Go Go Harlem Baby
| Go Go Harlem Baby | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Studio album by | |
| Released | 1991 |
| Recorded | Easley-McCain (Memphis, Tennessee) |
| Genre | Punkabilly[1] |
| Length | 39:47 |
| Label | Sky |
| Producer | Jim Dickinson |
Go Go Harlem Baby is an album by the American punkabilly band Flat Duo Jets.[2][3] It was released via Sky in 1991.[4][5] The band supported the album with a North American tour.[6]
The album was reissued by Third Man Records in 2011; it was for a time one of Jack White's favorite albums.[7][8]
Production
[edit]Recorded at Easley McCain Recording, the album was produced by Jim Dickinson.[9][10] The majority of Go Go Harlem Baby was recorded in three days.[11] "You Belong to Me" is a cover of the Duprees' song; "Apple Blossom Time" is a cover of the standard made popular by the Andrews Sisters.[12][13] "Wild Trip" is a cover of the Ventures instrumental.[14]
Critical reception
[edit]| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [15] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [4] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [16] |
| Orlando Sentinel | [17] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [1] |
| The Tampa Tribune | [18] |
Trouser Press wrote that "the ultra-live sound of the speedballs renders some of them generic, although [Dexter] Romweber continues to excel on the slower cuts, offering an atmospheric reading of the instrumental classic 'Harlem Nocturne'."[12] Spin called Romweber "the Crispin Glover of rock'n'roll singers," writing that he emotes "with a creepy edge that Jerry Lee Lewis himself would be hard-pressed to match."[19]
The Orlando Sentinel thought that "for a rock 'n' roll animal, Romweber has an amazingly pretty voice."[17] The Washington Post opined that "wild-eyed, gravel-voiced singer/songwriter/guitarist Dexter Romweber remains an original, his genius and his preposterousness inextricably linked."[20] The Tampa Tribune said that Romweber's guitar "can screech with icy feedback or sing in a warm rush of echo."[18]
AllMusic wrote that the band's "deliciously dirty and rough brand of rockabilly is unrivaled, and this disc is perhaps their finest."[15]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Flat Duo Jets Anthem" | |
| 2. | "The Dainty Song" | |
| 3. | "Go Go Harlem Baby" | |
| 4. | "You Belong to Me" | |
| 5. | "Frog Went a Courtin'" | |
| 6. | "No Greater Love" | |
| 7. | "I Don't Know" | |
| 8. | "Harlem Nocturne" | |
| 9. | "Wild Trip" | |
| 10. | "Rock House" | |
| 11. | "Stalkin'" | |
| 12. | "Don't Blame Me" | |
| 13. | "Love Has Its Joke Sometimes" | |
| 14. | "TV Mama" | |
| 15. | "Apple Blossom Time" | |
| 16. | "Ask Me How I Live" |
Personnel
[edit]- Dexter Romweber - guitar, vocals
- Chris "Crow" Smith - drums
References
[edit]- ^ a b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 249.
- ^ Unterberger, Richie; Hicks, Samb (August 25, 1999). Music USA: The Rough Guide. Rough Guides.
- ^ "Flat Duo Jets: Bow to Primitive Rock". Calendar. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 28 May 1992. p. 7.
- ^ a b Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 3. MUZE. p. 491.
- ^ "Flat Duo Jets Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ Pahnelas, Bill (1 Apr 1991). "Minimal Rock Soars to Maximum Effect". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. A11.
- ^ "Blues Genes: 15 of Jack White's Biggest Influences". Rolling Stone. May 29, 2014.
- ^ Sullivan, James (5 June 2009). "A man out of time – the 1950s". The Boston Globe. p. G22.
- ^ "Dexter Romweber: Beyond the Flat Duo Jets". Perfect Sound Forever.
- ^ Earles, Andrew (September 15, 2014). Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981-1996. Voyageur Press.
- ^ Popson, Tom (10 May 1991). "'Psyched-up' rockabilly from the Flat Duo Jets". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. M.
- ^ a b "Flat Duo Jets". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
- ^ Hyden, Steven (May 17, 2016). Your Favorite Band Is Killing Me: What Pop Music Rivalries Reveal About the Meaning of Life. Little, Brown.
- ^ Menconi, David (15 Mar 1991). "One dynamic duo". Weekend. The News & Observer. p. 3.
- ^ a b "Go Go Harlem Baby". AllMusic.
- ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 432.
- ^ a b Gettelman, Parry (17 May 1991). "Flat Duo Jets". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 30.
- ^ a b O'Neill, Mike (12 Apr 1991). "Flat Duo Jets". Tampa Bay Times. The Tampa Tribune. p. 19.
- ^ Menconi, David (May 1991). "Spins". Spin. Vol. 7, no. 2. p. 74.
- ^ Jenkins, Mark (19 Apr 1991). "Don't Judge Bands By Their Label Size". The Washington Post. p. N18.
