Voodoo Lounge
Studio album by
The Rolling Stones
Released11 July 1994
RecordedSeptember, 3 November – 11 December 1993
StudioRonnie Wood's house, Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin; mixed and overdubbed at A&M Studios, Los Angeles and Right Track Recording, NYC[1]
Genre
Length62:08
LabelVirgin
ProducerDon Was, The Glimmer Twins
The Rolling Stones chronology
Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones
(1993)		 Voodoo Lounge
(1994)		 Stripped
(1995)
Singles from Voodoo Lounge
  1. "Love Is Strong"
    Released: 4 July 1994
  2. "You Got Me Rocking"
    Released: 26 September 1994
  3. "Out of Tears"
    Released: 28 November 1994
  4. "I Go Wild"
    Released: 3 July 1995

Voodoo Lounge is a studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 11 July 1994. As their first new release under their new alliance with Virgin Records, it ended a five-year gap since their last studio album, Steel Wheels in 1989. Voodoo Lounge is also the band's first album without their original bassist Bill Wyman; he left the band in early 1991, though the Stones did not announce the departure until 1993.[2] In 2009, the album was remastered and reissued by Universal Music. This album was released as a double vinyl and as a single CD and cassette.

After the departure of Wyman, the Stones chose not to officially replace him as a band member and continue as a four-piece with Mick Jagger (vocals), Charlie Watts (drums), Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood (both guitars). Wyman was unofficially replaced by Darryl Jones, who would perform with the Stones in the studio and on tour as a contracted player. Keyboards were provided by Chuck Leavell. Jones and Leavell, though not band members, would remain collaborators with the group from that point on. Don Was was brought in to produce the album alongside Jagger and Richards.

Voodoo Lounge sold well, reaching either gold or platinum status in several countries, but failed to produce a US top 40 hit. The song "Love Is Strong" did peak at No. ⁠14 in the UK, and "You Got Me Rocking" (which reached No. ⁠23 in the same country) became a staple on most subsequent Stones tours. The album received some good reviews and won the inaugural Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 1995.

Sections of the Keith Richards song "Thru and Thru" from Voodoo Lounge are woven throughout the HBO television series The Sopranos' second-season finale "Funhouse" (episode no. ⁠26 overall), and plays in its entirety during the episode's closing sequence and end credits.

Background

Following the release of Keith Richards' Main Offender and Mick Jagger's Wandering Spirit in 1992 and 1993, respectively, both leaders of the Rolling Stones began composing new songs in April 1993, deciding upon Don Was as co-producer for the upcoming sessions. In November, after rehearsing and recording at Ronnie Wood's house in Ireland that September, the Stones shifted to Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin and began cutting Voodoo Lounge. Although not joining the band officially, Darryl Jones would be taking Bill Wyman's place as the group's regular bassist, at the suggestion of drummer Charlie Watts.

Don Was, noted for his retro rock production sensibilities, was reportedly responsible for pushing the band towards more conventional territory in an attempt to reproduce the archetypal "Rolling Stones" sound. Although this approach pleased critics and the Stones rock-oriented fan base, Jagger in particular expressed some dissatisfaction with Was's aesthetic, commenting in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone:

... there were a lot of things that we wrote for Voodoo Lounge that Don steered us away from: groove songs, African influences and things like that. And he steered us very clear of all that. And I think it was a mistake.[3]

Was responded that he was not "anti-groove, just anti-groove without substance, in the context of this album. They had a number of great grooves. But it was like, 'OK, what goes on top of it? Where does it go?' I just felt that it's not what people were looking for from the Stones. I was looking for a sign that they can get real serious about this, still play better than anybody and write better than anybody."[4]

The result was an essentially classicist recording that drew on the blues, R&B, and country that had informed the Stones classic late 1960s/early 1970s recordings. Jagger would insist on a more diverse, contemporary production cast for the subsequent Bridges to Babylon (1997). After a period of recording in Los Angeles in the first few months of 1994, Voodoo Lounge was complete and The Rolling Stones moved onto the rehearsals for the Voodoo Lounge Tour, which would begin in August.

During the recording of the album, Richards adopted a stray cat in Barbados which he named Voodoo, because they were in Barbados, and the kitten had survived the odds. He dubbed the terrace of the house Voodoo's Lounge. "Sparks Will Fly" was written by Richards after a blow-up with Jerry Lee Lewis in Ireland. Richards invited Lewis to Wood's home to jam on a few songs. Lewis took it seriously and thought they were making an album, and upon playback of the session, he started to pick apart Richards' band, which outraged Richards.[5]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(2-star Honorable Mention)(2-star Honorable Mention)[7]
Entertainment WeeklyC+; originally B[8]
Los Angeles Times[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[12]
Tom HullB+ (*)[13]
Vox8/10[14]

Released in July 1994, Voodoo Lounge received generally positive reviews and debuted at No. 1 in the UK (their first chart-topper there since 1980's Emotional Rescue) and No. 2 in the US (behind the soundtrack to The Lion King) where it went double platinum.

David Cavanagh of Q Magazine wrote that "musically, these 15 songs represent the Stones at their all-time least newsworthy," adding that "Voodoo Lounge is no classic, but nor is it the resounding hound it could have been." Though he was disappointed in the inconsistency of the album's second half, he called the trio of opening rockers "exuberant and on the warm side" despite their lyric shortcomings and hailed the next four songs as an extremely good stretch with "Out of Tears" in particular showing "tantalizing glimmers of genius."[10]

Writing for Vox magazine in August 1994, Steven Dalton thought that the album's strongest tracks were filled with "echoes of the band's halcyon days", most notably 1972's Exile on Main Street and 1978's Some Girls.[14] He went on to surmise that Voodoo Lounge "reminds us why we liked the Stones in the first place," and singled out "New Faces", "Out of Tears" and "Blinded by Rainbows" as the album's highlights, despite also stating that the record contained "too many sketchy, arsing-around-in-the-studio jobs" to be considered one of the group's overall best albums.[14]

Jon Pareles of The New York Times found Voodoo Lounge to be disappointing, arguing that the album "rings hollow, as if it were made not to shake things up but simply to fuel the machine." He harshly criticized the songwriting, arguing that "for much of the album, Jagger and Richards seem determined to write the most generic love songs possible...Flip over the sentimentality, and the Stones offer some of their least convincing leers."[15]

Robert Christgau didn't believe the album warranted a full review, consigning it to his column's list of "honorable mentions" and commenting only that the Stones had become the "world's greatest roots-rock band."[7] Tom Hull similarly listed it as an "honorable mention," conceding that the album "feels like they're just going through the motions."[13]

Alexis Petridis of The Guardian would later rank Voodoo Lounge as one of their weakest albums, writing that "this isn't a bad album, exactly, but it sounds as if hard work was involved, the product of craft rather inspiration: tough coming from a band that, at their best, made it all seem effortless." Petridis also felt that the 62-minute album was much too long, joking that "it goes on for about six weeks."[16] David Marchese of New York expressed a similar criticism, writing that Voodoo Lounge "would’ve killed at 45 minutes" while pointing out the weakest songs as he reviewed the album track-by-track.[17]

In early 1995, while the Voodoo Lounge Tour was still underway until August, Voodoo Lounge won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album.

In 2009, Voodoo Lounge was remastered and reissued by Universal Music.

Singles

"Love Is Strong", which was inspired by Richards' solo "Wicked as It Seems", was released as the first single, reaching No. 14 in the UK. However, although the track was a hit on US rock radio, it stalled on the singles chart at No. 91, and (at least in the US) became the Rolling Stones' worst performing lead single from an album up to that time. Two follow-up US singles also received strong rock radio airplay, but failed to cross over into top-40 hits: "Out of Tears" peaked at No. 60, and "You Got Me Rocking" fared even worse, peaking at No. 113. Consequently, Voodoo Lounge would be the first Rolling Stones album to not produce significant hits in the US, even with two million copies sold. In the UK, "Love Is Strong", "You Got Me Rocking", "Out of Tears", and "I Go Wild" were all top-40 chart hits.

Legacy

The song "Thru and Thru", which features Keith Richards on lead vocals, appears several times in "Funhouse", the second-season finale of The Sopranos, including over the end credits.

The Voodoo Lounge Tour was the setting for most of a 1994 episode of Beverly Hills, 90210.

In July 2014, Guitar World placed Voodoo Lounge at number 42 in their "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.[18]

Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge CD ROM

An interactive CD-ROM titled Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge CD ROM was published by GTE Interactive Media in 1995, to mixed reception. It uses early QuickTime video technology for Windows 3.1 and Macintosh.[19]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Voodoo Lounge track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Love Is Strong"3:46
2."You Got Me Rocking"3:34
3."Sparks Will Fly"3:14
4."The Worst"2:24
5."New Faces"2:50
6."Moon Is Up"3:41
7."Out of Tears"5:25
8."I Go Wild"4:19
9."Brand New Car"4:13
10."Sweethearts Together"4:46
11."Suck on the Jugular"4:26
12."Blinded by Rainbows"4:33
13."Baby Break It Down"4:07
14."Thru and Thru"5:59
15."Mean Disposition"4:09
  • Track 15 was included only on CD in 1994, but is also featured on the 2010 vinyl (2xLP) release.[20]

Other songs

Voodoo Lounge single B-sides
Title Notes
"The Storm" "Love Is Strong" B-side
"So Young"
"Jump on Top of Me" "You Got Me Rocking" B-side
"I'm Gonna Drive" "Out of Tears" B-side

Personnel

The Rolling Stones

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications and sales

Multi platinum award
Certifications and sales for Voodoo Lounge
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Argentina — 90,000[49]
Australia (ARIA)[50] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[51] Gold 25,000*
Belgium (BEA)[52] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[53] 3× Platinum 300,000^
France (SNEP)[54] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[55] Platinum 500,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[56] Silver 5,000[57]
Italy — 250,000[58]
Japan (RIAJ)[59] Gold 172,410[45]
Mexico (AMPROFON)[60] Platinum 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[61] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[62] Gold 7,500^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[63] Gold 25,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[64] Gold 50,000^
Sweden (GLF)[65] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[66] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[67] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[68] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[69] Platinum 1,000,000*
Worldwide — 6,000,000[70]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Ian. "Voodoo Lounge". www.timeisonourside.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  2. ↑ Keith Richards, Life, New York: Little Brown, 2010, p. 494
  3. ↑ Wenner, Jann. "Jagger Remembers". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Archived from the original on 9 November 2010. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  4. ↑ "Voodoo Lounge". Time Is on Our Side. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  5. ↑ Keith Richards, Life, New York: Little Brown, 2010, pp. 498–500
  6. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Voodoo Lounge – The Rolling Stones". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  7. 1 2 Christgau, Robert. "Review: Voodoo Lounge (Capitol, 1994)". Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
  8. ↑ Browne, David (22 July 1994). "Music Review > Voodoo Lounge (1994) > The Rolling Stones". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  9. ↑ Hilburn, Robert (10 July 1994). "Good 'Voodoo' or Lounge-Lizard Time? : ***; THE ROLLING STONES, "Voodoo Lounge" ( Virgin ) : THE REVIEW : Getting back to basics, the Stones again sound relaxed and enthused". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  10. 1 2 Cavanagh, David (August 1994). "The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge". Bauer Media Group. p. 109. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  11. ↑ O'Dair, Barbara (11 August 1994). "Review: The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
  12. ↑ Cross, Charles R. (2004). "The Rolling Stones". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 696. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  13. 1 2 Hull, Tom (30 June 2018). "Streamnotes (June 2018)". tomhull.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  14. 1 2 3 Dalton, Steven. "Review: Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge (Virgin V2750)". Vox. No. VOX47, August 1994. p. 93.
  15. ↑ Pareles, Jon (10 July 1994). "RECORDINGS VIEW; The Undead Stones Sing Songs of Love". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  16. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (17 May 2018). "The Rolling Stones – every album ranked!". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  17. ↑ Marchese, David (5 May 2017). "The Complete Works: Ranking All 374 Rolling Stones Songs". Vox Media. Archived from the original on 17 June 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  18. ↑ "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994". GuitarWorld.com. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge CD-ROM – Moby Games" Archived 20 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 7 January 2009
  20. ↑ "Voodoo Lounge". Discogs. Archived from the original on 23 May 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  21. ↑ Saulnier, Jason (8 April 2010). "Chuck Leavell Interview". Music Legends. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  22. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  24. ↑ "Ultratop.be – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  25. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  26. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2549". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  27. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  28. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  29. ↑ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – R". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Elton Rolling Stones from the menu, then press OK.
  30. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  31. ↑ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Rolling Stones".
  32. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  33. ↑ "Charts.nz – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  34. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  35. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  36. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  37. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge". Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  38. ↑ "The Rolling Stones | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  39. ↑ "The Rolling Stones Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  40. ↑ "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Albums 1994". Australian Record Industry Association Ltd. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  41. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Jahreshitparade 1994" (ASP) (in German). Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 12 October 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  42. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2886". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  43. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1994" (ASP) (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 20 September 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  44. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1994 par InfoDisc" (in French). infodisc.fr. Archived from the original (PHP) on 30 March 2014. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  45. 1 2 Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  46. ↑ "Hitparade.ch – Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1994". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  47. ↑ "Billboard Magazine – 1994: The Year in Music". Billboard. 24 December 1994. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  48. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  49. ↑ "Argentina". Billboard. 10 December 1994. p. 68. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  50. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1994 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  51. ↑ "Austrian album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  52. ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 1995". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  53. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge". Music Canada. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  54. ↑ "French album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  55. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (The Rolling Stones; 'Voodoo Lounge')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  56. ↑ "Time is really on their side" (PDF). Billboard. 24 December 1994. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  57. ↑ "Standard for Certifying Awards of Countries (Unit Sales)" (PDF). 2005. p. 35. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  58. ↑ "Gli Stones cancellano I'Italia dal mondo". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 13 March 1995. p. 31. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2021. e alla luce di un album molto riuscito come "Voodoo Lounge" che in Italia ha venduto oltre 250 mila copie
  59. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – ザ・ローリング・ストーンズ – ヴードゥー・ラウンジ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 21 July 2022. Select 1994年7月 on the drop-down menu
  60. ↑ "AMPROFON". amprofon.mx. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  61. ↑ "Dutch album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 11 December 2011. Enter Voodoo Lounge in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  62. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  63. ↑ "Norwegian album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  64. ↑ Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  65. ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  66. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Voodoo Lounge')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  67. ↑ "British album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 December 2012. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Voodoo Lounge in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  68. ↑ "American album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Voodoo Lounge". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 25 December 2012.
  69. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1996". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  70. ↑ Sexton, Paul (25 October 1997). "Stones back to the top" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 43. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
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