Van Go (album)

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Van Go
Studio album by
The Beat Farmers
Released1986
StudioIndigo Ranch, Malibu, CA
GenreRock, country rock
LabelCurb/MCA
ProducerCraig Leon
The Beat Farmers chronology
Glad 'N' Greasy
(1986) 		Van Go
(1986) 		The Pursuit of Happiness
(1987)

Van Go is the second album by the American rock band the Beat Farmers, released in 1986.[1][2] It was the band's first album for Curb Records.[3]

The album peaked at No. 135 on the Billboard 200.[4]

Production[edit]

The guitarist Buddy Blue left the band during the recording sessions for Van Go; he was replaced by Joey Harris.[5][6] The album was produced by Craig Leon.[7] Beat Farmers drummer Country Dick Montana later described the album as having "'more of an AOR sound.'"[8] Many of the songs are about cars and transportation.[9]

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Robert ChristgauB[11]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[12]
The Evening Sun[9]
Houston Chronicle[13]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[14]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[15]

The Washington Post wrote that the Beat Farmers "sing about the barroom world of retooled cars, busted marriages and dead-end jobs... The band is as capable of irony as [Lou] Reed or [Neil] Young, but the Beat Farmers never allow it to interfere with their back-to-back basics attack."[16] Robert Christgau thought that "except for the deadpan 'Gun Sale at the Church' and maybe the Johnny Cash impressions, their country-rock is now proudly generic."[11]

Trouser Press called the album "amiable but rather thin."[17] The Toronto Star opined that the "best thing about the Beat Farmers is that they make no outrageous claims for themselves; their music is honest and earthy, but it doesn't pretend to defend the dignity of the working man, free enterprise, the American Way."[18]

AllMusic praised the "amazing cover of Neil Young's 'Powderfinger', which sounds like it was written for the band."[10]

Track listing[edit]

No.TitleLength
1."Riverside"3:27
2."Deceiver"2:48
3."Powderfinger"3:46
4."Seven Year Blues"2:31
5."Blue Chevrolet"2:50
6."I Want You, Too"1:54
7."Road of Ruin"2:27
8."Buy Me a Car"2:46
9."Gun Sale at the Church"2:57
10."Bigger Fool Than Me"2:48
11."Big Ugly Wheels"2:18

Personnel[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Beat Farmers | Biography & History". AllMusic.
  2. ^ "In Memory of Country Dick Montana, 1955-1995". MTV News.
  3. ^ "The Beat Farmers". San Diego Reader.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2010). Top Pop Albums (7th ed.). Record Research. p. 63.
  5. ^ MacDonald, Patrick (October 31, 1986). "Beat Farmers Till Their Music and Cultivate an Audience". Night Life. The Seattle Times. p. 7.
  6. ^ "The Beat Farmers, who rose from Spring Valley in 1983 to rock the world, celebrated on new/old double-album". The San Diego Union-Tribune. March 27, 2021.
  7. ^ The Encyclopedia of Record Producers. Billboard Books. 1999. p. 459.
  8. ^ "The Beat Farmers Ho, Ho, Ho in the Roots-Rock Field". The Morning Call. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  9. ^ a b Ercolano, Patrick (25 Jun 1986). "Beat Farmers stick to time-honored rock". The Evening Sun. p. E2.
  10. ^ a b "Van Go - Beat Farmers | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  11. ^ a b "Robert Christgau: CG: The Beat Farmers". www.robertchristgau.com.
  12. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 485.
  13. ^ Racine, Marty (September 28, 1986). "Records". Zest. Houston Chronicle. p. 11.
  14. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 86.
  15. ^ Tucker, Ken (June 29, 1986). "The Beat Farmers Van Go". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. H8.
  16. ^ "No Drought for the Rainmakers". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Beat Farmers". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  18. ^ Quill, Greg (14 Nov 1986). "Reviews Pop". Toronto Star. p. D6.
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