Wall of Voodoo: Ennio Morricone Meets New Wave

Looking through my top ten list of favorite artists and bands, most of them are fairly well known, either worldwide or at the very least in their country of origin. The one exception here would probably be Wall of Voodoo. Why is that? Some possible reasons I can think of are: they didn’t last extremely long as a band, they didn’t release much music, they had some noticeable lineup shakeups, and they didn't churn out a bunch of hits.

That being said, 11 years is still a fairly long time. It’s longer than The Beatles lasted. Wall of Voodoo released 4 studio albums, Nirvana only released 3. Right after finishing the largest concert they had ever played at, Stan Ridgway (lead vocals), Bill Noland (keyboards), and Joe Nanini (drums) left the group. The loss of Ridgway was especially impactful as his unique vocals and style served as a defining feature of the band. But Genesis (Peter Gabriel to Phil Collins), Van Halen (David Lee Roth to Sammy Hagar), and AC/DC (Bon Scott to Brian Johnson) are just a few examples of bands switching things up in big ways. And while they weren’t hit creators, “Mexican Radio” did chart all over the place, technically making them one-hit wonders. Bands, specifically new wave bands from around the same time as Wall of Voodoo such as A Flock of Seagulls, Men Without Hats, A-Ha, and plenty of others have all been pegged as one-hit wonders (though I know a lot of one-hit wonders actually did have sustained success, especially in their home countries).

Despite that, even if the bands themselves are not always so well-remembered, their songs sure are. I didn’t even know “Mexican Radio” existed until a few years ago. I listened to a lot of “classic rock” FM radio as a kid and if I had a nickel for every time I heard “I Ran (So Far Away),” “Safety Dance,” or “Take On Me," I’d probably have more money than Wall of Voodoo made from “Mexican Radio.” Sure, it only hit 58 in the US, 63 in the UK, and its highest position was 18 in Canada. Regardless, getting on the charts means something, and the fact that the song is still so unknown is unfortunate, at least to me. Instead of hearing “Don’t Stop Believin’” for the 3,000th time, it would have been nice to hear something like "Mexican Radio" once in a while during my FM radio listening years. But I’m going on a bit of a tangent here.

The point is, I think Wall of Voodoo is an underrated band. I’m a fan of “Italian Western,” Ennio Morricone-inspired music, and Wall of Voodoo did an amazing job of mixing it with New Wave. The aforementioned “Mexican Radio” is a good example, but perhaps the best one is “Call of the West.” It’s a bit hefty at almost 6 minutes long, thanks in part to a monologue by Stan Ridgway towards the end of the song, but it's an interesting, modernized view of the (sometimes over-romanticized) allure of the West, full of Italian Western-style guitar parts, as well as New Wave synthesizers and drum machines. Another good example is “Far Side of Crazy,” which was made after the lineup change and perhaps tried too hard to lean into the Western/New Wave theme, but I still think it’s an interesting song and fits the general style well.

I guess there is a lot of debate within the Wall of Voodoo community regarding the “Ridgway Era” and the “Prieboy Era” (Andy Prieboy replaced Stan Ridgway as the lead singer of the band and to say the two had different styles would be an understatement). Some people seem to believe that once Stan Ridgway left, that was it for Wall of Voodoo. Personally, I like them both. Stan Ridgway was grittier, Prieboy was more polished, but both eras led to the creation of some great songs.

If anyone is interested in albums, I would suggest Call of the West and Seven Days in Sammystown, one Ridgway album and one Prieboy album, respectively.

If anyone is only interested in hearing a few songs, “Mexican Radio” and “Far Side of Crazy” are good starting points. After that, from the Ridgway Era, “Call of the West” is Wall of Voodoo at their Wall of Voodoo-est. “On Interstate 15” is a quick, yet atmospheric instrumental. “Lost Weekend” is a slower one, with a soothing quality to it. “Ring of Fire” provides an interesting twist on the Johnny Cash classic. From the Prieboy Era, “Business of Love” and “Big City” have been criticized as poor attempts to sound like “the original” Wall of Voodoo. Attempts they certainly might have been, but poor? I don’t know, I really like both of those songs. But anyone else is free to decide for themselves. “Mona” and “Museums” still include guitar parts that could be considered “Western” if you turn your head sideways, but they’re a step away from the original Wall of Voodoo formula, yet still quite good in their own right. Finally, “Do It Again” is a cover that I, unlike some, absolutely love for many reasons and it will be the subject of a future post of mine.