Go-Go Boots

Drive-By Truckers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 15, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: ATO RECORDS / RED
• ASIN: B004CIIXBO
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #44,904 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. I Do Believe

2. Go-Go Boots

3. Dancin' Ricky

4. Cartoon Gold

5. Ray's Automatic Weapon

6. Everybody Needs Love

7. Assholes

8. The Weakest Man

9. Used To Be A Cop

10. The Fireplace Poker

11. Where's Eddie

12. The Thanksgiving Filter

13. Pulaski

14. Mercy Buckets

Editorial Reviews

Drive-By Truckers will release Go-Go Boots on February 15, 2011 on ATO Records. Go-Go Boots is their eleventh record and was produced by their longtime producer, David Barbe.

Go-Go Boots builds on their roots with the old Muscle Shoals country-and-soul sound. 'We recorded nearly 40 songs last year and into this year and fairly early on divided it into two separate albums' explains DBT co-founder Patterson Hood. 'The Big To-Do, releases first, was the more straightforward 'rock' album. Go-Go Boots is what I sometimes (semi-jokingly) refer to as our country, soul, and murder ballad album. Those elements definitely play into it, but it's a little more open ended than that.'

Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley continue to be the chief songwriters of the group, continuing a musical partnership that has lasted over twenty-three years. Bassist, Shonna Trucker, flexes her songwriting muscles once again by contributing two original songs to the album. Brad Morgan (drums), John Neff (guitar/pedal steel) and Jay Gonzalez (keyboards) round out the current Drive-By Truckers lineup.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic February 16, 2011

By Howlinw

Format:Audio CD

There was a time when I used to write a lot of music reviews on this site, but lately I haven't written many. In large part it's due to the fact that life gets in the way of things like this, but additionally there honestly hasn't been all that much new which has excited me enough to take the time to write. It's been a little while since an album really made me sit up and take notice...but then this one came along and once again reminded me of why music is such a big part of my life.

This album is exactly as described in the band's promotional material - country soul. It pulls from both strains equally (perhaps a little more country than soul in some places) but still has that unique and distinctive sound that lets you know who is making this music. Each song is a gem and although some are fairly bleak the stories are engaging and captivating while maintaining a simple directness and a ring of ripped-from-the-headlines truth (I'm thinking "Go Go Boots" the song in particular here). In an era when so many bands go for song after song of vague lyrics about the singer's emotional state or sense of general detachment this set of story-songs stands out like a finely crafted novel amongst shelves of bad romance writing. The music is gritty and raw, even when it proceeds at a slower pace than some of the material on the band's earlier albums. We also have the beautiful and warm "Everybody Needs Love" popping up around the album's middle, giving us a bit of a break from the somewhat gloomier numbers with a slice of pure uplifting classic soul music. This sequencing shows that the Truckers are not only masters of songcraft but also know how to structure the album as a whole to keep the listener engaged. The diversity of the songs is highlighted by the order in which they are placed, and this keeps the (or this) listener waiting eagerly to hear what's coming 'round the bend.

So in a nutshell, a superb album and one well worth your time. This is truly classic American music following from the great traditions of country, soul and rock n roll. A fine showing from a band that has proven itself to be one of America's great treasures.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A creeper! February 16, 2011

By PuroShaggy

Format:Audio CD

This is the type of album my friends and I call a "creeper".
First off, it is not a return to "Dirty South/Southern Rock Opera" form. The electric guitars are turned down and while this album possesses a slow burning intensity, there is nothing here to rival a "Marry Me" or "Where The Devil Don't Stay" or even a more recent "The Man I Shot". At first listen, this was a disappointment as it seems like its been too long since DBT has seriously rocked out. After listening to this album practically non-stop for the past two days, however, I have realized that this album possesses an intensity that is actually amplified by the more laid back approach that the band has taken.
The song which best defines the album is the title track. Slow almost plodding beat, with some bluesy organ, slinky guitar lurking in the wings, and Patterson spinning a tale of adultery, violence, and go-go boots, this is a musical set piece that sets the tone early. It is a classic Patterson tale with just enough details given to paint a picture of luridness and sleaze. The music never picks up steam or really goes anywhere, but the lyrics coupled with the obvious restraint exercised by the band makes for a stunning five and a half minutes.
The better tracks on this album follow this template. "Ray's Automatic Weapon", "The Fireplace Poker", The Thanksgiving Filter", and the album stand-out "Used To Be A Cop" are storytelling tour-de-forces; and while "The Fireplace Poker" may suffer from too many details in the lyrics, "Used To Be A Cop" ranks as an all-time DBT highlight. Sounding like Bruce Springsteen lyrics circa 1978 delivered over a deranged disco groove, this track finds the band- lyrically and musically- operating on a ruthless, killer instinct level.
Sadly, while Patterson brings it with these tracks and two of his more emotionally rewarding tracks- "I Do Believe" and the cover "Everybody Needs Love"- Cooley seems to phone his tracks in. He only wrote three tracks this time out, each of them predominately acoustic; and while the lyrics contain some clever phrases, the subject matter is so generic that ultimately, each track is rather forgettable. The same cannot be said for Tucker, who turns in two of the best tracks she has yet to record.
Overall, this is an album that gets better with each listen. Patterson is in top songwriting form and pushes the band in a slightly new direction. It may not grab you by the lapels and demand your attention the way their early 2000 efforts did, but with repeated listens, this album only gets better and better.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This band is still (finally?) growing February 18, 2011

By David B. Haskin

Format:MP3 Music

It's always hard when a band you love evolves. Since I've always been, at best, a middlin' level DBT fan in the past, I welcome this change, although judging from some of the other reviews here, some long-time, hard-core fans are less than satisfied. But from where I sit, DBT has finally shed its sons-of-Skynyrd shtick, which they did very well but which also had gotten quite stale. Instead, this album shows them moving toward a more varied, more nuanced approach that they very accurately call "country soul;" gone is the reliance on guitar-heavy rock. Some songs are more country, some are more soul and most beautifully layer and intertwine the two so transparently that the sound is still uniquely DBT, but also more sonically inviting and warmer. My guess is that this album will be loved by both the alt-country/Americana set as well as by many of DBT's harder-rocking fans.