ROINE STOLT - WALL STREET VOODOO

ROINE STOLT - WALL STREET VOODOO

Disk 1 . . . . . . .60:02
1) The Observer . . . . 11:05
2) Head Above Water . . . . 5:25
3) Dirt . . . . 8:15
4) Everyone Wants To Rule The World . 4:05
5) Spirit Of The Rebel . . . . 6:10
6) Unforgiven . . . . 3:00
7) Dog With A Million Bones . . . . 8:10
8) Sex Kills . . . . 7:20
9) Outcast . . . . 7:50

Disk 2 . . . . . . .53:22
1) The Unwanted . . . . 9:00
2) Remember . . . . 6:55
3) It's All About Money . . . . 8:05
4) Everybody Is Trying To Sell You Something . . . . 6:55
5) Hotrod ( The Atomic Wrestler) . . . . 9:10
6) Mercy . . . . 2:40
7) People That Have The Power To Shape The Future . 11:05

Line-up: Roine Stolt: Lead Vocal ,Electric & Acoustic Guitars & Percussion - Neal Morse: Lead Vocal & Hammond Organ - Slim Pothead: Wurlizer Piano,Mini Moog & Hammond Organ - Victor Woof: Fender Bass - Marcus Liliequist: Drumkit - Hasse Bruniusson: Percussion
Gonzo Geffen - Congas & Percussion & Loop treatments

Format: Double CD • InsideOut # SPV48682 DCD - release date: November 15,2005 - Roine's official website at: www.flowerkings.se

Now There's something refreshingly different! Roine Stolt's latest solo effort, entitled Wall Street Voodoo is quite a break from the progressive brand of music that the leader of the Flower Kings has accustomed us to in the past, with projects like The Tangent, Kaipa, Transatlantic... not to mention TFK! This new album is blues wall to wall! And a generous offering from Roine, with nearly two hours of music on two CDs. Heavily influenced by the classic blues/rock of the seventies, you can hear melodies and riffs reminiscent of Zappa, Clapton, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Jeff Beck and the likes. As Roine says about this new album "...you could say it's a cross between blues, soul and funk from this new millenium... My ambition was to make it spontaneous and almost sounding like it was a live take from a Fillmore concert around 1969. Oh well, there's a bit of production too but i've tried to keep it vintage". And indeed it is quite a satisfying effort, with a rich, thick, generous sound. There's a laid back warmth to this album, with brilliant guitar work by the swedish maestro... some of his guitar solos are absolutely amazing, the best he ever played! Roine sings with a lower, warmer, bluesier voice, capturing the blues feel perfectly. Neal Morse's contribution on the Hammond gives a great mellow tone to the album, and let's not forget the combination of Stolt and Morse on vocals, great harmonies we remember well from the Transatlantic era. Marcus displays quite a variety of styles, showing how versatile he is on drums. The track Outcast sounds a bit like something that The Powder Blues could have written (remember them?).

But not to worry, there is still plenty of prog in this album, and I have to say that prog and blues mingle very well in this recording, much like the early Floyd albums of the seventies at times, you can even hear the familiar tones of a mellotron (or a sample of it) on a few tracks, including Dirt and Hotrod! And several songs could easily find themselves on a Flower Kings album and not seem out of place at all, like Remember. Roine's Flower sound is omnipresent throughout the album. There are even a few bits here and there that are inspired by the Beatles, like the track Everyone Wants To Rule The World (which has nothing to do with the Tears For Fears track of the same name).

If you look at the credits on the back of the album, you will see unlikely names like Victor Woof, Gonzo Geffen and Slim Pothead; one can only assume that due to some record label restrictions, the real guest musicians couldn't be mentioned at the risk of increasing production cost exponentially... still an interesting guessing game as to who they are. I highly recommend this CD for many reasons, its brilliant production and excellent sound, Neal Morse's wonderful contribution, and of course the fact that it's damn good music too!

My rating for Wall Street Voodoo : 8.7/10(album reviewed by Robert Dansereau 21/11/2005)