Search - Roine Stolt :: Wall Street Voodoo

The missing "Rosetta Stone" to understanding Roine Stolt's m

Squire Jaco | Buffalo, NY USA | 11/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I get the feeling that this album has been germinating in Mr. Stolt's mind for many years.



Over the years, we Flower Kings fans have easily recognized his early prog influences such as Yes, Genesis, Crimson and ELP (among others), and his Gibson Les Paul guitar styling has frequently had a very Steve Howe-ish sound. But just as Howe was deeply influenced by some seemingly unlikely suspects like Chet Atkins and Bob Dylan, Stolt bares his soul (no pun intended) on Wall Street Voodoo with nods to some of the early blues-based guitar masters of the late 60's.



For me, this album answers a lot of questions about why Stolt has used certain effects, riffs or political lyrics in recent TFK outings where I thought they sounded a bit awkward or out of sync with the rest of a particular song or album concept. (I'm thinking of the rockier "Don't Let The Devil In", "Monkey Business", "Adam and Eve" and "Genie in a Bottle"; or the more political "Thru the Walls", "Devil's Playground" and "Slave to Money"). In the past, I always attributed it to the quirkier Zappa side of Stolt; but now I suspect it was just Stolt trying to let these important root yearnings of his out to see a little light of day. Even the name of the group and many of their album covers have evoked the "flower power" era of rock 'n' roll.



There's a lot of great music here folks, with inventive guitar solos galore. Just as some blues and classic rock sounds tend to creep into the occasional TFK composition, Stolt has a little trouble keeping some prog from peering around the edges of this latest album of rhythm and blues (and that's just fine with me!). And I'm gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that part of the reason that you can't totally escape the TFK sound here is because along with Stolt and TFK drummer Marcus Liliequist, you have bassist Jonas Reingold(?) masquerading as "Victor Woof", and keyboardist Tomas Bodin(?) as "Slim Pothead" - am I right, Roine?



The first disc starts off with four really good tunes - cool lyrics, catchy refrains, and lots of layered guitar. I love the slide guitar (a la Duane Allman and George Harrison) that shows up in many of the songs. The middle few songs on this disc get a little repetitive for me, and can get pretty angry-sounding. But the disc finishes nicely with a Joni Mitchell cover ("Sex Kills") and "Outcast".



He does more voice effects on the second disc, and quite honestly, I've just never been a big fan of that. So while I absolutely LOVE "Remember", "Hotrod" and "People That Have the Power...", I don't care for portions of "The Unwanted" (great instrumental section, though), the Lou Reed-ish/near-rap of "It's all about Money", or the sittin'-on-my-front-porch-strummin'-my-guitar "Mercy" (mercifully short in duration).



So, as with many TFK albums, one is left with an album that's filled about 85% with just awesome, creative music - dare I say, the best being made today (even when it's not prog!). But then you have to endure the less-than-optimal quirkier stuff that the artist feels compelled to do, but may not quite jibe with your interests. Thus my 4-star rating.



I strongly suspect that, with this project out of Stolt's system, the next Flower Kings album is going to be that PERFECT one we've all been anticipating. (Yeah, I'm a pathetic optimist ;-) If you are an exclusive prog rock listener, you should probably pass this album up. But if you are an overall rock music lover, or if you have an open mind to music, and especially if you are a fan of Swedish guitar-god and hippie-wannabe Roine Stolt, this album is INDISPENSABLE in understanding and enjoying more of this man's great music. It's far out, man.



I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:

Music quality = 8.1/10; Performance = 9/10; Production = 9/10; CD length = 10/10.

Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 8.7 ("4 stars")

"

Reborn Spirit of the Sixties

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 10/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ah, politics in music again, we just can't seem to escape it these days, can we? I am a long-time Roine Stolt fan and have been dazzled by the music on this album, so I'll let his idealistic anti-capitalist rants slide. Anyway,this project is supposed to be Stolt's nod to his musical influences of the sixties and that decade was nothing if not quite radical in many ways.

I am politically a very conservative guy, but being of the sixties I can see where Stolt is coming from with his lyrics here. He is asking questions that never get answered and shows his irritation with a world that seems to be spiralling into a cesspool of greed, corruption and degeneracy. Wall Street Voodoo, idealistic yet somewhat naive, is the reborn spirit of the sixties and it should be refreshing, no matter your politics, to hear such an eloquent expression of discontent as this is.

I like the whole CD, though there are parts that seem a little drawn out. But to me, the highlights are many, and they are as follows:

Disc 1:

1)The Observer-a sledgehammer of anti-capitalist invective with a soulful refrain.

2)Head Above Water-features an excellent Deep Purple style organ interlude.

3)Dirt-Powerful, accusing lyrics and gripping instrumentation.

4)Everyone Wants To Rule the World-With the exception of the refrain, this overflows with Floydian lyrics and imagery.

5)Spirit of the Rebel-A driving, pounding vision of hopelessness.

6)Dog With A Million Bones-a bitter polemic against those who have no wants yet will not share. Some great Luddite invective.

7)Sex Kills-An old Joni Mitchell tune, bitter and enraged, fits perfectly with the spirit of this CD.

8)Outcast-In my opinion, the best song among many good ones. Here are the blues. Its not a BB King ripoff as someone claimed, I hear it far closer to Peter Green than to BB King. Sublime blues guitar and desolate lyrics will mesmerize you!

Disc 2:

1)Remember-A great rocker, with a whiff of Crazy Horse. This just cooks.

2)Its All About Money-Who can disagree? Good lyrics with a lame semi-rap delivery, but instrumental portion excellent.

3)Everybody Is Trying To Sell You Something- True enough. A funky lyrical reiteration of the theme of The Observer.

4)People That Have The Power To Shape The Future-Great song taking a crack at the emptiness of a life devoted to serving a faceless corporation. Even if you are a company man/woman, you must experience similar feelings at some point in your career. Great soulful vocals.

Wall Street Voodoo is one CD I will be promoting for a long time, at least until Stolt records something even better! If you have an open mind and a love of dynamic and interesting music, then don't miss this. An album such as this one comes along only rarely.

"

Wall Street Voodoo

Martha Pervin | U.S.A. | 04/07/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I don't understand why some people are so shocked that Roine Stolt put out a blues solo album. It is very clear to me that Roine is a very good blues guitarist. There are heavy blues influences all over the place in previous Flower Kings albums



Roine's lyrics on WSV are nothing like the lyrics I have heard on previous Flower Kings albums in the following ways. They don't sound like they came straight out of 1968. They are political, and I found that interesting. They are much less spiritual than the lyrics he wrote for the FK albums in the past.



Roine's voice works on a blues album. I was somewhat worried that a man singing the blues with a Swedish accent wouldn't work out well, but he pulled it off brilliantly.



Neal Morse was not an asset to this album. I'm not sure what Neal's problem was, but it seemed to me that he somehow managed to impose a Beatlesque overtone on some of these blues songs. It didn't work for me at all.



This album would have been better if it was a single CD. If Roine had forced himself to put everything he wanted on this blues album in one CD, it would have been incredible!, Sometimes less is more. That's why I gave this album only 4 stars.



Anyone that can't hear a blues influence in Roine's guitar work with The Flower Kings has to take the wax out of their ears. It's all over the place in very heavy doses.



If anyone reading this likes the blues, buy this album. I think you'll enjoy it. Roine is a spectacular and talented guitarist. He is a first class blues guitarist as well.



I wish Roine had released this album on a blues label. I believe many blues lovers would be happy to have it in their collection. It was released on a prog label, probably because The Flower Kings are a prog band. It's a shame more blues lovers will never have a decent chance of hearing this album."