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FANS ALBUM REVIEWS
VOODOO LOUNGE
Thirteen Reviews - Overall Average Rating - 6.88 Tongues
VOODOO LOUNGE
by the Common Foot Soldier
November 30, 2009
Rating:
How can so many people here rate this great album so damn low?! This is the best Stones album to come out since Some Girls, bar none! It's better than Bang, which I also like a lot, but not as much. It is clearly better that that flop that came before it, Bridges to Babylon! There are a ton of great songs on here like "Love Is Strong" and "I Go Wild" (both 10s for sure!). Have some of the Stones fans lost it when they put down a great song like "Blinded by Rainbows", as I was reading at this site's message board in the last week? Maybe I should stop being a lurker there and get my 2 cents in! And Keno, you rated several songs here too low, besides "Rainbow"! Like "Brand New Car" and "Suck On the Jugular", both are 10s! This is the best Stones album in years, I suggest you buy it if you just like the Stones even a little.
To listen to some sound clips from
VOODOO LOUNGE
or to buy it click on: Voodoo Lounge [Reissue]
More fan reviews:
VOODOO LOUNGE
Name: Derek Zender
June 15, 2006
Rating:
Lately, I've been seeing immense praise for VL all over Stones fansites. And
frankly, I have one question for all these fans who praise it: What the hell do you see in
this overproduced, sterile piece of crap?! Apart from a couple songs, it is all filler and
no killer. It's amazing how fans can hail it as a "classic".
"Love Is Strong" - Nice little groove, but dumb lyrics and over-the-top vocal by
Mick knock it down a little. "You Got Me Rocking" - The best song on the album,
would have been perfect had it not been for the smooth, classisist production, a problem
which plagues the whole album. "Sparks Will Fly" - Good musically, but contains
the worst lyrics ever credited to Jagger/Richards. Lyrically, it makes a song like
"Fight" look like "You Can't Always Get What You Want". "The
Worst" - Possibly the most overrated Stones song ever. It's nice, but it's way too
short and the band sounds bored. "Out of Tears" - Another one of the Stones'
most overrated songs, this hookless, meandering, made for MTV ballad that is somehow loved
by Stones fans is their worst ballad ever. "I Go Wild" - Annoying anthem song
that is more heavily-produced than all of Steel Wheels. The good riff saves it.
"Brand New Car" - Horrendous piece of shit song about using a car as a weak
metaphor for a woman. Honest Man would have been better in it's place. "Thru and
Thru" - One of Keith's best ever songs. Great, bulky guitar in slow part, then a nice
slide solo in the fast part and nice creepy synth in background.
The other songs are all pleasant, but forgettable fillers. VL is one of the Stones' worst album, second only to Dirty Work. Classisist, boring production taints the entire album. B2B and ABB are FAR better albums.
VOODOO LOUNGE
By Bob
October 8, 2005
Rating:
Some people will tell you that Voodoo Lounge sucks and deserves to burn. Well,
that is a bit harsh. It's actually quite good, if only you people would just give it a
chance...'Love Is Strong' has some awesome harp playing, but not much else. 'You Got Me
Rocking' has gotten a lot of opposition on the Stones boards, but the studio version is
awesome. 'Sparks Will Fly', a crazy rocker, would have to be my favorite. Then there's
'The Worst', which could've been a pretty good song if it weren't for the steel guitar and
the fiddle and Mick's backup singing...I hate country, as you can see. Anyway, there are
three boring songs in a row after this; 'New Faces', 'Moon Is Up' and 'Out of Tears', all
of which fall squarely into my, "Worst Stones Songs!" category. 'I Go Wild' and
'Brand New Car' are mean rockers, but 'Sweethearts Together' rivals 'Emotional Resscue' on
my, "Drivel-o-meter". Next is the loose, funky 'Suck on the Jugular', another
favorite of mine, and the beauty of 'Blinded By Rainbows'. I never thought I'd call a
Stones song beautiful (Though I would jump at the chance to call 'Angie' sappy), but that
was before I'd heard 'Blinded By Rainbows'. 'Baby Break It Down' is so bad it's
unthinkable, but that's rescued by the severely-underrated 'Thru and Thru', in which the
Stones have some tempo fun. It starts as a crawling ballad, then speeds up and evolves
into a rocker. The song compares a constant heart to a shipping business, and Keef's husky
vocal performance boosts the effect even more. I don't see why Keno had to rate it a 4.2,
it's a 10.0 in my book! Anyhoo, 'Mean Disposition' kicks...some...@$$!!! It's a killer
kloser (Krusty the Clown will appreciate that one) with a mean piano. All of those who
dislike it really should give it a second chance, as I did.
VOODOO LOUNGE
By Steve Keogh
January 9, 2004
Rating:
I agree with the consensus that this is the best Stones album since Some Girls.
That's hardly a massive vote of confidence considering Steel Wheels & Co.
couldn't stand up to other 'rock monster' albums of the eighties. But Voodoo Lounge
is an entertaining and occasionally engaging album.
'Love is Strong' is a cracker. Micks vocals and harmonica, and Keith's screeching guitar
bring back memories of that old Stones swagger. It may be a little awkward, but the vibe
is there, a solid opener. 'You Got Me Rocking' mightn't be exactly ground breaking the
rock genre, but it's simple and fun - something the Stones of the eighties had lost
perhaps. There are alot of weak tracks on the album - 'The Worst', 'New Faces',
'Sweethearts Together' all feel like B-Sides. Poor, and poorer still considering they
could have been trimmed off a fifteen track album.
A few little gems on this one though - 'Out of Tears', 'Brand New Car', 'Blinded by
Rainbows' and I must admit a sneaking regard for 'Thru and Thru'.
A fun if sometimes frustrating album, the opener being the only track that measures up to
tracks of the heyday. But I still cant help but fall victim of the Stone's energy on the
first three tracks, and then 'I Go Wild' and 'Brand New Car'. The swagger, the screeching,
the sex and debauchery are back - and Ron Wood even distinguishes himself for more than
having an identical haircut to Rod Stewart. But still as a piece of work it's too basic,
and far too unoriginal an album to be rated that highly. A solid album but doesn't stand
up even next to rock albums of the age.
VOODOO LOUNGE
By GB
September 14, 2002
Rating:
This is nowhere near the quality and dimension of Exile, Sticky Fingers, Beggars,
or Let it Bleed. That should be obvious, but new fans should definitely buy those
albums first. After that, although there are other RS albums I like better than VL,
I would not begrudge someone's opinion who held this to be the best studio album since GHS
or Exile.
OUT OF TEARS is the real gem on this album. It's their best ballad since ANGIE or earlier.
They had completely forgotten about what it means to make a ballad. Not only that, but
they have others: THE WORST and BLINDED BY RAINBOWS. The lesser ballads, such as NEW
FACES, MOON IS UP, and SWEETHEARTS TOGETHER, show the kinds of experimentation we saw on Flowers,
Buttons, and Aftermath.
LOVE IS STRONG is up in the league of very good album kick-offs, such as IF YOU CAN'T ROCK
ME, better than DANCING WITH MR D and SOME GIRLS, but not as strong as ROCKS OFF. It's a
catchy hook.
Mick sings like a real man, rather than a barking dog. It's too bad Mick find fault with
the Stones sounding like the Stones. He's restless, but his proclivities are towards a
very bland pop, such as She's The Boss (which I suffered though last night).
On this album, the Stones are the Stones once more. Even Wood kicks off with some very
good guitar work. The only thing missing is the hard edge the Stones used to bring to
their music. There's glimmers of it, but mostly this is a very good Stones pop album, as
opposed to a bad Jagger/Stones pop album.
VOODOO LOUNGE
By thijs den otter
August 14, 2002
Rating:
This is the best Stones album since the seventies. 'Love Is Strong' is the kind of classic
rock song that should be on every Stones record. Other songs that kind of stick are 'Brand
New Car' and 'I Go Wild'. There are however, a number of tracks that are of a less than
average quality. A song like 'New Faces' would have made a nice bonus song on a CD-single
but doesn't really belong on this album. 'The Worst' lives up to it's name. Still, the
album has the potential to become one of the classic Stones albums, which can't be said of
any other studio-album in the past two decades.
VOODOO LOUNGE
By T-roy
July 18, 2002
Rating:
A welcome return to form. After the disaster that was Steel Wheelchairs, it's
nice to hear a solid cohesive album. "Love is Strong" and "You Got Me
Rockin" are an incredibly exciting one two punch. This is what a lot of people were
waiting for. And Charlie's drums in "I Go Wild" are fantastic! Credit Don Was
for getting the Stones to do what have do best - play great rock and roll. And the slow
songs are incredible. "Out of Tears" is an instant classic. The only problem -
as usual - is that Mr. Richards has 2 or 3 slow songs that showcase: a) his voice being
history and b) that he will never write another uptempo song for the rest of his life.
Keith - do us a favor and shut up and let Mick keep writing (thank God Mick still likes
uptempo numbers) and you have one hell of an album.
VOODOO LOUNGE
By John Wallen
March 3, 2002
Rating:
We looked forward to this album with a lot of anticipation. Unfortunately, we were let
down--badly. The first point to make is that it follows the trend of Steel Wheels
with the Stones parodying themselves. I would say that Dirty Work was the last
true Stones album, because although it is no masterpiece, it honestly chronicles where the
Stones were at that point. I would say that after that they split spiritually speaking and
only came back subsequently on the basis of a business proposition.
Back to the album: Love is Strong is the only good song on the album--and there is
something strangely retro about even this. The rest of the songs represent a mixed bag of
styles from the previous 35 years. It's as if they were saying things like: 'I know let's
write one like 'Out of Tears,' to each other. Voodoo Lounge is the Greatest Hits
that never were. 'Blinded by Rainbows' is a nice little Mick ballad, in the vein of his
present solo effort, 'Visions of Paradise'. 'You Got Me Rockin' and I Go Wild' are two
chord monstrosities, guaranteed to evoke a migraine...I could go on...but I won't. Voodoo
Lounge is a big disappointment
VOODOO LOUNGE
By Rutger Janssen
January 15, 2001
Rating:
When I first bought this album one year ago, I played it only once. I just hated it. Are
these really the Stones, I asked myself. And I threw it in my closet. A few months later,
I got it out of my closet and listened to it again. That's when I heard the beauty of this
album.
'OUT OF TEARS' is a fantastic mature ballad. It starts with a great piano sound, but when
Mick starts to sing you can hear the real beauty of it. Mick sings the same here as on
'Angie', just great. But, this is not the best ballad. 'BLINDED BY RAINBOWS' is without a
doubt the best song on this album. The sound of Keith’s guitar on the beginning of
the song is so beautiful, that it will stop someone from killing himself when he hears
that guitar sound. Then Mick starts to sing, and I can’t describe the sound of that.
The way Mick sings this, he proves without a doubt that he is the best singer the world
ever had or will have. It just makes you cry. Somewhere in the middle of this song Ronnie
proves that he is also a great guitarist. People who say that Ronnie is just a fill-in, I
recommend to visit a doctor as soon as possible. Not forgot to mention the lyric and the
purpose of this song. No musicians, except for Mick and Keith, can write such good
political songs. After this, I have to disagree big time with webmaster Keno. Keith’s
song 'THE WORST' is a very touching ballad. For the first time Keith really sings his
heart out, the way Mick sings 'Angie'. Off course Keith’s guitar is great, but the
way he expresses his feelings on this one is just fantastic. I think these three are the
best on this album, but the opening song 'LOVE IS STRONG', is also fantastic. Keith’s
guitar sounds like the old times again... I really think that this is one of the most
scary Stones song ever. The second song, 'YOU GOT ME ROCKING', is also fantastic. This is
a song that really opens the doors. Very rough song. ( another good song is 'NEW FACES' ).
The rest of this album is not as great as mentioned songs and some I still never listen
to, but maybe about five years they will become of my favorites. That is the beauty of the
Stones, you don’t have to like all the songs. There are so many albums you can choose
from. Every month you will like other songs and other albums.
VOODOO LOUNGE
By: christophoros
April 8, 2000
Rating:
For being true, I always liked BRIDGES TO BABYLON more than this, perhaps only,
because it was my first Rolling Stones album, and when VOODOO LOUNGE came out, I
still didn' t even know that the Rolling Stones existed. Now I have warmed up with it,
although my expectations first weren't that high, as there is a sticker on my copy saying:
WARNING! THIS CD CONTAINS LANGUAGE SOME MAY FIND OFFENSIVE. This seems like a cheap
promotional trick they actually don't have necessary to me, and it' s also sad, sad, sad
that with it the CD is actually sold under its value. Anyway, this was a strong comeback,
the first studio album after 5 years, and on some songs (YOU GOT ME ROCKING, SPARKS WILL
FLY, I GO WILD, BRAND NEW CAR, BABY BREAK IT DOWN, MEAN DISPOSITION,...) they rock as hard
as never before, which is a great achievement for their age. LOVE IS STRONG even sounds
like a sixties-song, with, especially in the lyrics some Beatles-elements. However, Mick'
s typical VOODOO voice (sic!) makes clear that it can only be the Stones. On the other
side, there are also touching ballads, on which already the more mature Stones of the
follow-up shine through. I have to point out especially BLINDED BY RAINBOWS, no other band
can play political songs as direct and emotional. Also NEW FACES is full of desire. SUCK
ON THE JUGULAR must be the key piece, because it is as much strange Stones style as the
title and the cover of the album. Minus points go to the elimination from the album of THE
STORM, SO YOUNG, JUMP ON TOP OF ME and I' M GONNA DRIVE, and the typical hardrock ballad
SWEETHEARTS TOGETHER for me is also just not bad.
VOODOO LOUNGE
By keef
October 11, 1999
Rating:
A near masterpiece. The best Stones' album since SOME GIRLS. You can almost always
count on the Stones for some great melodies, riffs, and basic song structures. Jagger's
singing has always been strong with the exception of his vocals on DIRTY WORK and some of
STEEL WHEELS. His lyrics are usually good as well, although I admit that lyrics are not
that important to me. What separates the good Stones' albums from the great ones is the
"sound." The way the songs are arranged and produced. This time they've gone
back to the basics. The production is gritty and raw. The overproduction and studio polish
from the previous few albums is gone. VOODOO LOUNGE has a live-in-the studio-sound with
minimal overdubbing. The musical arrangements are great too. Mick and Keith dress up this
collection of great songs with electric and acoustic guitars, harps, accordions, horns,
and a host of other instruments. Acoustic guitars give this album a "warmth"
that had been missing for many years. Rockers like Love is Strong, You Got Me Rocking,
Sparks, and Baby Break It Down all feature acoustics to
give the songs a warmer, more full sound. Keith's riffs on this album are among his best
of the past 20 years. They're not just good riffs this time though--they "sound"
good too. The classic Keith guitar sound returns--thick, rich, and nasty. His playing
sounds much more bluesy this time, unlike the hard rock/heavy metal tone of DIRTY WORK and
STEEL WHEELS. Mick's voice hasn't sounded this good in a long time either. Gone is the
grunting, barking vocal style of the previous few albums. You can tell that Mick really
wanted to showcase his voice this time. His vocals are much more expressive and his
phrasing is top notch. Love Is Strong features one of the strongest vocal performances of
Mick's career--deep, sexy, and sinister. The higher range style of Angie returns with Out
of Tears, one of the best Stones' ballads of all time. Charlie's drumming is rock solid as
usual and this time they've got him mixed properly.
VOODOO LOUNGE
By David West
August 10, 1999
Rating:
To me VOODOO LOUNGE is one of the Stones' worst studio recordings. Out of 15 cuts on the
album only 5 or 6 are what I would call keepers. It just doesn't have that edge that other
Stones albums have. Their swagger doesn't show through here except for the first 3 cuts,
'I Go Wild', 'Brand New Car', and 'Mean Disposition'. Songs like 'Moon Is Up', 'New
Faces', 'Blinded by Rainbows', and 'Suck On the Jugular' just don't have it. I think this
is a much weaker effort than 'Bridges to Babylon', and it ranks as one of my least
favorite studio albums by The Boys. I think the strongest cut on the album by far is
'You Got Me Rockin' which was performed extensively on their No Security tour. It's a
great rockin tune that really sticks in the brain....the Stones sound at its best. All in
all I was disappointed with VOODOO LOUNGE. I seemed to grow tired of it
quicker than other Stones recordings.
VOODOO LOUNGE
By D. Bowers
June 3, 199
Rating:
Next to "No Security" this is by far the best album they have done since lets
say "Some Girls" or "Tattoo You." I have to say that when I heard the
album I was very surpirsed. Maybe I wasn't expecting it to be that great due to the hip
build up for "Steel Wheels." I thought to myself before "Steel Wheels"
came out it was going to be an awesome album. Although it's a very good album I felt it
was some what of a let down. Only because I was expecting a return of there magic from the
early day's. Once I put "Voodoo Lounge" in the CD player and pressed play I
started getting goose bumps. I thought to myself hey this stuff is pretty awesome. The
album starts of with the strong track "Love Is Strong" with the awesome
harmonica playing from Mick. "Love is Strong" set the tone for the rest of the
album showing the strong songwriting and tight playing. The next two song's are strong
rocker's with some great moment's. Then the album takes a surpassing turn with the next
song "The Worst." I going to have to go against Keno on this one because I feel
this is truly a heartfelt revealing song. Richards hangs his heart on his sleeve for this
one. At first you think that the song is about a jerk who should never be trusted by a
women. But actually the song is showing how he feels some how tainted inside and not a
very good person. He saying, hey I've done some thing that I regret and now that I look in
the mirror I don't see a good person anymore. The next great track is "Moon Is
Up." It has such a great feel to it and it show how a great band can take a good
basic song and make it great one with there talent.Other highlights would be "Out Of
Tears" which can be compared to, and comes pretty close to matching the level of
"Angie" as far as being a strong focused ballad and being a heart felt
song. The next four song's are again somewhat strong and an enjoyment to listen to.
Keno's mini review, song list, lyrics and more info on VOODOO LOUNGE
To listen to some sound clips from
VOODOO
LOUNGE or to buy it click on: Voodoo Lounge [Reissue]
