not bad,but another misfire-

1.it's too long,it meanders all over the place.it's not an "album" it's just a collection of songs.that cohesive feeling is missing that you get from a great record such as Let It Bleed as opposed to a greatest hits-except these songs aren't great or hits.

2.it was written and recorded right after Mick and Keith did solo records so the material was thinner than it should've been.they always said they wouldn't work solo because it would put you in position of keeping good songs for yourself-then years later what do they do? fkn up when you don't know what you're doing is forgivable,this isn't.

3.Daryl is on bass-he has absolutly no idea how to play bass for the rolling stones.he can copy the records for the live show,that's it.someone should've mentioned to Charlie that the Stones are a rock and roll band,picking a bass player with a pop and jazz background wasn't a good idea.

4.the guts are taken out of the sound,as usual.every latter day stones record has this sheen over it that takes away the bands actual sound.

5.the cover art sucks-it looks like it was made by a 6 year old.the cover of rolling stone magazine where the band is wearing masks and hats would've been perfect.it had that vibe the stones never quite find anymore,they get close and whoosh...a photographer works with them to make the perfect cover-for a magazine.....that's the latter day Stones in a nushell.

grade-c

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lem motlow
not bad,but another misfire-

1.it's too long,it meanders all over the place.it's not an "album" it's just a collection of songs.

Well...

album
n
1. a book or binder consisting of blank pages, pockets, or envelopes for keeping photographs, stamps, autographs, drawings, poems, etc
2. (Pop Music) a collection of recordings released as a single item
3. (Classical Music) a booklike holder containing sleeves for gramophone records

My tabloid judgement of the album from this moment's reflection. Another time, another judgement. I prefer a 1 - 10 scale. More nuances, and it makes it possible to give one, two or three stars to a tenner, not here though.

Love Is Strong 10
You Got Me Rocking 5,5
Sparks Will Fly 5
The Worst 6,5
New Faces 7
Moon Is Up 5,5
Out Of Tears 7,5
I Go Wild 5,5
Brand New Car 5,5
Sweethearts Together 9
Suck On The Jugular 7
Blinded By Rainbows 8
Baby Break It Down 6
Thru and Thru 7,5
Mean Disposition (not included in my vinyl album).

Love Is Strong 10
You Got Me Rocking 8
Sparks Will Fly 8
The Worst 7
New Faces 1
Moon Is Up 9
Out Of Tears 0
I Go Wild 5
Brand New Car 10
Sweethearts Together 0
Suck On The Jugular 7
Blinded By Rainbows 1
Baby Break It Down 0
Thru and Thru 1
Mean Disposition 10

What a huge amount of unpleasing songs, not even B2B has more... yes indeed, the album is way too long and they unfortunately decided to hide a few very good songs on obscure b-sides.

I´m Gonna Drive 7
Jump On Top Of Me 10
The Storm 6


VL could have been a very good album:

Love Is Strong
You Got Me Rocking
Sparks Will Fly
I Go Wild
The Worst
I´m Gonna Drive
Jump On Top Of Me
The Storm
Moon Is Up
Suck On The Jugular
Brand New Car
Mean Disposition

...just as good as anything past SF, give that sequence a try - it´s wonderful.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-08-07 12:23 by HMS.

OKay, let's do this exercise again:

Love Is Strong 8, keep it
You Got Me Rocking 8, keep it
Sparks Will Fly 5, out
The Worst 7, keep it
New Faces 5, out
Moon Is Up 4, out
Out Of Tears 5, out
I Go Wild 6, barely in
Brand New Car 5, out
Sweethearts Together 7, in
Suck On The Jugular 4, out
Blinded By Rainbows 4, out
Baby Break It Down 7, in
Thru and Thru 7, in
Mean Disposition 7, in

All marks are relative only with respect to this album. If I would compare them with songs from the "Big Seven", all marks would go down at least one notch.

I think overall the album has lousy lyrics. It's a shame; Jagger has written many of the greatest lyrics in rock'n roll. He seems to have lost his place;
I feel that this comes with age, but also who he surrounds himself with now: there's Don Was, Chuck leavell, who are only fans.

I think the album is way too long. And like Steel Wheels before; I much prefer the rough mixes over the released version.

Maybe ( as a vinyl Side 1 and 2):

You Got Me Rockin - if they gave it an 'Undercover' type treatment
Love Is Strong - IMO these two work better the other way around
The Worst
New Faces
Out Of Tears

Brand New Car - maybe mix this one a bit heavier
Thru & Thru - this one would sound great after a light bouncy number, and as a # 2 song
Sweethearts Together
Baby Break It Down
I Go Wild - as a closer it might acquire more weight. That song has always reminded me so much of "Winning Ugly"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-08-08 04:25 by Palace Revolution 2000.

What is evident from track judgements in the preceding posts here, is that there is not much agreement about preferred songs for VOODOO LOUNGE either. Reducing playing time of albums therefore seems not to be a good idea.

This album can never be rescued by simply re-sequencing the running order or omitting some weaker tracks. That's because much stronger song material was wasted on solo albums by Mick & Keith.

My ideal VL would look like this:


You Got Me Rocking (a live in the studio take with the No Security arrangement)
Love Is Strong
Don't Tear Me Up (Stones version)
Hate It When You Leave (Stones version)
Angel Of My Heart (Stones version)
Moon Is Up
Out Of Tears
Wired All Night (Stones version)
The Storm
Evening Gown (Stones version)
Jump On Top Of Me
Sweet Thing (Stones version)
Blinded By Rainbows
Out Of Focus (Stones version)
The Worst
Wandering Spirit (Stones version)


Not necessarily this sequence, but these songs. As it stands, this album album is a lost opportunity to produce a latter-day Stones album that could hold at least a candle to their greatest work.

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Witness
What is evident from track judgements in the preceding posts here, is that there is not much agreement about preferred songs for VOODOO LOUNGE either. Reducing playing time of albums therefore seems not to be a good idea.

By removing the crap songs (especially the horrible You Got Me Rocking, Sparks Will Fly and Sweethearts Together) it does make it better. Reducing the playing time of the LP is the result of less bad songs. And as others have said, considering the mostly awful lyrics Mick decided to not bother with since he loves to not bother, track reduction works.

Think of it as being similar to BLACK AND BLUE - it has a similar sonic vibe to BAB and by reducing the running time by removing the bad songs...

Agree, Sweethearts Together is one of the most horrible Stones-songs ever. But Sparks Will Fly is a catchy, lighthearted and funny rocker, imo better than any rocker on highly praised SG. It is very stonesy and has great guitar work, to call it horrible only because of the indeed stupid line "...sharks will cry" is quite unfair. Sparks is a highlight on VL.

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GasLightStreet

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Witness
What is evident from track judgements in the preceding posts here, is that there is not much agreement about preferred songs for VOODOO LOUNGE either. Reducing playing time of albums therefore seems not to be a good idea.

By removing the crap songs (especially the horrible You Got Me Rocking, Sparks Will Fly and Sweethearts Together) it does make it better. Reducing the playing time of the LP is the result of less bad songs. And as others have said, considering the mostly awful lyrics Mick decided to not bother with since he loves to not bother, track reduction works.

Think of it as being similar to BLACK AND BLUE - it has a similar sonic vibe to BAB and by reducing the running time by removing the bad songs...

However, your last mentionned (alleged) crap song is one of the few attractions on VOODOO LOUNGE for me.

And your suggested model of an album includes "Melody", that I with a scale from 1 -10 will judge at - 3 ( minus 3), plus a couple of songs that are quite limited in appeal for me. So the method with fewer songs is no guarantee for a good result, unless of all people I am the one to do the editing.

Oh come on... you can't handle a little bit of jazz on BLACK AND BLUE so therefor the song sucks. And yet you like You Got Me Rocking.


Do you hang out with HMS? Because it sounds like it. He thinks the Stones by the boring numbers Sparks Will Fly is "a highlight".

note to self- avoid these threads



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2016-08-08 23:01 by jambay.

I always loved the cover-artwork of VL better than parts of its musical content.
One of the best artwork they´ve ever used for an album. Its mysterious, strange, menacing, just gorgeous. Strangly enough I seem to be almost the only one to appreciate it. How I wish I had it as a large poster to decorate my living room.

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GasLightStreet
Oh come on... you can't handle a little bit of jazz on BLACK AND BLUE so therefor the song sucks. And yet you like You Got Me Rocking.


Do you hang out with HMS? Because it sounds like it. He thinks the Stones by the boring numbers Sparks Will Fly is "a highlight".

Funny how one of you don't like Sweethearts Together but defends Melody, whereas the other hates Melody and defends Sweethearts Together. I like both very much (and also Indian Girl for that matter and prefer that above theyr filler rock attempts.
If the choice is between them doing "something different" or playing a very bad imitation of their own type of rock music, I prefer the first. What's the point of listening to Too Tight or Sparks Will Fly or Rough Justice, when we already have Gimme Shelter and Tumbing Dice?

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matxil
What's the point of listening to Too Tight or Sparks Will Fly or Rough Justice, when we already have Gimme Shelter and Tumbing Dice?

All of these songs are very enjoyable and make me feel good. You hear them for the first time and still they sound familiar. Not the worst thing that could happen to you when listening to a new Stones-record. It´s Stones-style and the main reason for me loving this band.

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GasLightStreet
Oh come on... you can't handle a little bit of jazz on BLACK AND BLUE so therefor the song sucks. And yet you like You Got Me Rocking.


Do you hang out with HMS? Because it sounds like it. He thinks the Stones by the boring numbers Sparks Will Fly is "a highlight".

There is some disgusting childlike singing on "Melody". Well, I don't actively dislike "You Got Me Rocking", but I find it a little boring. How I look upon "Sparks Will Fly", you"ll find in an earlier post.

With regard to your own logic, as far as I can see, it is you and HMS, who both dislike "Sweethearts Together". Myself I don't define my taste in opposition to HMS. Is that what you do?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-08-07 21:35 by Witness.

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Witness

Quote
GasLightStreet
Oh come on... you can't handle a little bit of jazz on BLACK AND BLUE so therefor the song sucks. And yet you like You Got Me Rocking.


Do you hang out with HMS? Because it sounds like it. He thinks the Stones by the boring numbers Sparks Will Fly is "a highlight".

There is some disgusting childlike singing on "Melody". Well, I don't actively dislike "You Got Me Rocking", but I find it a little boring. How I look upon "Sparks Will Fly", you"ll find in an earlier post.

With regard to your own logic, as far as I can see, it is you and HMS, who both dislike "Sweethearts Together". Myself I don't define my taste in opposition to HMS. Is that what you do?

So you don't get the scat singing.

Ha ha... no. It's just very entertaining when HMS trolls up his views to match others, Sweethearts Together is a good example, when it's clearly trolling it up because no one other than HMS ramps up the bunkitude for DIRTY WORK like he does and then he says such bunk as EOMS shoud've been a single LP, that GOATS HEAD SOUP sucks... just total BS; a clear case of choosing to ignore how bad something is yet saying something that is bad is bad but still saying something that is good is bad and something that is bad is good or great or uplifting or soul calming, whatever tripe you want to say, and acting like it's serious.

Very... MightyRollinStones50-esque.

I loved VOODOO LOUNGE when it came out. New Stones. It was a relief to hear that they'd gotten back to being not-so-shined like STEEL WHEELS was.

It just hasn't aged very well. It's not something that seems to get better with time like GOATS HEAD SOUP or TATTOO YOU.

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GasLightStreet
It just hasn't aged very well. It's not something that seems to get better with time like GOATS HEAD SOUP or TATTOO YOU.

GHS maybe just seems to get better with time because it is around for such a long time now. It´s like your back is hurting, as time goes on you just get used to it. Getting used to it doesnt make it better, its just getting used to it. VL trimmed down to the same runtime as GHS is a much much more entertaining and refreshing album than boring GHS. I´d even say my homemade short-version of VL is sparkling while the original album feels rather lame.

Good album



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2016-08-07 23:37 by jambay.

Love Is Strong 4
You Got Me Rocking 1
Sparks Will Fly 2
The Worst 2
New Faces 0
Moon Is Up 2
Out Of Tears 2
I Go Wild 2
Brand New Car 2
Sweethearts Together 0
Suck On The Jugular 1
Blinded By Rainbows 0
Baby Break It Down 0
Thru and Thru 1
Mean Disposition 1

They should have included Jump On Top Of Me, The Storm and I'm Gonna Drive and deleted some other tracks.

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boogaloojef
They should have included Jump On Top Of Me, The Storm and I'm Gonna Drive and deleted some other tracks.

True indeed.
I think they wanted diversity, but in the end it wasnt too good for the album. Not including Jump On Top Of Me is a crime - Anyway you look at it(!).

Not a great album. A few cool songs. And a LOT of filler. Really, sad to say it is a bit boring. Predictable. And cliche ridden.

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HMS

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GasLightStreet
It just hasn't aged very well. It's not something that seems to get better with time like GOATS HEAD SOUP or TATTOO YOU.

GHS maybe just seems to get better with time because it is around for such a long time now. It´s like your back is hurting, as time goes on you just get used to it. Getting used to it doesnt make it better, its just getting used to it. VL trimmed down to the same runtime as GHS is a much much more entertaining and refreshing album than boring GHS. I´d even say my homemade short-version of VL is sparkling while the original album feels rather lame.

It's obvious that the Stones need you as a producer to turn rather lame albums into sparkling affairs.

On a more serious note, your post is the same bullshit as usual about GHS, and this in a thread about VL! Boy, you must be on a paid agenda... or is it some kind of weird therapy?

Whole heartily agree.

I've probably done this before, but what the h..

Love Is Strong 9
You Got Me Rocking 7
Sparks Will Fly 6
The Worst 10
New Faces 6,5
Moon Is Up 7,5
Out Of Tears 5
I Go Wild 6
Brand New Car 7
Sweethearts Together 7
Suck On The Jugular 3
Blinded By Rainbows 3
Baby Break It Down 7
Thru and Thru 7
Mean Disposition 8

Insert the 3 "B" SIDES & delete baby break it down, blinded by rainbows & moon is up & we got a great record.

Baby Break It Down is THE worst Stones song ever,imo.

Micks lyrics on this record are really lame.
Very little effort involved.

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BILLPERKS
Baby Break It Down is THE worst Stones song ever,imo.

Dont know if it is really the worst song (there are some other candidates) but sure it is very bad and most of all: oh so boring. Their most boring song ever, as far as I am concerned.