ALBUM REVIEW: The Go! Team "Thunder, Lightning, Strike"

THE GO! TEAM “THUNDER, LIGHTNING, STRIKE!"


1 cup of lo-fi samples from some tape cassettes
1/2 Cup of Bubble Gum Dance Beats
1/2 Cup of B-Girl/B-Boy Style
6 oz. Soul
6 oz. 1,2,3,4’s
1 Cup 70’s children’s morning TV
1 Cup 70’s Cop Show
2 lbs. Mint Royale, The Avalanches


Put that in for 40 minutes and what you have is the Brighton, England six member coed band, The Go! Team (that exclamation point is not a typo, and believe me they deserve it). From the second you put in “Thunder, Lightning, Strike!” it opens with that shrieking noise to a wonderful “One, Two Three, Four” sample of cheerleaders, and you are in it to win it.

You have an inclination that good times are to be had from the first 15 second taste. If it’s a Milton Bradley game, dinner, wine party, shower, bathroom break, I-Pod on the subway, a drive or anything, this album is like that amazing wine that goes with ANYTHING and everyone, even those who hate wine (dance, break beats, etc.), will enjoy it.

“Ladyflash” gives any lady that Pam Grier feel of walking down the street to “kick ass and take names” dancing. But don’t fret men, “Junior Kickstart” gives you a chance to be Starsky (or is it Hutch), and not that diaper duo Stiller and Wilson. I will tell you that you are that cop Barney Miller always wanted to be in the late 70’s. “Feel good By Numbers” can make you feel like Schroder of the Peanuts is playing in the other room with some MORE “One Two Three Fours”.

Are you ready for more B-Boy break dancing, Sugarhill style and “Electric Company” sing-alongs? Then “Bottle Rocket” will have you imagining you are Ramon in “Beat Street”, about to dance it out for some kids on “Zoom”. Coming around third base on this record is “Huddle Formation” which instantly I came up with the perfect music video idea, but this album has that all over it for anyone to do that. The Go! Team have made the term “let your imagination run wild” a reality for themselves and the audience in which they pull it off to a “T” (for TEAM). So are you hungry yet?! Good! Then put this album in, and serve immediately.
RATING: A