Van Go (album)

1986 studio album by The Beat Farmers

Van Go

Studio album by

The Beat Farmers

Released| 1986
Studio| Indigo Ranch, Malibu, CA
Genre| Rock, country rock
Label| Curb/MCA
Producer| Craig 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 ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [10]
Robert Christgau| B[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.| Title| Length

|
|

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]

* Buddy Blue \- guitar
* Rolle Dexter - bass, vocals
* Joey Harris - guitar
* Country Dick Montana \- drums, vocals
* Jerry Raney - guitar, vocals

## 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.

*[No.]: Number