| God Luck and Good Speed | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Studio album by Weedeater | ||
| Released | July 31 2007 | |
| Recorded | January 2007 at Electrical Audio in Chicago, Illinois (Except Track 4) | |
| Genre | Stoner Metal, Sludge Metal | |
| Length | 38:53 | |
| Label | Southern Lord Records | |
| Producer | Weedeater, Steve Albini, Mike Dean | |
| Weedeater chronology | ||
| Sixteen Tons (2002) |
God Luck and Good Speed (2007) |
Jason... The Dragon (2011) |
God Luck and Good Speed is the third studio album by the Cape Fear stoner metal trio Weedeater. Released in July 2007 in what would be their first album on Southern Lord Records, God Luck and Good Speed is known by many to be a staple among Weedeater albums and among their finest works.
Background[]
Before the recording of God Luck and Good Speed, several of the songs from the album had been written and appearing in setlists as far back as 2005. "Alone" had been written and recorded prior to the recording sessions, done back in early 2006 at The Garage Mahall by Collins and Shepherd on a four-track, with Mike Dean (Corrosion of Conformity) on banjo and producing. The remainder of the album would be recorded at Electrical Audio in four days through late January 2007, engineered and produced by the band alongside Steve Albini.
Albini would cite similarities in the recording sessions to when High on Fire recording Blessed Black Wings and state the following about the recording sessions in a Poker forum archived by Invisible Oranges: "The band Weedeater just did an album here that was scheduled to take 5 days, but they knocked it out in 4, and I think we were done by 8pm every day. That's a pretty easy session. If you've ever seen them, you know that they have a unique and gnarly sound, but that sound is built-in, and I didn't have to do anything special. That one just sort of fell off the truck complete."[1]
God Luck and Good Speed would be announced in the Spring of 2007 by Southern Lord Records,[2] describing the album in the following press statement: "The sound is gigantic and both the production and recording skillfully capture the intense experience of a Weedeater live show while achieving tones that will swallow you whole."
God Luck and Good Speed would be released on CD on 31 July 2007 with artwork by Arik Moonhawk Roper, along with design resembling a church hymnal and containing fragments of the lyrics to each song. Some sources cite track six, "It Is What It Is" as "Dirt Merchant". In 2009 Southern Lord would release a vinyl edition, limited to 1500 copies (1000 black, 500 gold). In 2015, to coincide with the release of Goliathan, Season of Mist would re-issue all of Weedeater's prior works, including God Luck and Good Speed, on 9 June 2015. Along with a CD re-issue and the first cassette issue of the album, God Luck and Good Speed saw a vinyl re-issue in a wide range of colors in the following:
- Black Vinyl (1550 copies, six pressings)
- Reddish-Brown Vinyl (500 copies)
- Gold Vinyl (325 copies)
- Translucent Beer Vinyl (800 copies)
- Clear Vinyl (550 copies, two pressings)
- Red Transparent Vinyl (300 copies)
- Blue Transparent Vinyl (300 copies)
At the time of release God Luck and Good Speed received relatively positive reviews. Pitchfork (Awarding a 7.1/10) would open their review with citing Weedeater as having "a fondness for typical stoner metal subject matter, but they also display an appealing regional sensibility, evinced by a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Gimme Back My Bullets"."[3] Sea of Tranquility (Three Stars)[4] noting the simplicity and the working man ethic through it all. Blabbermouth would give the album an 8/10, praising "Weed Monkey" and Steve Albini's production.[5]
Retroactively the album has seen higher praise when several critics would review the album in light of it's re-issue and tenth anniversary. The Incredible Kulk, reviewing it alongside Jason... The Dragon, would cite the album as essential as some of today's modern sludge acts and praise Albini's clear production.[6] Doodlehound, whom wrote their review for the album's tenth anniversary and awarded a "Highest Possible Recommendation" nod, praised the length and the whole of the album while also describing it as "A Modern American Classic".[7] Lastly, Sputnik Music awarded a 4.5 "Superb" score, praising the energy of the album and Albini's production.[8]
Tracklist[]
Weedeater - God luck and good speed
All songs written by Weedeater except where noted.
- 1. God Luck and Good Speed (4:25)
- 2. Wizard Fight (2:18)
- 3. For Evan's Sake (7:08)
- 4. Alone (2:14)
- 5. $20 Peanut (2:56)
- 6. It Is What It Is (5:12)
- 7. Gimme Back My Bullets (4:15) (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- 8. Weed Monkey (7:28)
- 9. Willow (2:57)
Personnel[]
- Dave Collins - Bass (1 - 3, 5 - 9), Vocals (1 - 4, 6 - 8), Piano (9), Engineer, Producer
- Dave Shepherd - Guitar (1 - 3, 5 - 8), Engineer (4), Producer
- Keith Kirkum - Drums (1 - 3, 5 - 8), Producer
- Mike Dean - Banjo, Engineer, Mastering, Producer (4)
- Steve Albini - Engineer, Producer (1 - 3, 5 - 9)
- John Golden - Mastering (1 - 3, 5 - 9)
- Arik Roper - Artwork
External Links[]
References[]
| V·T·E Weedeater | |
|---|---|
| Current Members | Dave Collins (AKA "Dixie") • Dave Shepherd (AKA "Shep") • Ramzi Ateyeh |
| Past Members | Keith Kirkum (AKA "KeKo") • Travis Owen (AKA "T-Boogie") • Carlos Denogean |
| Studio Albums | ...And Justice For Y'all • Sixteen Tons • God Luck and Good Speed • Jason... The Dragon • Goliathan |
| Splits | Weedeater / Pins of Light |
| Associated Bands and Artists | Buzzov*en • Bongzilla • Sourvein • Zoroaster |