VL is the Stones second longest disc (after Exile, it's roughly 60 minutes long) and IMO could have been an exceptional release had it been appropriately trimmed. So...you're the producer, or whatever, you're in charge. What tracks would you remove, making Voodoo a 45 minute disc? Basically, you've got to remove three tracks. My choices:

Suck on the Jugular: Faux James Brown, and just way too generic.

I Go Wild: IMO a Jagger attempt at a "hit". Again generic, and boring

Thru and Thru: I know, a Keith track which usually are necessary to balance the Jagger pop tendencies and to provide a little roots credibility, but this track just doesn't work for me. Way too melodramtic for Keith and too overbearing (me thinks)

Obviously I left New Faces, which usually gets slagged, and Sweethearts Together, but I like these tracks for their diversity. Both, to me, give a Flowers-Between the Buttons flavor which the post-Jones Stones have lacked. This obviously is a rock band, but I miss their pop touch which IMHO is very unique, and very missing-in-action.

Anyway, thoughts from the crowd....?

I read somewhere that Keith wrote Thru and Thru in some way based on or about the death of Eric Claptons little boy who fell out of the window. I don't know if thats true.

Milo, NYC
open 24 hours

I go wild is a cool song man

Yes, I Go Wild is one of the better songs there (and I love the video). It's full of energy and sexy. Thru and Thru is one of Keith's best songs, the second part is magic, don't you see?
I would cut Sparks Will Fly, sure I like when the Stones are lascivious, but this one (this only one) is really stupid IMO.
Then probably Mean Disposition, it's average thru and thru and thru, way belove the Stones standard, boring. The same goes for Baby Break It Down, do I have to add something more.
Sure, Sweetharts and Jugular are both disputable, but at least it's something different and unusual for them, so I'd let it live.

I thought it would be easy, but it's actually kinda hard.

Brand New Car, Sweethearts together, Suck on the Jugular, Baby Break It Down, Moon Is Up & New Faces are the ones I could leave out. But some of them put some variation in the album... and it aren't bad songs.

I would leave out Sweethearts, Baby Break It Down & Brand New Car.
(and replace Moon is Up by The Storm)

Cut the disc after song 8 or 10 and you got a classic.

Thru And Thru I didn't really like (I mean sometimes I was in the mood for it) until the show at Bercy, Paris - it was really moving to see this song performed live, especially as one of Keith's daughters was standing in front of the stage, in the gap between the audience and the stage, staring at her father and mouthing the words - she looked at Keith the way a child looks at her father. This added a little special feeling to this song for me.

As mostly, I have to be the one who swims against the stream...

1) Blinded By Rainbows - I like´em when the social consiousness is there; like
Elvis with ITG.
2) Thru and Thru - but mostly for the choir part, which is lethal
3) You Got Me Rocking - live killer, I s'pose
4) The Worst - too short, but nice
5) I Go Wild - may grow in further a decade or so
6) New Faces - fumbling try to remake the splendid mid-60´s hit ballads
7) Sparks Will Fly - tame, bleak reflection of early 70´s rockers
like BS, Sway or Bitch.

Bad: Sweethearts Together (one of the worst Stones song ever to be recorded)

... Voodoo Brew boots: Favorites/comments?

OK, so if I could rearrange the tracklist of the album, this would be the result:

1) Love Is Strong
2) You Got Me Rocking
3) Sparks Will Fly
4) Jump On Top Of Me
5) New Faces
6) Moon Is Up
7) Out Of Tears
8) I Go Wild
9) Brand New Car
10) Sweethearts Together
11) The Storm
12) Blinded By Rainbows
+ hidden track: Mean Disposition

Jump On Top Of Me should have been first single, Suck On the Jugular or Baby Break It Down could replace it on the movie soundtrack disc.
I left off the Keith songs, mainly because The Worst is, well, er, the worst from these sessions. Probably he had better songs that didn't make the cut.

I would get rid of

1-Suck on The Jugular. Funk that aint funky. One of their worst songs (IMO)
2-New Faces. The retro style seems a little forced
3-Baby Break it Down. Not a bad song but its like a giant Valium

Also think Jump On Top Of Me Should have been on the album

Milo, NYC
I will be your Knight in shining armor

Some of these postsI would have written exactly the same. Agree totally with smilingsun and Milo.
"Baby breaK it down" is really not a bad song. The verses are pretty good. It's the chorus that really sucks. What is funny is that Bernard showed up for some interbiew in that era and had just finished cutting that track. He comes to the interview singing "...break it down, skoodlee doo wop...lalal..."and makes the tune even worse LOL
"Jugular" is terrible. Belongs on the outakes of Voodoo Brew. Just the verse groove. Is more like a warmup jam for Bass and drum. I like the choir though. Only Ron vox credit on the album.
"Sweethearts"...don't know. If this had been recorded in the 70's I think they would have made it shine. No matter how much Keith "lives" Country, and really means it. Here it is only syrup.
"Sparks will fly" is such an embarrassment. Now this one although it is a Keith/Charlie groove just reeks of BAD Jagger to me. The lyrix are just lousy.

Mediocre are "Brand New Car" (Jagger's quote: a "sexy groove"???), Rainbows ( is actually my least fave of the album) because it is definetly a contender for the album and still rubs me wrong.

It seems like a few tunes are unanimous decisions for keepers: Out of Tears, a truly great Jagger ballad, You Got Me Rocking, the Stones are readily throwing it in with all the big mighty warhorses these days. This one even sounds good in the disco remixes when they do the Indian tribe style chanting. Love Is Strong, definetly "Wicked as it seems" pt 2. "Moon is Up" somehow somewhere it all works. Good use of effects. Stones rarely rely on an effect for a whole song. When they do it useually works. (see "Heaven", "Emotional rescue", "Can you hear the music" and "Please go Home"). I like "I go wild" a lot especially live. Love the verses about the waitresses in blue nylons...

Good thread because IMO it shows once again what a lousy job Don Was did on a potentially good album. Everyone here seems to agree that at least one , if not two of the omitted Bsides should have been contenders if not singles. "Jump on top of me" and "The Storm". They are both better than the "Drive" tune. Me, I love "Zip Mouth Angel". should have made the cut.

Milo Yammbag Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I read somewhere that Keith wrote Thru and Thru in
> some way based on or about the death of Eric
> Claptons little boy who fell out of the window. I
> don't know if thats true.
>
> Milo, NYC
> open 24 hours

Well I consider that very improbable, whatever he said. Only the 'I heard it on the news' part could seem connected.

To me, the song is just about an escortservice hooker selling thru and thru love if you call her. Nothing secret, just an open book.

Then she gets killed by a moron (perspective of songs changes to customer) and the customer gets the @#$%& blues after hearing it on the news.

It's about the sadness of the business. Not another kind of tears in heaven to me.

Someone here once said it was a rediculous song about a take-away restaurant. Still don't know if he meant that.


...

I seem to be in the minority here, but I love Baby Break it Down!

Jaggers vocals are brilliant with a desperation and yearning that takes us back to the Out of Our Heads (UK version) album, though in a more understated manner.

If I had to take any tracks off the album, I guess Brand New Car, Moon is Up and Suck on the Jugular would have to go. Sweethearts is actually quite nice.

You remove the following:

Love Is Strong
Got Me Rocking
Sparks Will Fly
I Go Wild
Sweet Hearts
Suck On The Jugular
Blinded By Rainbows
Baby Break It Down
Thru and Thru.

Not only do you not include them but you never record them and thus never make complete arseholes of yourselves and your credibility.

You never, ever use that session-muzak 'bass player'.
Ditto Don Was, (Was Not, nor Ever Should Have Been.)

You do include Honest Man, however.

And you try and do some more creative and forward-looking material without feeling the need to resort to sexually explicit and 'outrageous' lyrics in order to (feebly) attempt to (re)claim your status as a naughty rebellious Rock Group.

Lacking any suitably fresh material, you release a couple of singles or an EP.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2005-04-04 01:20 by Deidre.

Why get rid of any songs?

ChelseaDrugstore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
Love Is Strong, definetly "Wicked as it
> seems" pt 2. "


Never noticed this before, but you're absolutely right.

Also agree with several folks that JOTOM and TS should have shown-up on the album. So Young beats some of the included stuff also IMHO.

Karl



'Don’t forget, if you’re on your bike, wear white'

There seems to be agreement that there are more than a few dodgy songs on VL, though opinions differ on the culprits.

I think that Keith and Mick had used their most creative ideas on their solo projects.

So Young is actually a 1978 song (+ some overdubs)... so not really a contender for Voodoo Lounge.

Moon is up....could have been a nice outtake. I hate this pop-myterydrum. It sounds like somthing from Cliff Richard in 80´s.
Sweethearts together....Could have been a good song but a worse production
Mean Dispostion...Good Lyrics, but a very poor music. Could have been on the very poor Emotional Rescue-LP.
...so we´ve got 49min.

Best Tracks for me by the way in this order:
1. I go wild
2. Love is strong
3. Suck on the jugular
4. You got me Rocking (live better)
5. The Worst
6. Brand new car (Really cooool!!)
7......

maybe I´m too young (23) for hating I go wild & Suck on the jugular. For me one of the best Tracks the boys ever recorded.
I hope the new album goes into the same direction.
Because all my friends like these tracks + Anybody seen my baby, Out of Control, Losing my touch, ....
That´s Stones Music of Today.
Great Riff-Rockers, emotional Ballads, & something New (Like the Funk in SOTJ or the Rap in ASM

Greetings from Germany

Sweethearts Together. It just doesnt seem to fit for some reason. Otherwise Voodoo stands as one of their great albums in my opinion.

KSIE Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ChelseaDrugstore Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> Love Is Strong, definetly "Wicked as it
> > seems" pt 2. "
>
>
> Never noticed this before, but you're absolutely
> right.
>
> Also agree with several folks that JOTOM and TS
> should have shown-up on the album. So Young beats
> some of the included stuff also IMHO.
>
> Karl
>
>
>
> 'Don’t forget, if you’re on your bike, wear white'

It took you guys this long to notice that? LOL. This is why "Love is Strong" was a poor choice, IMO, as the opening track for VL. I would've picked "You Got Me Rocking" as the first track, with "Sparks Will Fly" as the second track, with the sound of the cassette being inserted--that was cool in of itself.

Here's my 12-song album
track list:

Side one:
1. You Got Me Rocking
2. Sparks Will Fly
3. Out of Tears
4. Moon Is Up
5. I Go Wild
6. Sweethearts Together

Side two:
1. Love is Strong
2. Brand New Car
3. Blinded by Rainbows
4. Thru and Thru
5. The Worst
6. Mean Disposition

I'm listening to this playlist right now--this is pretty good, IMHO.





Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2005-04-04 04:07 by bassplayer617.

good post,definite thru and thru,baby break it down,i love mean disposition,blinded by rainbows,sweethearts,and lis,and ygmr,is the best 1,2 punch since rocks off and rip this joint.new one should rock,oooh yeah.

john scialfa

After listening to this a few times I realized that the Stones just can't make an album anymore that holds together for 70 minutes. I thought they should have just done the maximum 45 minutes of scintillating material and saved the rest for future albums or the dustbin.

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

Whether the album is good or not - and I think it's great btw - esp if they'd added "Zip mouth angel" - I'd rather have an album to bitch about than an eight year void not to listen to.

Can't f'ing believe it's 11 years old.

kyle m

Have you ever lent somebody $20 and never seen them again? It was probably worth it.

I would have chosen the following songs for VL:

1. Love Is Strong
2. You Got Me Rocking
3. The Worst
4. You Got It Made
5. The Storm
6. Out Of Tears
7. Baby, Break It Down
8. So Young
9. Sweethearts Together
10. Brand New Car

IMO, the worst tracks on VL are:

Blinded By Rainbows
Suck On The Jugular
Mean Disposition

Why change anything or drop any songs. If anything it would have been great if they added a few songs to it.

On Thru And Thru-topic; contents of lyrics...
I dont have it near me, but I believe I read in Bockris´
Keith Richards-book that it deals with Keefsters relation to God,
that He/She is the one he looks for in the Yellow Pages... ?
(even if the odds for an issue like that not would
seem so favorable for Keith´s writing?)

Pic from site meandtherollingstones.com