I know Billzebub is a Ridgway fan, so I'm assuming that he may also be a WoV fan, but I don't know about the rest of youse.

I like "This Way Out" and "Back In Flesh", and what I would like to know is, Whaddya like, whaddya not like, where to start album-wise, etc. Also, if any peeps have some albums they would be willing to throw up on DC++ that would be great too.

Call of the West is a fantastic album from beginning to end. I especially like "Lost Weekend" -- some of Ridgway's finest characterization work.

Index Masters is great, too. Killer version of "Ring of Fire". "Animal Day" is delightfully whacky. "Red Light" and "Back in Flesh" are also standout tracks.

Dark Continent is also a must-have, but there's some redundancy with Index Masters.

I've been a fan of everything Voodoo since my freshman year in high school, including the stuff they did with Andy Prieboy.

Here's my take on their albums...

"Index Masters" is really just their two Index/Restless ep's with some additional live tracks. "The Passenger", "Longarm", "Ring of Fire" and "The Good The Bad & The Ugly" are the standouts.

"Dark Continent" is my favorite. Every song is a winner, and none of it's been overplayed or trivialized (unlike a certain song from Side 2 of "Call of the West"). This record is dark and eerie, and really crystalized IRS' identity as an "alternative" label. "Back In Flesh" is probably the most well-known, it's the song they performed in "Urgh! A Music War". "Callbox", "Tse Tse Fly", and "Red Light" are even better.

Side 1 of "Call of the West" is a perfect album side. The opener "Tomorrow" segues perfectly into "Lost Weekend" and then on to "Factory" etc. This is where Ridgway's penchant for capturing the downcast and desperate--human failure and weakness really shines. "They Don't Want Me" was the perfect song for the outsider, disenfranchised high school kid. The guy ranting at the end of the title cut still slays me. The cassette version had a bonus track "Exercise" slapped on the end of Side 1, it wasn't anything special, although it would've been nice to see it included on the CD. It was never released otherwise. Ridgway still plays "Mexican Radio" live, but he goofs on it and its popularity. Last time I saw him, he did a zydeco version.

"Seven Days In Sammystown" is the first album they did with Andy Prieboy, and it's great. I like Andy Prieboy a lot, his solo material is dynamite, and he gelled with the band on this record. "Far Side Of Crazy" and "Blackboard Sky" are my two faves.

"Happy Planet" fizzled. The Beach Boys cover as a single was weak, and the album really falls flat. "Elvis Bought Dora A Cadillac" is probably the best thing here.

"The Ugly Americans" is a live album that I have to believe was a contractual obligation. Although I dig Prieboy, hearing him sing the Ridgway songs is borderline sinful.

Cheers!

I love all things WOV! Unfortunately for the uninitiated it's difficult to get anything. Even I only have CDRS of Dark Continent, having the original on vinyl only. The originals go for 80 or more regularly on Ebay. I'd agree with Billzebub that DC is the one to start out with and Call Of The West being next. I will say that I enjoy Happy Planet too. Different-yes but that only stands to reason.

My WOV collection-abbreviated version

S/T EP-vinyl
Index Masters-CD
Dark Continent-vinyl/CDR from CD
Call of The West-Vinyl/CD
Seven Days In Sammystown-CD
Happy Planet- CD
Ugly Americans -cassette/CD

Stan Ridgway:
The Big Heat-vinyl/CD
Mosquitos-CD
Partyball-CD
Songs That Made This Country Great-CD
Work The Dumb Oracle-CD
Black Diamond-CD
The Way I Feel Today: Stan Croons The Classics-CD
Anatomy-CDR
Snakebite-CD

Prieboy:
The Sins Of Our Fathers-CDR
Upon My Wicked Son-CD
Montezuma Was A Man Of Faith EP-CD

Department Of Crooks:
Plan 9 From Las Vegas-CD

Marc Morland:
Take It To The Spotlight

Pretty & Twisted (Moreland +Johnette Napolitano)

And about 50 or so bootlegs, demos, alt. versions from WOV and all of the offshoots.

I'm not up on DCC yet but I have my password and I'll try to get on by tomorrow at the latest.

WOV rools!

jc

Hey Billzebub, you're fortunate to have seen Ridgway, you live in CA? I managed to see the original WOV once and Stan once solo. Other than those two times I can't recall either coming anywhere close to KC.

I'd really like to see Andy's "White Trash Wins Lotto" which is based on Axle Rose' life, or so I've heard. At one point I had an internet buddy with boots to many of those shows but he was a good friend of Andy and swore to never trade them. That was a big time bummer.

jc

I love this cd. I even sent a copy to my father, who was raised on big bands.

I saw Stan in NYC in October, a very short set, but tres cool nonetheless. I've got most of the stuff you listed, except for the Moreland side projects. Do you have much of Joe Nanini's other work?

Cheers!

I have a disc called something like "Sienna Nanini" which is a bizarre collection of his solo work. I'm almost positive that it's a CDR and not a studio release though. I have not pulled it out in eons, mainly since it's really bizarre and not so good. Both are pretty valid reasons in my book.

I'm telling you that if you don't have the Moreland side project Dept. Of Crooks CD (although by then it wasn't a side project) you're really missing out on the lost Wall Of Voodoo album. It's simply mind blowing, stunningly good. If you're interested you can PM me, I may actually even have another copy sitting around but I haven't gone through that box in a long while. At the very least you should hear it, and I can make that happen easily enough.

Oh and hey, do you listen to Clinic much? I only have the last CD which most people panned but I thought it was pretty good. More than a couple tracks on there had more than a passing similarity to WOV. A couple of tracks are so similar that I've wondered if they list WOV as one of their influences. If not they sure should give the proper credit.

jc

You guys rock. Thanks!

I"M IN!!! I just had to switch to passive mode and everything seemed so much better. I put the DC and COTW up on BCDC++, where I see you are logged on. Since I just encoded them, I may have to log off and then back on, but maybe not.

I've also added some misc. boots that will be on later tonight. They are in the FLAC format so d/l's will take longer.
jc