WALL STREET VOODOO

This is Roine's 2005 solo effort, and IMO his best solo CD to date. Neal Morse adds his vocal talents (Roine appeared in Neal's new album called ? (Question Mark), and Neal is appearing in this one) and it turns some tracks into a kind of "Transatlantic"-like feel. The amount of (usually long) guitar solos on this disc is amazing, as usual for releases that Roine is involved in - but the quality of the gtr solos is.. well.. how can I put it..: out of this world!!!. - I am going to write a track-by-track review within the next 3 days, but as I only recieved my copy yesterday, I am hardly in a position to do that now. But, from what I have heard so far - this is Roine's best solo effort yet (as I already said). - And as a big Neal fan, I highly appreciate the fact that this album features vocals by him. At least he is appearing on non-Christian-prog albums for a change! - 5/5 - A+ - 10/10, the best!.

First of all, this is certainly nothing I expected. Wallstreet Voodoo is a straight-forward rock album, less prog-oriented than any other of Stolt's previous works, if prog at all. Song durations are usually approaching ten minutes, but that's mainly because of several long guitar solos/jams. Personally, I don't like pentatonic-based bluesy stuff like this, but Stolt plays some very impressive solos all along the album, which makes the album worth listening. It's quite surprising to discover that somebody still can find something new in hard rock soloing. No cliches are being repeated in these guitar pieces. Stolt's guitar speaks much more than his vocals on this album, and he reaches many moods by using many different techniques, especially his slide guitar is phenomenal. There are also nice jazz influences all along the album, and on It's All About Money he even goes really jazzy in his solos, which surprised me. This guy really handles various styles! I'm also glad to hear Neal Morse performing on the album, and he does some good vocal spots. Morse's voice has clearly improved since the time with Spock's Beard, he reaches some pretty high notes at least on the opener track. But despite these facts, if you're looking for a progressive album, I won't recommend this one.

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 KINGS 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 marinating 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.

© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck-http://www.muzikreviews.com December 07, 2005

Roine, what have you done? This is not prog rock. Sometimes rock, sometimes jazz, and at times, even funk, but definately not prog. I love The Flower Kings, Transatlantic, Kaipa, and previous solo albums, and bought this one thinking it would be more of the same. It isn't. If I had listened to it before buying , I would not have bought it. Some may say that change is a good thing, but I like what I know, and I know what I like. Sorry Roine, I don't like this. Where is the Flower King? Long live the Flower King.

WARNING: IF YOU EXPECT A FLOWER KINGS SOUND, YOU WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED

This is not Flower Kings. This is not happy/positive. This is not even progressive! It is a pure rock&blues album that is extremely influenced by the 60s and 70s. I am sure Roine put his heart and soul into this record, since it shows his main influences (besides prog) and the music that made him pick up the guitar.

This is not happy like the flower kings are. Here, we can hear the angry side of Stolt. He attacks capitalism. That is the concept of the album: capitalism/greed/injustice.

The Observer Begins the album with a bass riff similar to "Don't let the Devil In". The curseword tells you that this album is different. The song is groovy and has a great chorus in which Roine sings with Neal Morse. There are extended guitar solos. The lyrics introduces the listeners on the main theme of the album. It is somewhat overlong, as many of the songs in here are. The duration does not really hurt the quality of this song. 8/10

Head Above Water has Neal Morse singing in a good majority of the track. It has a good jam near the end with old-sounding hammond organs. 6/10

Dirt does not start well. It has some awkward singing from Roine (sometimes, he sounds like a mexican) It then gets better (especially instrumentally) and uses the mellotron in moments you would not expect. 6.5/10

Everybody wants to rule the world has memorable verses and a catchy chorus that reminds me of Transatlantic, maybe because both Roine and Neal sing. Unfortunately, the ending is unlistenable noise. 6/10

Spirit of the Rebel is slower, yet faster in its hard rocking choruses. The guitar solos are really good in this track, but this song doesn't have enough ideas to guarantee its duration. 6/10

Unforgiven is one of the best tracks in the album. One of the main reasons is the short duration and its memorable melodies and guitar riffing. 8/10

Dog With a Million Bones is a pure blues track with great guitar playing. It is influenced by Jimi Hendrix. Sadly, it is a bit overlong. If you liked the opening track, you'll like this one because the style is very similar. 7/10

Sex Kills is a cover song. It is a rock&blues track with quite good guitar playing as always. It is probably the most mainstream sounding song from the album. 6/10

OutCast is a great way to end the first disc. It is a fine blues rocker with a mellow atmosphere. No more to say about it. 7.5/10

The Unwanted is a bit awkward. It is a 60s blues with strong Hendrix influences, especially on the guitar riff heard on the short chorus. The singing is heavily processed and doesn't work too well for me, tho Roine setting out a huge 'F**k' surprised me. The long guitar solo begins strangely, but what follows is quite good. The end of the piece is very different from the first 6 minutes. It starts with a theme and is slowly developed. Definitively a highlight! 5.5/10

Remember is another highlight of the album. It begins with an amazing up-tempo guitar riff accompained by great slide guitar work. The song continues with the same tempo and strong vocal melodies. The second half of the song doesn't drop in quality. 8/10

It's All About Money is the centerpiece of the album. The 'wallstreet voodoo' is introduced and his lyrics are very important. Musically, Roine has mixed many genres of music, resulting in a unique sound. 7.5/10

Everybody is trying to sell you something is a funky song with memorable vocal melodies, interesting rhythm section, and some soloing. There's a clavichord playing, which gives a very 'oldie' feel. Again, I feel the song is a couple of minutes too long 7/10

hotRod starts as an exciting and energetic track that will wake you up from the slower 2 previous tracks. However, starting from minute 5, there is a section that is utterly brilliant. A gentle, elevator jazz music starts playing and slowly, Roine and his band destroy the beauty. Everything starts getting tenser, a sinister 4/4 bass riff is introduced out of nowhere and from there, everything turns into complete chaos only held by that perpetual 3-note bass riff. It might be as of now my favorite avant-garde moment ever, and despites its madness, it seems as if the madness has been carefully composed. 9/10

Mercy is just a small acoustic piece with distorted vocals. 5/10

People that Have the Power To Shape The Future is a not a very good closer. Things I do not like in this track is: long duration, mediocre guitar riff, irritating vocal chorus (especially when distorted). However, the guitar solos are good as always and the rhythm can make you tap your foot. 5/10

This is a recommended album for Roine Stolt fans. However, this is not the best blues record there is. The singing is not excellent as well as some of the vocal melodies, and the music tends to be too long and tiring. However, if you are a big fan of the guitar, you will not be disappointed here.

My Rating : C+

Well, I think it should be obvious after the previous reviews that this is NOT a typical Roine Stolt project. It can't really be called "prog", in the sense that most here would think of it (though there are quite a few bands on this site that I don't consider prog....but someone else obviously does). What you get here are basically blues rock songs, with a couple Beatlesque almost pop songs, and a track or two that border on prog (or is it just that they have mellotron in them? :)

If you like Roines guitar playing, and can enjoy 70's style blues/classic rock, then you should get this album. If you want to hear another Stolt patented prog release, then get the Live Circus Brimstone CD (excellent, by the way).

For me, the selling point of this album is all the great to excellent guitar solos. The vocals seem not quite up to par for Roine, and I usually enjoy his singing. The lyrics, while well written, sometimes seem sort of forced over top of the more basic rock structures. Neal Morse puts in some good performances however, singing the (not surprisingly given his singing style) more pop sounding songs. The rest of the band (whoever they really are) is competent and provide an excellent backing for Stolts solos.

I probably would have preferred an instrumental album of this nature (or even just an instrumental or two to break up the vocal numbers), but the more I listen to it the more I enjoy it. It is not something I put on to get a prog fix, but the guitar solos are great to listen to and amoung Roines best.

Personally, I'd say this is a 4 star album. But because of the nature of this site, I can only give it 3 stars. But if you like 70's blues rock and want to hear some great Roine Stolt lead guitar work, this is well worth having.

Knowing of Roine Stolts previous work, I was expecting yet another happy Flower Kings sound,and with it being two CD's I was expecting somewhat of an epic, knowing that Roine has never done a 2 CD solo album before. After hearing the first track though, "The Observer" I could tell that I wasn't going to get the sound I was expecting. Im going to get something deeper than that, a side of Roine you rarely get to see. Whats actually happening around us? Whats making the world go round? The actual music is 60's/70's psychedelic rock, blues guitar, and maybe a pinch of funk in there. Some of the solo work is fantastic, with some great performances from all musicians. The lyrics have to be some of the strongest written by our Roine, but as hinted by myself earlier, this sounds like a more personnel album which moves well away from the usual Flower Kings material. My favourite track has to be "The Unwanted". It starts off with its bluesy sound, and you can't help feeling sorry for the man who Roine is singing about. This man keeps getting put down, a failing business man who keeps trying to hold his head up high. He eventually gives in, turns away from business and looks to God and, well, begs for mercy. Then the music switches, it turns to this, uplifting, mind expanding music which you can't help but let yourself go into. Dont expect your usual Flower Kings music here, but dont let that put you off buying this album. Personally, I think its Roines best solo work but also a great addition to anyones prog rock collection. I would love to give it a 5 star rating as it is a masterpiece. But its not a masterpiece of progressive rock, hence why Im giving it a 4.

Matty

Quiet enough album, from time to time boring. In it the distinct jazz basis is traced. Anything especial, unfortunately, in it is not present. These are the same The Flower Kings in their last albums. At all my love to creativity FK, last creation Roine obeys without interest. I am a little disappointed. I put 3.5 stars.

When The Blues Meets The Flower Kings!

Mr. Stolt has pushed the envelope harder and beyond the musical territory he has been in thus far. He blends the power of prog rock and blues / southern-rock music into a composition where The Flower Kings / Roine Stolt fans would get a surprise listening to this album. Of course, the music still carries the soul of The Flower Kings music; but this time the influence of blues is so prevalent and we can hear it here and there. That's enough to justify that this is an excellent album no one should miss.

I got the CD couple of weeks ago. But, because at the time I was so busy organizing a flock of Dream Theater fans going to Singapore to watch The 20th Anniversary Concert, I did not play this album at my player. And after that I was busy with Uriah Heep concert in Jakarta last week. So I got the chance to spin the CD only couple of days ago. By the time I spun it I did NOT have any expectation at all with respect to the kind of music Mr. Stolt was about to play, I just let the CD produced whatever sounds and in fact I had not read any review or news about this album.

Disc One

To my surprise . it's a blues-based music combined with some Southern-rock style was flowing into my ears wonderfully. In fact I repeate the opening track "The Observer" (11:05) many times because I really enjoy the blues guitar Stolt plays. Awesome. I had never imagined that Stolt would play blues music on top of his music style with the Flower Kings. To me there is still a strong style of TFK music right here in this album. It's like listening to classic rock music with blues as foundation, combined with the soul of The Flower Kings. Wow!

"Head Above Water" (5:25) has more rock music in its composition and it refers to the classic rock music style especially on the way guitar is played. "Dirt" (8:15) has a wonderful bluesy opening using guitar work and keyboard followed with excellent vocals. "Everyone Wants To Rule The World" (4:05) - the title reminds me to the classic pop song by Tears for Fears. The opening part seems odd to me but the more I play this album it grows on me. At least, I like the uniqueness of singing style and its musical outcast. "Spirit Of The Rebel" (6:10) lends its style from Southern Rock music with some riffs that remind me to classic rock music like Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin or in modern music by group like Audioslave. You might be surprised, again, that Stolt plays this kind of music. Enjoyable.

"Unforgiven" (3:00) is not the kind of style that favors me but it's good to have it here to give some variation of music this album offers. It's a straight forward rock music. "Dog With A Million Bones" (8:10) is another great blues rock with The Flower Kings music style. Oh .. it really reminds me to the glory days of classic rock music in the seventies but this time with new and modern sound. It continues brilliantly to another track with similar style but with more energy "Sex Kills" (7:20).

The last track of Disc One is really my favorite track. It's one of the best blues songs I have ever heard. "Outcast" (7:50) seems to me like Roine Stolt's tribute to BB King. It's not just the blues, actually - I like the music style combined with vocal character of Stolt, strengthened with stunning blues guitar solo. I keep repeating this track over and over. It probably has a very little load of "prog" but it's totally an enjoyable track.

Disc Two

"The Unwanted" (9:00) - it's a true wild exploration of Stolt's guitar work. It might lack cohesiveness in terms of structure and composition. However, I do enjoy this track very much especially how wild he explores guitar chords and notes augmented with Hammond organ punches and . dynamic drumming! Yeah man, the drumming part during his stunning guitar exploration is truly brilliant and becoming attraction point of this track. Am sure if you enjoy this track with an open mind you would find this is a rewarding track. "Remember" (6:55) was potentially not the kind of track I like. But, I can honestly admit that the interlude with guitar solo with unique percussion at the back is pretty to my ears. The southern rock style is presented here. "It's All About Money" (8:05) presents another style of music with mumbling and narrative style of singing style - a good combination of Neal Morse and Roine Stolt voices - augmented with keyboards and guitar. Lyrically, this is the place where Stolt mentioning clearly about the Wallstreet Voodoo. Some of the guitar work reminds me to Santana.

"Everybody Is Trying To Sell You Something" (6:55) continues the style of previous track. "Hotrod (The Atomic Wrestler)" (9:10) has a style of straight hard rock music with distorted guitar and consistent drum beats. This track lacks melody but it has good guitar solo. "Mercy" (2:40) is an acoustic guitar outfit with distant (and distorted) voice line. It's a nice guitar fills with bluesy style. Disc 2 (and therefore the whole album) concludes brilliantly with a blues intensive music especially on the way guitar is played in "People That Have The Power To Shape The Future" (11:05). The vocal line and the singing style have made this song very enjoyable. The chorus part which states "People That Have The Power To Shape The Future" is an interesting part and is very easy to emulate. Composition-wise it's not something you might expect that prog music would ever present. It's more on blues-rock composition with a very nice (and of course enjoyable) combination of guitar solo and keyboard / organ work which in some parts resemble jazz music. Oh man . I do enjoy this track very much - especially the long interlude part with stunning guitar solo. Bravo Stolt!

Nothing more I can say about this album than recommending you to have it. Roine Stolt is one of brilliant and talented musicians prog music has ever had. It's an excellent addition to any prog music collection. Keep on proggin' .!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Now this is what we call a new classic rock.

The Flower Kings frontman-cum-guitarist Roine Stolt, whose distinctive style marvelously combined David Gilmour's genial, warm mid-tempo and Frank Zappa's playful melody, tries to mix influences from the late 1960s and early 1970s blues-based bands with a modern feel. "A touch of yesterday, a touch of today," he said in an interview.

And that's what we can feel instantly from this latest solo effort by Stolt.

I consider myself of being so lucky that finally I bought this album, after deliberately gave several times chance up as the price was so high I felt that I couldn't afford it (but then again, it's a double disc outing, right?). But Stolt? I couldn't hardly avoid and ignore him. Alright then, US$ 27.39 wouldn't be a big deal. In short, when I did decide to get it three days ago I sent an SMS to my friend Gatot, who wrote a review here and with so much fanfare praise the album. I just hoped I wouldn't be disappointed.

"(You) won't be disappointed," Gatot answered.

Much of a convincing don't-worry-it's-ok words I just needed. For a while I was sure I saw him thrusting his fist into the air.

I believe him anyway. And he's right. From the first spin, starting from the opening track "The Observer", I was so hooked. My impression was that the songs are catchy and the mood Stolt put in them are so varied. Most of them were instantly accessible. I've been listening to both disc a dozen times now. And I put much time even more to see where they can get me to. As always, Stolt exposes much of cool guitar playing -- I can feel it everywhere but I don't see any showoffs. I think one might be reminded of The Allman Brothers, Eric Clapton, Santana, B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix... Unlike The Kings, the lyrics are not about the positive side of the world. But they're OK.

And one more plus thing: there's Neal Morse, ex-Spock's Beard frontman, contributes his vocal and Hammond B3 trademark playing.

As the other reviewers already said, this is not a progressive rock album. But Stolt unpretentiously offers in it a classy work from which we can see the other side -- an impressive one -- of his musical aspirations.

An excellent addition to any prog collection.

This is a fine album, make no mistake! If you are expecting a Flower Kings influenced album, then you are in for a shock. This doesn't sound at all like TFK! The only similarity lies in Stolt's distinctive guitar work, and that is really only on the track 'Hotrod (The Atomic Wrestler). Well, possibly there is a slight influence on 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World' as the chorus could, just about, be a Flower Kings song. That aside, this really is different. It's called a blues album, but as Stolt himself says in the liner notes, it started out that way, but then became a protopsychedlic album, and ended up just a music album. The guitar is very bluesy at times, especially on tracks like the opener, 'The Observer', 'Dirt', 'Dog With A Million Bones', 'The Unwanted', 'Mercy' and the closer, 'People That Have The Power To Shape The Future'. The other tracks are a little bit more rock influenced in a variety of ways. But all have that indelible Stolt stamp of quality on them. The production is wonderful, as usual, and the songs are all compelling, with strong melodies and some great keyboards and drumming in particular. Throughout it all, Stolt's guitar is magnificent, whether he is playing slide, 12 string acoustic, or Les Paul or Fender. He really is an underrated performer except by the few who know him. Lyrically, it's very powerful and street wise, a million miles away from the optimism of TFK. Vocally he is instantly recognisable, and I for one always enjoy his voice. He suits the blues as well as he suites the progressive style. Neil Morse puts in a few guest appearances on vocals, and also plays the Hammond organ to great effect, putting in a great solo on 'Head Above Water'. Although this is a double cd, it never drags, though I found it best to play one cd at one sitting, and then play the other later. A modern Swedish blues album that doffs its cap to his heroes from the sixties and seventies, yet is always indubitably a Stolt album above all else. He has had three great solo albums, starting with The Flower King, and all three are different, and all three are superb. Four stars without any hesitation.

This is going to be fun because I haven't an idea of the ultimate rating for this doubler. I'm sure it will be 3 or 4 stars because I know this album for quite a while now but it's a hard one to rate even harder than to review it. So I can only do this song by song. Here we go.

Disc one:

1. The Observer. Interesting bluesy/groovy song with excellent guitar in the middle. 3,75 *

2. Head above water. Much more rocking. Nice tempo. 3,5 *

3. Dirt. Another slower more bluesy track. Bit of a strange one but interesting once again. 3,25 *

4. Everyone wants to rule the world. (Clever title because if he had said Everybody we would have had associations). More of a standard song, not too special except for the end. 3*

5. Spirit of the Rebel. More of a slow heavy rock song with a darkish mood. 3,25 *

6. Unforgiven. Nice shorty with wahwah guitar. 3,25 *

7. Dog with a million bones. More of a slow track with nice extended guitarwork. 3,75 *

8. Sex kills. This one is rocking again with lots of wahwah. 4 *

9. Outcast. And back to the blues again. Great variation. 3,75* Disc two:

1. The Unwanted. One of the, if not the strangest song on the doubler. Weird effects, interesting build up. 3,5 *

2. Remember. By far my personal favourite. Great energetic track with superb guitar. 4,75 *

3. It's all about money. Another blues related track. Not one of my fav's. 3 *

4. Everybody is trying to sell you something. I can relate a lot to the title because this is a very true statement. Bit of a monotonous one. 3,25 *

5. Hotrod. Tempo track with good guitar after disappointing start of the song. Psychedelic ending. 3,75 *

6. Mercy. Strange vocal effect with acoustic guitar. Short song. 3 *

7. People that have the power to shape the future. More of a relaxed song with extensive guitarwork. 3,5 *

Now who would have thought that ! I expected it to end up around 3,5 average but this is very close. It's the slightest to 3,5 possible but on the good side (3,515). Roine is one of my favourite guitarists around so I don't mind giving him the 4 stars. Well deserved, my friend. Recommended to guitar fans who like variety within an album. Not the most progressive around though !

Well, I think it should be obvious after the previous reviews that this is NOT a typical Roine Stolt project. It can't really be called "prog", in the sense that most here would think of it (though there are quite a few bands on this site that I don't consider prog....but someone else obviously does). What you get here are basically blues rock songs, with a couple Beatlesque almost pop songs, and a track or two that border on prog (or is it just that they have mellotron in them? :)

If you like Roines guitar playing, and can enjoy 70's style blues/classic rock, then you should get this album. If you want to hear another Stolt patented prog release, then get the Live Circus Brimstone CD (excellent, by the way).

For me, the selling point of this album is all the great to excellent guitar solos. The vocals seem not quite up to par for Roine, and I usually enjoy his singing. The lyrics, while well written, sometimes seem sort of forced over top of the more basic rock structures. Neal Morse puts in some good performances however, singing the (not surprisingly given his singing style) more pop sounding songs. The rest of the band (whoever they really are) is competent and provide an excellent backing for Stolt's solos.

I probably would have preferred an instrumental album of this nature (or even just an instrumental or two to break up the vocal numbers), but the more I listen to it the more I enjoy it. It is not something I put on to get a prog fix, but the guitar solos are great to listen to and among Roine's best.

Personally, I'd say this is a 4 star album. But because of the nature of this site, I can only give it 3 stars. But if you like 70's blues rock and want to hear some great Roine Stolt lead guitar work, this is well worth having.

Back in the World of Blues

Roine's latest solo offering, Wall Street Voodoo, is no less than a fantastic return to the 70's classic rock style, where blues and hard rock are the prime exponents. This is something that Roine hadn't attempted for a entire album till this moment, however notable The Flower Kings songs like Paradox Hotel and Life Will Kill You are indicators of how the style of this album is, nothing alike their Prog-oriented stuff even if the songs in here are moderately long.

The line-up, like any line-up where Roine has been, is no less than highly efficient and capable of backing up what Roine has written for them to play. Mind you that having Neal Morse on board doesn't mean there'll be anything in the likes of either Spock's Beard, his solo stuff or Transatlantic. Wall Street Voodoo is a Roine Stolt original.

Roine's guitar is the main attraction, going through various tones and styles, yet all sounding very impressive like Mr. Flower King always manages to pull-off. The other attraction are the songs of course, but not a real attraction for Prog-fans, they're all either blues based or hard rock based songs which don't present odd time signatures nor flashy change of times, neither mind-blowing solos from any kind of instrument, neither there are epics, no, leave that for The Flower Kings. Wall Street Voodoo works as either a chilling rock album when you have experienced a Prog-overdose, or as a good rocking album to rock-out with. However with the already highlighted guitar by Roine you know this will not be any blues rock record, also keyboard players Neal, but specially Slim Pothead, have a lot to offer, using all vintage keyboards like the Hammond Organ and Mellotron all in a efficient and attractive way to sound the most 70's sounding as possible.

Delving a bit deeper about the songs, there's really no stand-out track since all of them are equally well composed, despite some might have catchier chorus' than others, or harder guitar riffs, but that's really something each listener will decide depending on their taste, unlike the objectiveness of the well written and played songs which cannot be questioned.

A solid effort that shows that Prog-artists can really pull-off other styles well, even if it's not outstanding. Wall Street Voodoo ends up being a nice crossover between Prog-alike-instruments and Blues/Hard Rock roots, which I recomended for 70's rock fans in general which like their rock focused on the guitar however with not predictable instrumentation. However if you're a Prog fan and looking for the best of Roine, either his own band The Flower Kings or his solo album, The Flower King, should be the ones to check out.

Well, I guess it is no surprise that nowadays prog´s most prolific songwriter would deliver a double solo album sooner or later. After all he wrote most of The Flower Kings repertoire and they already had released 3 two set CDs of original material. What surprised everyone it seems to be the style adopted here: this is much more early 70´s hard/blues rock than the symphonic prog we are expecting for. However, I disagree with some reviewers that say this stuff has nothing to do with the Flower Kings. Anyone who is familiar with their sound will recognise the style of TFK songs like Don´t Let The Devil In or The Judas Kiss as very similar of the tracks included here. And a few of the those could be on any 90´s TFK CDs, like the Cd 2´s second tune, the very inspired Remember.

However, it is also clear that both the music and the lyrics are usually quite different from what Stolt´s has been releasing lately, both solo or with his several side projects. Even if Neil Morse is present here, there is no influence of Spock´s Beard or Transatlantic. The premise seems to be, musically, a homage to those blues rock artists from the early 70´s. So you´ll find lots of slide and wah-wah guitars, big fat Hammond runs and some good percussions. Stolt proves once and for all he is one of the best guitarists around and he can play just about anything with great taste and technique. And most important, he is also a terrific songwriter. The lyrics are much more direct, spiteful and angry, but are very well written and on target (today´s capitalism and greed).

While I found Wall Street Voodoo a little too much to listen to in one sitting, all the songs are at least good, with some very fine highlights along the way like the very ironic Sex Kills and the aforementioned Remember, one of his best. The recording quality is top notch, the musicians are excellent and, if you like the style, the tracklist is quite strong. I never thought I´d hear Stolt playing guitar like this and, boy, does he play! His solos and riffs are amazing and will please even the most hardcore Eric Clapton/Leslie West fan!

As for the musicians he chose all I can say is that Marcus Liliequist was hardly TFKJ´s best drummer, but here he does a fine job and seems to be much more at ease now than with his time with the band. Neil Morse is also very good on the Hammond and does some lead singing. My only gripe with this album are the vocals, since both Stolt´s and Morse´s voices are ok, but they are not the best singers for this style of music. Maybe it would be a good idea to have a ´real´ blues vocalist as a guest next time. But that´s a minor issue, if you can call it an issue at all.

Conclusion: an excellent blues rock/prog rock album. The vocals may sound a bit odd for the style, since I will always identify it as a Flower Kings trademark, and I think that it will be the same with all TFK fans. But the high quality of the songs, the brilliant playing (specially Stolt´s stunnig, shinning rocking guitar) and the edgy lyrics make this a different, but remarkable record by one of prog´s truly genious.

Rating: four strong stars.

I get the feeling that this album had 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 then-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.

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.