)
- "Go-Go Boots" (Hood)
- "Dancin’ Ricky" (Tucker)
- "Cartoon Gold" (Cooley)
- "Ray’s Automatic Weapon" (Hood)
- "Everybody Needs Love" (Hinton)
- "Assholes" (Hood)
- "The Weakest Man" (Cooley)
- "Used To Be A Cop" (Hood)
- "I Hear You Hummin'" (Tucker) (bonus track - vinyl only)
- "The Fireplace Poker" (Hood)
- "Where’s Eddie" (Hinton)
- "The Thanksgiving Filter" (Hood)
- "Pulaski" (Cooley)
- "Mercy Buckets" (Hood)
Personnel
Credits for Go-Go Boots adapted from Allmusic.- David Barbe – bass, engineer, mixing, producer
- The Bottom Feeders – vocals, background vocals
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- Colin Cargile – archivist, monitor engineer
- Mike Cooley – banjo, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals
- Matt DeFilippis – engineer
- Wes Freed – artwork
- Jay Gonzalez – accordion, Hammond B3, Piano, background vocals, Wurlitzer
- Lilla Hood – art direction
- Patterson Hood – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, liner notes, vocals, background vocals
- Craig Lieske – assistant
- Jack Logan – vocals
- Brad Morgan – drums
- John Neff – dobro, guitar, pedal steel, sitar, slide guitar
- Johnny Neff – pedal steel
- John Salter – A&R
- Supertramp Sanchez – accordion, soloist
- Damon Scott – stage production
- Slantbar Johnny – feedback
- Jason Thrasher – photography
- Shonna Tucker – bass, piano, vocals, background vocals
- Drew Vandenberg – assistant engineer
External links
- Go-Go Boots at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- The Big To-Do Commentary at Drive-By Truckers website
- The Righteous Path - The Barnes & Noble Review — By Robert ChristgauRobert ChristgauRobert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...