Moon Is Up: The Rolling Stones’ Voodoo Lounge at 30
Looking back on the rock icons’ first album without Bill Wyman
Voodoo Lounge marked a milestone for the Rolling Stones in several ways.
Released on July 11, 1994, it was the band’s 20th studio album, their first in five years and first without bassist Bill Wyman, who had departed three years earlier.
“A rhythm-section change in a band is a heavy-duty number,” Richards wryly noted at the time. “It’s totally up to Bill. If he doesn’t want to do it, it’s his decision. I don’t want a reluctant guy on the road.”
In the pantheon of classic Stones albums, it initially seemed to reside in the second tier, as did most Stones albums released after the mid ‘70s.
Nevertheless, while it might not be called an especially exceptional effort, it is a solid Stones album that, in retrospect, measures up quite a bit better 30 years later than how it was initially perceived. Mostly propelled by riff ready rockers — “Love Is Strong,” “I Go Wild,” “You Got Me Rocking,” “Mean Disposition,” “Baby Break It Down,” and “Sparks Will Fly” in particular — it boasted enough prominent new tracks to bolster a set list for the tour that took its name from the album title itself.
VIDEO: The Rolling Stones “Love Is Strong”
It is, in fact, a decidedly solid Rolling Stones album.
Produced by Don Was, the sessions for Voodoo Lounge became the source of some conflict between Was and Mick Jagger in particular. In a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, the singer commented “… 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.”
Was responded by saying that he was not “anti-groove, just anti-groove without substance, in the context of this album.”
“They had a number of great grooves,” he continued. “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.”
Nevertheless Voodoo Lounge proved to be a commercial success, reaching either gold or platinum status in several countries. Granted, it could be argued that any new Stones album was guaranteed to do well, especially after an absence of five years. After all, this was a band that proved its longevity was no accident. Significantly too, one of the album’s acknowledged stand-outs, “You Got Me Rocking,” became a staple in the band’s live sets while netting the group the first-ever Grammy Award for “Best Rock Album” of 1995.
Wyman’s departure seemed to have little effect on the Stones’ overall sound, given that his at first unofficial replacement, bassist Darryl Jones, did an admirable job of providing the all-important rhythmic foundation in tandem with the usual steady support of Charlie Watts. Notably, Voodoo Lounge featured an unusually large contingent of support musicians, among them, the dedicated keyboard accompaniment provided by Chuck Leavell, the backing vocals of Bernard Fowler, prominent percussion from Lenny Castro, trumpet courtesy of Mark Isham, Flaco Jimenez on accordion, a cameo vocal from Bobby Womack, and added keyboard contributions from Ivan Neville and Benmont Tench.
Likewise, Ron Wood could be credited with a yeoman’s job of filling in the extra textures courtesy of his efforts on pedal steel and occasional lap steel guitars. He was then, and still is now, the Stones’ secret weapon.
For his part, Mick Jagger manages to vary his usual petulant posture, modifying his signature snarl here and there through occasional restraint and reflection. That’s especially evident on the better tracks — a consistently compelling “Moon Is Up,” the weary, semi-remorseful “Out of Tears,” the decidedly descriptive “Blinded By Rainbows,” and a sentimental serenade “Sweethearts Together,” the latter of which sounds like it was once part of the Everly Brothers repertoire. Richards was given opportunity to take the lead vocals on three songs, most notably, the tattered self-deprecating ballad “The Worst” and the overtly emotional but eagerly emphatic “Thru and Thru,” the latter of which was woven into the soundtrack of the second season finale of The Sopranos.
The album can be credited with other highlights as well. The sparking arrangement shared in “New Faces” brings to mind the ornate trappings and tender touch of “Dandelion” from nearly three decades prior. “Suck on the Jugular” is fueled by pure funk and Isham’s nuanced trumpet solo.
Ultimately, Voodoo Lounge is nuanced to a greater degree than many of the later Stones albums. That’s one reason why it’s a particularly inviting refuge, even now.
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