Van Go | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1986 | |||
Studio | Indigo Ranch, Malibu, CA | |||
Genre | Rock, country rock | |||
Label | Curb/MCA | |||
Producer | Craig Leon | |||
The Beat Farmers chronology | ||||
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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]
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]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | B[11] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Evening Sun | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Houston Chronicle | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Philadelphia Inquirer | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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]
No. | Title | Length |
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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 |