Go-Go Boots

by Drive-By Truckers

Overview

The Drive-By Truckers are a band that likes to do things the old-fashioned way. They proudly proclaim that they record their music "on glorious two-inch analog tape," they still think in terms of albums with two (or four) sides, and their sound is firmly rooted in the traditions of Southern rock and the blues. They also hark back to a time when rock bands made an album every year followed by a tour, and if the DBTs haven't quite held firm to that schedule, since they broke through with Southern Rock Opera in 2001, they've managed to release six studio albums, a live CD/DVD, another DVD-only live set, and a collection of rarities and unreleased tracks, all while keeping up a demanding touring schedule. Any band that busy is likely to believe it deserves a rest every once in a while, and in a sense, 2011's Go-Go Boots feels a little bit like a working vacation. The album is notably short on full-blown rockers and sounds scaled back from the three-guitar attack that's been their hallmark, often dominated by acoustic guitars and the muffled but determined report of Brad Morgan's drums. The songs also find the band going back to the well on themes it has visited before -- the man of the Lord with a broad but carefully hidden streak of corruption in The Big To-Do's "The Wig He Made Her Wear" foreshadowed not one but two songs here, "The Fireplace Poker" and the title track, and the damaged ex-cop of "Used to Be a Cop" feels like a cousin to the haunted war veteran of Brighter Than Creation's Dark's "That Man I Shot." But none of this adds up to an album that's at all lazy. 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, and Shonna Tucker just keeps getting better with the graceful and hard-edged "Dancin' Ricky." And if the music on Go-Go Boots is less physical than what the Drive-By Truckers typically deliver, it's emphatic and passionate, with an impressive sense of dynamics and as much soul as these folks have ever summoned in the studio -- they've rocked a lot harder, but they've never cut a more natural and telling groove. 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, and if this isn't as likely to be regarded as a masterpiece, it's also less self-obsessive, and reveals some sides of the Drive-By Truckers the band hasn't captured in the studio before. After ten years of hard work, the DBTs are still learning, still growing, and still feeling out new ideas, and on Go-Go Boots they show that even when they're relaxed, they're still one of America's best bands. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	02/15/2011
Label:	Ato / Red Distribution
UPC:	0880882172114
Rank:	47440

Tracks

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. I Hear You Hummin'
11. The Fireplace Poker
12. Where's Eddie
13. The Thanksgiving Filter
14. Pulaski
15. Mercy Buckets

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Drive-By Truckers   Primary Artist
Patterson Hood   Guitar,Vocals,Vocal Harmony,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Jay Gonzalez   Piano,Accordion,Wurlitzer,Vocal Harmony,Vocals (Background)
John Neff   Dobro,Sitar,Guitar,Pedal Steel,Slide Guitar
David Barbe   Bass,Guest Artist
Brad Morgan   Drums
Jack Logan   Vocals,Guest Artist
Shonna Tucker   Bass,Piano,Vocals,Vocal Harmony,Vocals (Background)
Mike Cooley   Banjo,Guitar,Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
The Bottom Feeders   Vocals,Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Johnny Neff   Pedal Steel
Supertramp Sanchez   Soloist,Accordion,Guest Artist

Technical Credits

Patterson Hood   Composer,Lyricist,Liner Notes,Group Member
Greg Calbi   Mastering
Vic Chesnutt   Composer
Jay Gonzalez   Composer,Group Member
John Neff   Composer,Group Member
David Barbe   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Brad Morgan   Composer,Group Member
Eddie Hinton   Composer,Lyricist
Shonna Tucker   Composer,Lyricist,Group Member
Mike Cooley   Composer,Lyricist,Group Member
Donnie Fritts   Composer,Lyricist
Jason Thrasher   Photography
Wes Freed   Artwork,Paintings
Matt DeFilippis   Engineer
Lilla Hood   Art Direction
Damon Scott   Stage Production
Drew Vandenberg   Assistant Engineer
John Salter   A&R
Cole Taylor   Lighting
Colin Cargile   Archivist,Monitor Engineer
Craig Lieske   Assistant
Slantbar Johnny   Feedback