Go West (Village People album)

Go West is the fourth studio album by the Village People, released on March 26, 1979. It features their hit singles "In the Navy" (#3 on the US Billboard Hot 100, #2 in the UK Top 40) and "Go West", which the Pet Shop Boys did a successful cover of in 1993.

Go West
Studio album by Village People
Released	March 26, 1979
Recorded	1978
Genre	Disco
Length	30:33
Label	Casablanca
Producer	Jacques Morali
Village People chronology
Cruisin' (1978) Go West (1979) Live and Sleazy (1979)
Singles from Go West
"Go West" Released: 1979 "In the Navy" Released: January 17, 1979

Billboard Magazine stated that the album contains "some of the most irresistible rhythm in today's pop /disco genre."[1] Billboard described the song "I Wanna Shake Your Hand" as "an appropriately non romantic twist on the Beatles", with its mock exhortation to "Don't be shy/ go up and say hello."[1] AllMusic critic Amy Hanson felt that aside from the two singles and "Manhattan Woman," which she felt "contained some interesting, James Brown-inflected vocalizations," the remaining songs "sound like a rehash of the band's already released finest."[2]

This album was reissued to CD in 1996.[3]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Christgau's Record Guide	B–[4]
Smash Hits	5/10[5]

Go West would be the band's last complete album of all-new material for Casablanca, as well as the last album to feature Victor Willis.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Henri Belolo, Jacques Morali and Victor Willis.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"In the Navy"	5:39
2.	"Go West"	4:10
3.	"Citizens of the World"	5:32
4.	"I Wanna Shake Your Hand"	4:40
5.	"Get Away Holiday"	5:22
6.	"Manhattan Woman"	5:10

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1979)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6]	8
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7]	22
Belgian Albums (BEA)[8]	6
Canadian Albums (RPM)[9]	2
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[10]	8
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[11]	2
French Albums (SNEP)[12]	9
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[13]	14
Icelandic Albums (Tonlist)[14]	6
Italian Albums (AFI)[15]	15
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[16]	18
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17]	28
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[18]	4
Spanish Albums (AFE)[19]	14
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[20]	7
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21]	11
UK Albums (OCC)[22]	14
US Billboard 200[23]	8
Zimbabwean Albums (ZIMA)[24]	2

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[25]	3× Platinum	300,000^^
France (SNEP)[26]	Gold	100,000^*
United Kingdom (BPI)[27]	Gold	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[28]	Platinum	1,000,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. "Top Album Picks" (PDF). Billboard. April 7, 1979. p. 98. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
2. Hanson, Amy. "Go West - The Village People". Retrieved 2 September 2011.
3. https://www.discogs.com/Village-People-Go-West/release/3424963 Retrieved 21 July 2020.
4. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: V". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 19, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
5. Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (May 17–31, 1979): 25.
6. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 330. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
7. "Austriancharts.at – Village People – Go West" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
8. "Hits Of The World, Page 95 June 9 1979". Billboard. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
9. "RPM: Village People (albums)". RPM Magazine. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
10. "Dutchcharts.nl – Village People – Go West" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
11. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin - levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 263. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
12. "Tous les Albums de l'Artiste choisi". InfoDisc. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
13. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
14. "Tonlist Top 40". DV. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
15. "Gli album più venduti del 1979". Hit Parade Italia. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
16. "Oricon Archive - Village People". Oricon. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
17. "Charts.nz – Village People – Go West". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
18. "Norwegiancharts.com – Village People – Go West". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
19. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
20. "Swedishcharts.com – Village People – Go West". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
21. "Swisscharts.com – Village People – Go West". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
22. "Village People | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
23. "The Village People – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
24. Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: albums chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
25. "Canadian album certifications – Village People – Go West". Music Canada.
26. "French album certifications – Village People – Go West" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
27. "British album certifications – Village People – Go West". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Go West in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
28. "American album certifications – Village People – Go West". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.