VOODOO LOUNGE



Pre-production:

April 20-Mid-May 1993: Blue Wave Studios, Barbados
July 9-August 6, 1993: Sandymount Studios, Ron Wood's home, St. Kildare, Ireland

Recorded:

Early September-September 29, 1993: Sandymount Studios, Ron Wood's home, St. Kildare, Ireland
November 3-December 11, 1993: Windmill Lane Recording Studio, Dublin, Ireland

Overdubbed & mixed:

January 15-February 28, 1994: Don Was' private studio, Los Angeles, USA
March 1-30, 1994: A&M Recording Studios, Los Angeles, USA
April 10-24, 1994: A&M Recording Studios, Los Angeles, USA
Late April 1994: Right Track Studios, New York City

Producers: Don Was & The Glimmer Twins
Chief engineer: Don Smith
Mixer: Don Smith
Released: July 1994
Original label: Virgin Records

Contributing musicians:

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Darryl Jones, Chuck Leavell, Bernard Fowler, Ivan Neville, Benmont Tench, Lenny Castro, Luis Jardim, David McMurray, Mark Isham, Phil Jones, Flaco Jimenez, Max Baca, Frankie Gavin, Pierre de Beauport, Bobby Womack, David Campbell (arranger).

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

What are your thoughts on this album?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-08-06 19:58 by DandelionPowderman.

There is not one bad song on the album. You gotta love the reggae sound of ST. Also, the VooDoo Lounge tour had longer setlists and a great opener -"Not fade away"

great album

Sweethearts Together
Blinded by Rainbow
Thru and Thru
3 x 5/5-songs, and the rest of them ain't bad...

2 1 2 0

A very diversified album. The rocking songs are all above average. The ballads range from very good (The Worst, New Faces) until boring (Blinded by Rainbows, Out of Tears). Best track is the bluesy Brand New Car what deserved a better and extended guitar solo, though. Keith's second one (Thru and Thru) is a hot candidate for the most boring Stones song at all. In general an above average album with some highlights.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-10-09 15:54 by RobertJohnson.

The highlights for me are:

Love Is Strong
You Got Me Rocking
The Worst
Moon Is Up
Brand New Car
Sweethearts Together
Baby Break It Down
Thru and Thru
Mean Disposition

For different reasons. Many of them are far from masterpieces, but it's a joy to listen to Keith's playing on Baby, Break It Down, the swing of Mean Disposition, the experimentalism on Moon Is Up and Thru And Thru as well as the dirty Brand New Car.

But overall the sound is cold on this album, and there are some weird effects on the drums that don't do it for me (The snare on Love Is Strong).

It's a nice album, nothing more nothing less, imo.

Love Is Strong, You Got Me Rocking, The Worst are great tracks. But this album is not one of my favourite. I prefer Steel Wheels or Undercover.

Love Is Strong----great
You Got Me Rocking----very good
Sparks Will Fly----very good
The Worst----very good
New Faces----boring
Moon Is Up-----great
Out of Tears---very boring
I Go Wild----very good
Brand New Car----great
Sweethearts Together----very very bad AND boring
Suck on the Jugular---good
Blinded By Rainbows----boring
Baby Break It Down-----very boring
Thru and Thru----boring
Mean Disposition---great


Better than Steel Wheels, but still no great album. Some tracks sound very fresh and are very enjoyable but there is a huge amount of meaningless songs and fillers, the album is - just like all of their post-DW-albums - too long. Eliminate the boring fillers, add some great b-sides and you have a very good, if not great album. Go and create your own Voodoo Lounge!

My own creation is:

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

Not all of you (maybe nobody) will agree, but THIS would have been a far better album. I included none of the Jagger-ballads because Mick´s singing is very annoying, like always on ballads for the last thirty years. He always tries hard - too hard - to sing beautifully and lovely, but always ends up sounding cold and somewhat indifferent.

I wish they had finished Honest Man and included it.

Definitely my favourite album since Tattoo You, and i still play it a lot

Mick and Keith were looking down the same telescope on this one, and it shows

Love The Worst and Blinded By Rainbows best



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-10-09 15:00 by keefriffhards.

Overproduced (again) after listening to Voodoo Brew and Voodoo Stew material. Keep it simple boys….

My first Stones album...loved it to death, but it's gone way down in esteem over the years as I got exposed to more and more music.

Still a very solid, back-to-basics album that's a bit too bloated. Shortening it to 10-12 songs and using some of the Brew/Stew tracks could have produced a classic.

their best album since Undercover, much much better than Stee Wheels.

love the song Brand New Car and Moon is Up.

don't understand why they keep "Jump On Top of me Baby" out of this album.

keep rocking
Fernando

Just a wonderful album for me, they got back to some great songwriting for this one.

To begin with, Love Is Strong is a fantastic single. Sparks is a great tune, despite the awkward "sharks" lyric.

Other fantastic tracks: Worst, Moon, Tears, Brand New Car, Sweethearts, Rainbows, Break It Down, Thru & Thru, Mean Disposition

I love them all!

Now the bad, New Faces, just far too corny, and we already have Mick's Angel In My Heart. And Suck On The Jugular, nothing there for me, that is an automatic skip.

Loved it when it came out. Was really exciting to hear so much new material after such a long hiatus (sterling solo efforts from all band members aside!)

It feels too derivative to me now (maybe Don Was trying too hard to make them sound 'like' the Stones?) and would certainly have made a better album with less tunes. There's not many Stones songs that I absolutely can't stand, but Blinded by stinking Rainbows is one of them.


This would be my 12 track version:


Love Is Strong
The Storm
Sparks Will Fly
The Worst
Jump on top of me
Moon Is Up
You Got Me Rocking
Out of Tears
I Go Wild
Brand New Car
Baby Break It Down
Thru and Thru

Quote
Roll73
It feels too derivative to me now (maybe Don Was trying too hard to make them sound 'like' the Stones?)

That was a function of the early '90s and the Seattle/grunge/alternative wave...it was once again cool to sound like a '60s/'70s rock'n'roll band.

The Stones were free to sound like themselves rather than chasing the latest '80s production fad.

I'm a polite gal, and appreciate any Stones fan who loves/ has meaning w/ any of their music, so I am quiet on album/ songs released after Tattoo, although there is without a doubt always a deep gem or two I find on these later albums. But only 1 or 2 on each.

So, Thru and Thru, quite possibly the sexiest I've heard KR. This tune is superior tough. The pauses, loud drums, background vocals, lyrics (lover baby thru and thru growled by Keith? Yes, take) sexy Keith, call me night or day, deliver too. Sounds good.
Now off to look for his new cover of RS magazine Oct. 7

ive always thought voodoo lounge as a bit weak, it has a diverse feel to it and a better production than some 1980,s efforts, but its a bit ballad heavy, and while some of them are very good, the album as a whole dosent rock enough, its as if its a poor mans goats head soup.

individually the songs are generally good, but they could have maybe put high wire and like a rolling stone(which they released as singles either side of the album) in as additions and left out some of the weaker tracks, shortened the album too.

hypothetically it could have been

1. highwire
2. blinded by rainbows
3. brand new car
4. you got me rocking
5. the worst
6. i go wild

7. like a rolling stone
8. moon is up
9. out of tears
10. love is strong
11. new faces

Huge dissapointment.

I loved Talk Ischeap, Wandering Spirit and Main Offender. I had big expectations....and then came Love Is Strong and Vooddoo Lounge. Remember watching the MTV premiere of LIS and being confused.

The album isn't that bad though. But a bit boring and too many songs on it.

Love Moon Is Up, Thru and Thru and Sweethearts Together

"Love is Strong" is the track where the Rolling Stones jumped the shark.

It clearly says: we've given up, we have no more ideas.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-10-09 22:40 by Turner68.

Great album. All the songs vary from "really good" to "almost perfect" to my ears.

Great album and a different listening experience on vinyl. This album is perfect the way it is!

When this album came out I didn't liked at all, but after some more listenings I enjoyed it a lot, especially on vinyl.

Love Is Strong - excellent
You Got Me Rocking - solid good rocker
Sparks Will Fly - good enjoyable track
The Worst - excellent
New Faces - retro cool track
Moon Is Up - new type vibe cool track
Out of Tears - Mick ballad enjoyable to me if you appreciate these Mick ballads
I Go Wild - nah, not for me. Many seem to like this but it seems kiss / whitesnakish. Too juvenile for me. I dig old guys rockin' out but not 15 year oldish type stuff. Just my opinion.
Brand New Car - cool tune bluesy vibe
Sweethearts Together - I really like the harmonizing here. In the minority I know
Suck on the Jugular - god awful track yuck!
Blinded By Rainbows - standard ballad take or leave it
Baby Break It Down - very cool basic track Dig it very very much
Thru and Thru - excellent Keith track
Mean Disposition- enjoyable stomp rocker.

Take out Suck On Jugular, I Go Wild & 1 of the following ballads (Out of Tears or Blinded). Insert Jump On top Of Me, The Storm and wasn't Honest Man from this time frame? Don't feel like looking it up. But anyhow trade those 3 tracks for these 3 & it makes an even better album imo. Plus alter the production maybe a bit. Don Was wasn't too bad on this record. Still a bit too sterile & clean but it's all good. MEZ

Sweethearts together...Mick and Keith. The rest of the album ain't bad either. I listen to it quite often. Sorry, not very creative here today, am I? Oh, well. I think Voodoo Lounge is a very good album.

Quote
latebloomer
Sweethearts together...Mick and Keith. The rest of the album ain't bad either. I listen to it quite often. Sorry, not very creative here today, am I? Oh, well. I think Voodoo Lounge is a very good album.

Sweethearts Together is a great song.

Quote
Chris Fountain

Quote
latebloomer
Sweethearts together...Mick and Keith. The rest of the album ain't bad either. I listen to it quite often. Sorry, not very creative here today, am I? Oh, well. I think Voodoo Lounge is a very good album.

Sweethearts Together is a great song.

Yes it is, Chris.

I cannot figure out why so many people dislike Love Is Strong. I thought it was a great track. The fact that so many people dislike it has always left me scratching my head.

Quote
spsimmons
I cannot figure out why so many people dislike Love Is Strong. I thought it was a great track. The fact that so many people dislike it has always left me scratching my head.

You have to like the Top Hat.

A wildly inconsistent album. It could have been paired down to something quite good. I really was underwhelmed by Steel Wheels. A soulless record. Drowned by 80's production. Voodoo has some top drawer Stones. Love is Strong was a moody, dark single. Some great rock n' roll too, You Got Me Rocking, with classic Ronnie slide. Mean Disposition, a good road house roller. The Worst, one of Keith's best ones, up there with You Got the Silver. But then some just horrid material. Suck on the Jugular sounds so light weight and sterile. Bloated and boring. Brand New Car, could have been something if Mick actually tried writing something interesting, instead of a long dribble of cliches.
I have a playlist with my favs and run that instead of the original album, and is far less depressing.
Love is Strong
the Worst
Mean Disposition
Baby Break it Down
Thru and Thru
I Go Wild
Out of Tears
Sparks Will Fly
Moon is Up
Sweet Hearts Together
You Got Me Rocking

I agree Love is strong is damn good song the album overall is good better than steel wheels best since tattoo you.