Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #682736 in Music
• Published on: 1994
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

The best Stones album post-Tatoo You.
The Rolling Stones are a victim of their own magnitude. It has long been far hipper to dismiss them as aging, wealthy dilitantes than it has been to admit to liking their work. And too, The Ronnie Wood years do not have the cache that the Mick Taylor early 70s work or the Brian Jones Britpop 60s work had-- even though Wood has been a Stone for 30 of their 42 years. Voodoo Lounge is, I think, unchallenged as the high point of their output post-1980, and it is a strong album from start to finish.

The best thing about Voodoo Louge is that is doesn't have a "sound"-- which is to say, it sounds like the Stones. Ronnie Wood is an outstanding guitrist and the perfect foil for Richards, and this is a guitar album first and foremost (well, it is a song album, but then a guitar album.) "Love is Strong" and "You Got Me Rocking" are radio-ready (or iPod-ready) classic riff-rockers in the best Stones tradition. "Brand New Car" is snaky and groovy and beguiling, with Jagger's nasty vocal implying far more than he actually puts in the lyric, and Woody and Keef dancing their magic weave together. "Sweethearts Together" is reminiscent of "Indian Girl" from Emotional Rescue (another underrated album with which this shares some groove and spirit.)

As is the case on most of the last 7 or so Stones albums, the Keith songs are highlights. "The Worst" is one of those poignant anti-ballad ballads he does, his ravaged and coarse voice belying the sentiment of the lyric and the quality of the songwriting. And "Thru and Thru" is just simply outstanding; used to great effect to conclude season 2 of the Sopranos cable series, it is a snarling, gritty rocker that by itself makes this album noteworthy.

The Voodoo Lounge sessions were productive ones, and there are many bootlegs floating around of outtakes, demos, and alternate versions. It is worth noting that one of these bootlegs contains an alternate version of the album, in sequence-- supposedly "Keith's mix"-- that actually surpasses the released version.

If you want to check out a later-period Stones album, this is the one. Every one has at least one or two or three tracks that make it worthwhile, but this is clearly the strongest and most consistent. From here, Bridges to Babylon is good too, less consistent but worth the effort, especially the deeper you get into the record (past the radio hits and into the art.) Steel Wheels sounds tinny to me, although there too the last few songs are worth the effort (especially Keith's gorgeous "Slipping Away.") Undercover and Dirty Work are probably the last post-1980 studio releases you need, although there again, each has a gem or three.

Try It....You May Just Like It
I may be a tad sentimental in my appreciation of the STONES '94 effort VOODOO LOUNGE. I was about to be a senior in high school, beginning to appreciate the STONES, and about to go see them live. Obviously, I have fond memories that go alongside this CD.
Sentimentality aside, I still think that this is an exceptional album that surpasses its glossy, over-produced predecessor, STEEL WHEELS (1989), and the intermittently listenable BRIDGES TO BABYLON (1997), which was to follow.
There are many who feel that the last amazing STONES album was TATTOO YOU (1981), or even SOME GIRLS (1978). While VOODOO LOUNGE is not quite up to par with either of those works, it's undoubtedly the best thing they have done since then.
VOODOO LOUNGE has all the elements of a great STONES album: great uptempo rockers like "Love is Strong" and "You Got Me Rocking," and surprisingly moving ballads like "Out of Tears."
Even Keith gets some fine moments on this album like "The Worst" and "Thru and Thru."
My personal favorite track on here is "New Faces," which finds the STONES getting back to their roots and could easily pass for something they did back in the day with Brian Jones.
While VOODOO LOUNGE can in no way eclipse anyones memories of LET IT BLEED, STICKY FINGERS or EXILE ON MAIN STREET, it is still an excellent collection of well-written songs that finds Mick, Keith, Charlie, Ron and company at a late peak of sorts. Eleven years on and they are still at it!

Voodoo One Of Stones Top 5
This album is stunningly good with the 50 something year old Stones shockingly soaring to creative heights not seen in more than 15 years, and most assumed would never been seen again. Indeed the fans agreed as the album reached #2 in the charts (#1 in England) and would be 6th highest selling original studio album of the 25 they made. The tour that followed the release of the album remains by far the highest grossing tour in musical history. Some critics said the album was great but broke no new ground. They could not be further from the truth as the album features scores of great songs totally unlike anything the Stones had ever done before including "The Worst", "Moon is Up", "Brand New Car" and "Suck on the Jugular".

The album opens with "Love is Strong" an instant classic in the long line of legendary opening songs such as "Rocks Off", "If You Can't Rock Me", "Start Me Up" and "One Hit to the Body". One of the amazing things on this record is Mick's singing is as good as any point in his career showing off tremendous range and featuring the most interesting lyrics since Some Girls. A critic for Rolling Stone Magazine at the time accurately called Mick's singing on this record as "sheer pleasure". It is followed by "You Got Me Rocking" for the best 1-2 hard rock punch to kick off a Stones album since Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street from the early `70s.

Voodoo, which was named after a stray cat that wandered into the recording studio that was adopted by Richards, has 15 tracks without an ounce of filler, amazing for an album that would have been a double album back in the vinyl days. There are so many great songs, I can't cover them all, but they include Keith's soulful country ballad "The Worst" with Wood on slide guitar, which has more heart than anything you would hear all day listening to a Country Music station. "New Faces" and "Out of Tears" are 2 of the best Stones ballads ever, in the same league as "Tell Me", "Wild Horses", "Angie" and "Waiting on a Friend".

"I Go Wild" is a blistering rocker with a lyrical tale that will have you on the ground laughing at the list of women that "the doctor" recommends avoiding and may in fact be a generic list of Mick's voluminous encounters over the previous half century. "Brand New Car" is one of the most original and cleaver songs ever by the Stones. To this day, most people including veteran rock DJs think this song is about a car. Let me tell you a secret, it has nothing to do with a car and you will be embarrassed when you finally figure it out. Again, Jagger's singing is phenomenal. "Suck on the Jugular" features a beat from drummer Charlie Watts that is unlike any musical style you have ever heard and it works great. "Thru and Thru" is another Richards vocal that is also quite unlike anything you have ever heard, except it doesn't work quite as well as some of the other highly originally crafted songs on this album.

This Album is definitely in the Stones top 10 and possibly in their top 5 which is an amazing feat for the band at this advanced stage in the band's career with so many legendary albums in their wake. It did not go unnoticed by their peers as indicated by their comments just after the release of the album. Angus Young of AC/DC: "Wow, when they want to, they can rock with anyone". Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull: "They are still easily the best band in the world". Roger Waters of Pink Floyd: "If there were one band I wished I was in, it would be the Rolling Stones, because they are so sexy". Gene Simmons of Kiss: "You are talking about a band that continues to be the consummate Rock `N Roll band in the world."

Voodoo Lounge and their other `1990s release Bridges to Babylon (1997) are both far superior to the bands 4 1980s releases and both were followed by massive awe inspiring tours. Voodoo is a must have album, especially for those of you who incorrectly assume Some Girls was their final legendary effort. Overall Grade: A

Other Stones album ratings

1) Some Girls (1978) A+
2) Let It Bleed (1969) A+
3) Sticky Fingers (1971) A+
4) Exile on Main Street (1972) A+
5) Voodoo Lounge (1994) A
6) Beggar's Banquet (1968) A
7) Black and Blue (1976) A
8) It's Only Rock `N Roll (1974) A
9) Bridges to Babylon (1997) A-
10) Out of Their Heads (1965) A-
11) Goat's Head Soup (1973) A-
12) Aftermath (1966) A-
13) A Bigger Bang B+ (2005)
14) Between the Buttons (1967) B+
15) Tattoo You (1981) B+
16) Now! (1964) B+
17) Emotional Rescue (1980) B
18) Steel Wheels (1989) B
19) Dirty Work (1986) B-
20) Undercover (1983) B-
21) England's Newest Hit Makers (1963)B-
22) December's Children (1965) B-
23) 12 X 5 (1964) B-
24) Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967) C