Thunder, Lightning, Strike

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.^[6] Each track on the album was created by combining five or six different ideas from this large assortment of tapes,^[7] 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.^[8][9] '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.^[10]

Recording took place in both the garage and kitchen of Parton's parents' house in Swansea while they were away on holiday,^[11] with him playing all live instruments himself (as at that time there were no other members of the band).^[12] 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.^[12][13]

The original 2004 Memphis Industries release of the album (sometimes referred to as the 'Illegal version') had none of its many samples cleared, as Parton didn't expect the album to attract much attention.^[14] 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.^[15][12] 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.^[16] 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.

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[17]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[18]
Blender	[19]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[20]
Mojo	[21]
NME	9/10[22]
Pitchfork	8.7/10[23]
Resident Advisor	4.5/5[24]
Rolling Stone	[25]
Slant Magazine	[26]
The Village Voice	A−[27]

Close

Reception to Thunder, Lightning, Strike was very positive. On review aggregator site Metacritic, the album has a score of 86, indicating "universal acclaim".^[17]

Pitchfork placed Thunder, Lightning, Strike at number eight in their list of the top albums of 2004^[28] and at number 171 on their list of the top 200 albums of the 2000s.^[29]

Concluding the review for AllMusic, Tim Sendra claimed that, "The Go! Team is widescreen in a pan-and-scan world, a sparkling rejoinder to purists and spoilsports everywhere and more fun than recess on the last day of school. Cinematic, fantastic, and essential to all who want their music larger than life and rambunctious, Thunder, Lightning, Strike is the kind of record that makes you glad to be alive. What could be better than that?"^[18]

The band reissued the record and launched a Fall 2024 tour in the UK and US to celebrate the LP's 20th anniversary. The new album edition appeared on 13 September from Memphis Industries and included a bonus disc of Parton's original CD-R versions of the songs.^[30]

Sample credits^[13]

• "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.

Credits for Thunder, Lightning, Strike adapted from album liner notes.^[13]

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