The Go - "Instant Reaction" CD 24/70:14
This quartet from New York (at least I think that's where they were from, all the liners are in Japanese, so bear with me, and do not confuse this band with the one of the same name that has the Jack White-White Stripes connection) produced at least one single ("Don't Take Her Away" was compiled on Powerpearls Vol. 2) and from the sounds of this, a few other songs in the studio, plus they had a backlog of other songs that were ready to go. Unfortunately, the world wasn't ready for a band that took a few new wave and power pop hooks, sounding much like the Paul Collins Beat, and The Records, and songwriting that could have produced hit after hit. Nope, they were just another pretender in a long line of failed power pop bands of the late 70's. Thankfully, Wizzard In Vinyl out of Japan has unearthed this as part of their Power Pop Retrospective series, and it's well work picking up for the great hooks, melodies and catchy songs. Great energy leads the way, the influences are all over the place; ranging from early Beatles, Ramones, and they were easily as good as some of the contemporaries I mentioned earlier. Seek this out if you are a fan of early power pop; it'll be well worth your effort. Steve
@ www.wizzard-in-vinyl.com

T

Posted 8/28/05

THE GO- INSTANT REACTION- WIZZARD IN VINYL- I just wonder how many bands scattered across the world have named themselves The Go ? You of course have the Sub Pop/ Detroit band and this band, but this one has been long defunct. With very little info I can guess where these 4 guys were coming from just by their label (known for old school power-pop) plus their duds in the photos and their feathered hair as well. In the Summer of 1979 two guitarist/vocalist buddies Tom Conte and Kenny Dutch got together with a rhythm section of George Peters (bass) and Joe Brya (drums) in , I’m guessing ,a Yonkers, NY basement an the rest is…..well, I can’t say history cos’ not many people were aware of these guys but to those of us who dig The Jam, The Rasberries and Cheap Trick the simple, catchy 23 songs here are enough. ( www.wizzard-in-vinyl.com )

A

The Go - Instant Reaction

Japanese import from

Wizzard In Vinyl again and

fans of late 70`s independent skinny tie power pop will rejoice in yet another obscure find. The Go released one very strong 4 song 7" EP, which I was lucky enough to find back then and promptly disappeared. The Go were one of those tape/CD Tree type bands that power pop folks shared with each other over the years and shared and who no one had information on. Well, "Instant Reaction" has 24 songs from the band unearthed! They might have disappeared but they worked hard until they did retire the band. The material here is from 1979-1982 and the styles of power pop covered here will be familiar to collectors and fans. "Black Vinyl Shoes"-era Shoes, Raspberries, The Action, 20/20, The Nerves(early Plimsouls and The Beat), Bomp Records pop from the time and The Pop. Those names not familiar to you? Well, listen up to the soundbites and discover a bit of history. If you know who these folks are, well, consider yourself well-informed, enlightened and sure as to what`s going on here!
Even though The Go never got that big `ole record deal, all the tracks here were competently recorded, just like early material from Shoes, on their TEAC deck and a very well recorded for demos and most of the material could have easily been released on singles, EP`s and an album to no problem for fidelity freaks, at the time. Way to go, boys! Extremely Highly Recommended!

FFriday, July 15, 2005
The Go - "Instant Reaction"

Over a year ago I wrote about the power pop band The Go from New York City. They have finally released a CD of their own on Japan's Wizzard's In Vinyl label. (Why is power pop so big in Japan?) This collection takes the rare "Instant Reaction" E.P. - the only vinyl released by the band - and adds 17 other tracks recorded by the band themselves but never released plus 2 radio spots. The CD is loaded with power pop gems that feature jangly guitars and thwacking drums - no small feat for tracks recorded in their garage on a Teac reel-to-reel over 20 years ago. The songs are strong enough to make you wonder why this band never landed on a major label.

The Go were Kenny Dutch : Guitars/Vocal, Tom Conte : Guitars/Vocal, George Peters : Bass/Vocals, Joe Brya : Drums/Percussion. Kenny and Tom still play in a band called Hipripper. My thanks to Ken for allowing me to post the bands music.

Go to the download page to get The Go - "Instant Reaction"

posted by Eric at 9:47 AM 2 comments

The Go "Instant Reaction" LP
Sometimes Rave Up releases can be of little merit (see this issue's New Toys LP), and sometimes they unleash a genuinely great and surprising record such as this one by The Go. Comped on Powerpearls and known for their only record, the self-released "Instant Reaction" single, these Yonkers kids knew how to kick out the power pop jams, with a good mix of actual punk leanings and well crafted pop tunes and ballads. The four songs from the single kick this off in style (recorded by Ramones/Blondie engineer Rob Freeman), but it's what comes after that shines. After recording the seven-inch, The Go enjoyed a very fruitful period where they wrote and recorded some thirty-plus songs and recorded them all at home a a Teac reel-to-reel. The cream of those sessions is included here. The nature of the living-room recording inevitably draws early Shoes comparisons, but it's not so far off muscially either. There are definitely some Ramones stylings in evidence and even a bit of Mod influence as well, but bottom line, The Go just played great power-pop songs and somehow managed to capture them on tape while rehearsing/practicing. So why did this stuff never come out? Well, NYC is a big and fickle pond and the single probably didn't generate the buzz they'd hoped. And here's the classiest thing about this band: instead of changing their sound to accommodate the synthisizer-laden New Wave that was de rigeur at the moment, they simply decided to call it quits. These recording were sat on until recent interest brought them out of The Go's closet for release. Brief liners, no live filler, this is one of the better recent Rave Ups garnering at least a 7 or 8 on the 10 point scale. Power poppers take heed! (RK)
(Rave Up Records // www.raveuprecords.com)

Inf Informationen zum Artikel:
Killer time again! This one's a real classic of late 70's/early 80's US power-pop. The New York based four-piece started in summer of 1979 and just released four incredible pop anthems on a 7" EP, called "Instant reaction".Those 4 tunes, including "Don't take it away", which had already made it's way on "Powerpearls vol.2" and 20 more examples of their pure brilliance are compiled on this awesome record. Four guys who knew what real power-pop is all about were not lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time to become HUGE, which is a real shame as they would've totally deserved it. Real energetic, super catchy, high melodic, jingle jangle pop action, that will fit perfectly in your power-pop record-collection right between the SHOES, the RECORDS, 20/20, Paul Collins BEAT and the PLIMSOULS. An unexpected invitation to pop heaven.


Have you ever had one of those bad days when situations at work just snowball out of control? You tackle one problem only to discover another. Well if it were not for music, I don’t know where I would be in this life. Music can fill in large voids and bring you places that most designer drugs makers would only dream that they could capture. This brings me to The Go. I was more than happy to blare this CD on my way home from work; let me tell you!

The Go are one of those great-lost power pop bands that have at last been released on cd. Never failing to excite, this release comes from the great Wizzard In Vinyl label out of Japan (I can?t stop praising this label!).

Jangley guitars and a driving back beat will keep you Powerpop enthusiasts coming back for another dose. Reminiscent of bands such as “The Beat”, The Raspberries, Cheap Trick, and The Shoes etc (I could go on and on-pick your fave Powerpop band and insert here). Yes, The Go are that good.


Now, stop interrupting me and read on! This CD is comprised of the original Instant Reaction 7“ (which probably sells for a hefty sum on ebay), as well as 20 other timeless treasures from the period of 1979 to 1982. The Go fall into the category of one of the bands that got away. Some record label execs were caught snoozing! Powerpop nirvana and definitely a CD to take to a deserted island.


10 striped t-shirts out of 10!

by: Christopher Duda (SugarBuzz Toronto)
SugarBuzz Magazine