Thunder, Lightning, Strike

Thunder, Lightning, Strike is the debut studio album by English band The Go! Team. It was initially released on label Memphis Industries on 13 September 2004, but was reworked to avoid legal issues with samples, and re-released in October 2005.

Thunder, Lightning, Strike
Studio album by The Go! Team
Released	13 September 2004
Recorded	2004
Studio	Jan and Ed's basement (Swansea, Wales)
Genre	Indie rock alternative dance alternative hip hop Indie electronic
Length	35:46
Label	Memphis Industries
Producer	The Go! Team Gareth Parton
The Go! Team chronology
Thunder, Lightning, Strike (2004) Proof of Youth (2007)
Singles from Thunder, Lightning, Strike
"Junior Kickstart" Released: 26 May 2003[1] "The Power Is On" Released: 19 July 2004[2] "Ladyflash" Released: 22 November 2004[3] "Bottle Rocket" Released: 26 September 2005[4]

Background

The album was the project of founder member Ian Parton, who over the course of 2003 recorded demos and musical ideas after work onto many dozens of cassettes using a lo-fi 4-track recorder, and titled each tape with a potential song name idea.[5] Each track on the album was created by combining five or six different ideas from this large assortment of tapes,[6] trying out different chorus sections from one with the verse section of another, to give the music an overall feeling of constantly switching radio channels.[7][8] 'Get It Together' was the first track Parton created where he felt he'd got the juxtaposition of differing styles within one song right, giving him the template and direction for the rest of the album.[9]

Recording

Recording took place in both the garage and kitchen of Parton's parents' house in Swansea while they were away on holiday,[10] with him playing all live instruments himself (as at that time there were no other members of the band).[11] The album was co-produced by his sound engineer brother Gareth Parton, who helped Ian set up the makeshift home recording facility in Wales, and later mixed the tracks at The Fortress Studios and Bluestone in London.[11][12]

'Legal' and 'Illegal' versions

The original 2004 Memphis Industries release of the album (sometimes referred to as the 'Illegal version') had had none of its many samples cleared, as Parton didn't expect the album to attract much attention.[13] However Thunder, Lightning, Strike received wide critical acclaim and was later nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. Thereupon a 'legally clean' version of the album was painstakingly recreated by the Parton brothers, containing only cleared or interpolated samples, and rewritten, resung lyrics, all under the guidance of a legal musicologist.[14][11] Junior Kickstart, Bottle Rocket and Ladyflash were among the most heavily reworked tracks, whilst Get It Together was one of a few tracks that remained untouched.[15] This revised 'legal' version of the album was re-released in the United Kingdom and the United States by Columbia Records in October 2005, with two additional bonus tracks. The album peaked at number 48 on the UK Albums Chart in February 2006, some 18 months after its original release.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[16]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[17]
Blender	[18]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[19]
Mojo	[20]
NME	9/10[21]
Pitchfork	8.7/10[22]
Resident Advisor	4.5/5[23]
Rolling Stone	[24]
Slant Magazine	[25]
The Village Voice	A−[26]

Reception to Thunder, Lightning, Strike was very positive. On review aggregator site Metacritic, the album has a score of 86, indicating "universal acclaim".[16]

Pitchfork placed Thunder, Lightning, Strike at number eight in their list of the top albums of 2004[27] and at number 171 on their list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s.[28]

Track listing

All tracks are written by The Go! Team, except where noted.

Original release

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Panther Dash"	The Go! Team Paul Cooksey	2:46
2.	"Ladyflash"	The Go! Team David Reeves Lamont Dozier Brian Holland Eddie Holland Billy Davis Raynard Miner Carl Smith Lloyd Pinchback B. Robinson C. Robinson	4:10
3.	"Feelgood by Numbers"		1:58
4.	"The Power Is On"		3:14
5.	"Get It Together"		3:25
6.	"Junior Kickstart"	The Go! Team Galt MacDermot James Rado Gerome Ragni	3:35
7.	"Air Raid GTR"		0:38
8.	"Bottle Rocket"	The Go! Team Nkechi Egenamba Shirley Elliston	3:43
9.	"Friendship Update"		4:00
10.	"Huddle Formation"	The Go! Team Egenamba	3:12
11.	"Everyone's a V.I.P. to Someone"	The Go! Team Fred Neil Laura Nyro	4:58

Re-release

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Panther Dash"	The Go! Team Cooksey	2:50
2.	"Ladyflash"	The Go! Team Reeves Dozier B. Holland E. Holland Davis Miner Smith Pinchback B. Robinson C. Robinson	4:16
3.	"Feelgood by Numbers"		1:56
4.	"The Power Is On"		3:14
5.	"Get It Together"		3:28
6.	"We Just Won't Be Defeated"		2:45
7.	"Junior Kickstart"	The Go! Team MacDermot Rado Ragni	3:32
8.	"Air Raid GTR"		0:39
9.	"Bottle Rocket"	The Go! Team Egenamba Elliston	3:32
10.	"Friendship Update"		4:00
11.	"Hold Yr Terror Close"		2:18
12.	"Huddle Formation"	The Go! Team Egenamba	3:11
13.	"Everyone's a V.I.P. to Someone"	The Go! Team Neil Nyro	5:08

Sample credits[12]

• "Ladyflash" contains samples of "The DMX Will Rock You (Rap Mix)", written by David Reeves; "Come See About Me", written by Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Eddie Holland; "I Can't Rest", written by Billy Davis, Raynard Miner, and Carl Smith; Wild Style; and "Ashley's Roachclip", written by Lloyd Pinchback.
• "The Power Is On" contains samples of Black Magic; The Clash: Westway to the World; and Gimme an 'F'.
• "Junior Kickstart" contains samples of "Aquarius", written by Galt MacDermot, James Rado, and Gerome Ragni.
• "Bottle Rocket" contains samples of "Soul Time", written by Shirley Ellis.
• "Huddle Formation" contains samples of Gimme an 'F' and Black Panther chants.
• "Everyone's a V.I.P. to Someone" contains samples of "Everybody's Talkin'", written by Fred Neil; and "Stoned Soul Picnic", written by Laura Nyro.

Personnel

Credits for Thunder, Lightning, Strike adapted from album liner notes.[12]

• The Go! Team – performance, production
• Ceri Amphlett – sleeve design
• Mike Palmer – mastering
• Gareth Parton – production
• Rob Winterson – scratching on "Get It Together"

Charts

Chart (2005–06)	Peak position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29]	40
UK Albums (OCC)[30]	48
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[31]	5

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[32]	Gold	100,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Junior Kickstart by The Go! Team". United Kingdom: iTunes Store. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
2. "The Power Is On – EP by The Go! Team". United Kingdom: iTunes Store. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
3. "Ladyflash by The Go! Team". United Kingdom. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
4. "Bottle Rocket! by The Go! Team". United Kingdom. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
5. Ian Parton [@the_go_team] (25 April 2020). "After work I would fire up my sampler and work on really lofi four track demos. These tapes have got some pretty trippy titles: Disneyland Crack Ring/ makeshift dick/ little chico. If you look closely you can see the odd tape name that became a song title" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
6. Ian Parton [@the_go_team] (25 April 2020). "Every song on Thunder Lighting Strike started life on these tapes..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
7. Ian Parton [@the_go_team] (25 April 2020). "Theres lots of trial and error on my demo tapes there would be versions of say Bottle Rocket with the chorus of Ladyflash and vice versa" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
8. Ian Parton [@the_go_team] (25 April 2020). "ladyflash started life as about 7 separate ideas on my demo tapes - I wanted it feel a bit like flipping radio channels between a spector girl group and roxanne shante" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
9. Ian Parton [@the_go_team] (25 April 2020). "Get it together : this is the first song I wrote and felt "yeah this is what I want to sound like" as it was a weird hybrid of electro /jackson 5/ sonic youth harmonics/ country and kinda a kids tv theme" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
10. Ian Parton [@the_go_team] (25 April 2020). "In 2003 when my folks were on holiday I filled up my car with drumkits and my sampler and went to their house in Wales to record. It was literally recorded in a garage" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
11. Doyle, Tom (November 2005). "The Go! Team: Recording Thunder, Lightning, Strike". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
12. Thunder, Lightning, Strike (liner notes). The Go! Team. Memphis Industries. 2004. MI040CD.CS1 maint: others (link)
13. Ian Parton [@the_go_team] (25 April 2020). "The original version of the album was totally illegal - uncleared samples. cos we figured - no hit - no writ. its a smalltime album no fuckers gonna sue us" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
14. Ian Parton [@the_go_team] (25 April 2020). "Once I had a meeting with a musicologist - yeah that's a job - who would give advice about how much I had to change a sample - after the meeting I literally puked up" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
15. Gareth Parton [@garethparton] (25 April 2020). "This [Get It Together] is one of the few tracks we didn't have to redo for the 2nd version of the record" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
16. "Reviews for Thunder, Lightning, Strike by The Go! Team". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
17. Sendra, Tim. "Thunder, Lightning, Strike – The Go! Team". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
18. "The Go! Team: Thunder, Lightning, Strike". Blender (31): 134. November 2005.
19. Endelman, Michael (3 October 2005). "Thunder, Lightning, Strike". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
20. "The Go! Team: Thunder, Lightning, Strike". Mojo: 98. Cunning juxtapositions such as the haunting harmonica that chisels blissful melodies from chest-beating samba horns on opener 'Panther Dash' seem more purposeful than perverse.
21. "The Go! Team: Thunder, Lightning, Strike". NME: 53. 11 September 2004.
22. Schreiber, Ryan (26 October 2004). "The Go! Team: Thunder, Lightning, Strike". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
23. Ojukwu, Chima (23 September 2004). "The Go! Team – Thunder, Lightning, Strike". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
24. Sheffield, Rob (20 October 2005). "Thunder, Lightning, Strike". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
25. Keefe, Jonathan (9 October 2005). "The Go! Team: Thunder, Lightning, Strike". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
26. Christgau, Robert (14 February 2006). "Consumer Guide: Forever Young". The Village Voice. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
27. Pitchfork staff (21 December 2010). "Top 50 Albums of 2004: 10–1". Pitchfork. p. 5. Retrieved 31 December 2004.
28. Pitchfork staff (28 September 2009). "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s". Pitchfork. p. 2. Retrieved 1 October 2009.
29. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
31. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
32. "British album certifications – The Go! Team – Thunder, Lightning Strike". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 November 2018. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Thunder, Lightning Strike in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

External links

• Thunder, Lightning, Strike at Discogs (list of releases)
• Thunder, Lightning, Strike at MusicBrainz (list of releases)