Stolt, Roine - Wall Street Voodoo


Year of Release: 2005
Label: InsideOut
Catalog Number: IOMCD 233
Format: CD
Total Time: 115:06:00

Leave it to Roine Stolt, the magnificent lead guitar/vocalist of the progressive-rock band The Flower Kings to release a solo album that is a double disc. It has become a common occurrence for him as a Flower King member so why not a double solo album? The key of course is does he offer solid music to his listeners with this bountiful material? The answer is of course a resounding yes, what else would you expect me to say after covering every one of the TFK studio albums, Stolt?s solo albums, and their first DVD, while raving every step of the way. This brings me around full circle and into an entirely different realm than what I have become accustomed to hearing from this man.

Wall Street Voodoo brings Stolt back to his roots, the classic rock, and blues he grew up with and found so inspirational. The music is very solid while the lyrics have a particularly cynical slant expressing his political and personal viewpoints. He is not radical in his views by any means, just honest and straightforward and I cannot argue his stance on many fronts. Titles like "Everyone Wants To Rule The World," "Sex Kills," "It's All About Money," and "Everybody Is Trying To Sell You Something" tells the tale of this story. The voodoo that Wall Street and all its capitalism trappings bring to the table come painted on a musical canvas that offer enthusiastic and eye opening honesty by the artist. One must hear these messages and understand where he is coming from to understand the meaning or concept if you will of this recording. It is not difficult to see that Stolt thinks our Western capitalism is the root of all that is evil, yet everyone desires it. The paradox is that bands from overseas find their way to stardom on this soil. I guess you could call it selling your soul to the devil. No worries for Stolt and his band however, as they have not become superstars, they have their own little niche in this world and his name is now synonymous with progressive rock. The success he enjoys is on a worldwide level while maintaining a tremendous amount of anonymity, the best of both worlds.

This solo album is not anything like TFK music, so do not set yourself up for a letdown right out of the gate. This is blues-rock, and while Stolt does not play blistering Johnny Winter like licks throughout this album, he certainly does the genre justice. This was a cleansing of the soul for him and I am sure something he has wanted to do for a very long time. It will be interesting to see if TFK take on a new direction since the moth has turned into a butterfly and flown off in a new direction.


Tracklisting:
Disc One: The Observer (11:05) / Head Above Water (5:25) / Dirt (8:15) / Everyone Wants To Rule The World (4:05) / Spirit Of The Rebel (6:10) / Unforgiven (3:) / Dog With A Million Bones (8:10) / Sex Kills (7:20) / Outcast (7:50)

Disc Two: The Unwanted (9:) / Remember (6:55) / It:s All About Money (8:05) / Everybody Is Trying To Sell You Something (6:55) / Hotrod (The Atomic Wrestler) (9:10) / Mercy (2:40) / People That Have The Power To Shape The Future (11:05)

Musicians:
Roine Stolt - vocals, electric and acoustic guitar
Hasse Bruniusson - percussion
Gonzo Geffen - congas, percussion
Marcus Liliequist - drums
Neal Morse - lead vocals, Hammond
Slim Pothead - Wurlitzer piano, mini-Moog, Hammond

Discography:
Kaipa - Kaipa (1975/1993)
Kaipa - Inget Nytt Under Solen (1976/1993)
Fantasia (1979/1992)
The Lonely Heartbeat (1989)
Kaipa - Stockholm Symfonie (Japanese bootleg) (1993)
The Flower King (1994/2001)
Behind The Walls (LP) (1995)
The Flower Kings - Back In The World Of Adventures (1995)
The Flower Kings - Retropolis (1996)
The Flower Kings - Stardust We Are (1997/2000)
The Flower Kings - Scanning The Greenhouse (comp) (1998)
The Flower Kings - Edition Limit?e Quebec (only 700 copies!) (1998)
The Flower Kings - Flower Power (1999)
The Flower Kings - TFK fanclub disc (2000) (free CD exclusive to fanclub members only)
The Flower Kings - Alive On Planet Earth (2000)
The Flower Kings - Space Revolver (2000)
The Flower Kings - Space Revolver Special Edition (2CD set) (2000)
The Flower Kings - The Rainmaker (2001)
The Flower Kings - The Rainmaker - Special Edition (2001)
The Flower Kings - Unfold The Future (2002)
The Flower Kings - Live In New York: Official Bootleg (2002)
The Flower Kings - Fan Club CD 2002 (2002)
Kaipa - Notes From The Past (2002)
Hydrophonia (2002)
Kaipa - Keyholder (2003)
The Flower Kings - Fan Club CD 2004 (2004)
The Flower Kings - Adam & Eve (2004)
The Flower Kings - BetchaWannaDanceStoopid (2004)
Kaipa - Mindrevolution (2005)
Kaipa - The Decca Years 1975-1978 (5CD set) (2005)
Wall Street Voodoo (2005)
The Flower Kings - Harvest (2005)
The Flower Kings - Paradox Hotel (2006)
The Flower Kings - The Road Back Home (2007)
The Flower Kings - The Sum Of No Evil (2007)
The Sum Of No Evil (Special Edition) (2007)

The Flower Kings - Meet The Flower Kings - Live Recording (DVD) (2003)
The Flower Kings - Instant Delivery (2DVD) (2006)
The Flower Kings - Instant Delivery - Limited Edition (2CD/2DVD) (2006)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin SE

Added: November 29th 2005
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.flowerkings.se
Hits: 1685
Language: english

  

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