Customer Reviews

Index Masters

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Good
Not having heard of Wall of Voodoo before, and having been four years old when this album originally came out, I instantly made comparisons to Devo and the B52's once I heard the opening tones and bombastic vocal delivery on "Long Arm". The guitar tones are stunning as each ring out with a biting twang. I think I even hear a slide whistle in there. The keyboard tones of "Passenger" are reminiscent of the Knight Rider theme mixed with any creepy horror movie theme.

It doesn't get any more experimental sounding than "Can't Make Love". Vocalist Stan Ridgeway sounds as though he's on the brink of madness. The Johnny Cash cover "Ring of Fire" shows how ahead of their time Wall of Voodoo was, because it uses effects and rhythms similar to a lot of hard rock music today. You may smirk the way `fire' is pronounced and everything else that sounds like it; very new wave. The live tracks are twenty five years old, yet you can't tell much of a difference from them and the songs from the EP.

That says a lot for the group because they didn't have the technology that the industry has today to make great live recordings. "End of an Era" has a melancholy sadness to it as it explores growing up. "Animal Day" has a percussive beat that you can dance too and lyrics you can laugh too. "Red Light" shows you that there's nothing that drummer Joe Nanini won't tap on, as you hear everything from symbols to wooden blocks. The disc (and live set) concludes with a fervent rendition of "The Passenger".

The Bad
Nothing notable

The Verdict
On The Index Sessions it's evident that Wall of Voodoo was way ahead of their time. Their combination of rock guitars and experimental sounds fell right in line with their peers, as well as establishing them in a league of their own. However, I don't think the music world was really ready for them yet. So what's your reason now?

A welcome sight, the original EP with added bonus tracks that some ended up as "B" sides on 12" singles. You just can't beat "Ring Of Fire" & "Can't Make Love". So buy this one & if you like this album, you'll want to get their first album "Dark Continent" which is a expensive one right now but worth the money & "Call Of The West". As long as Stan Ridgeway was the lead vocalist, this band was great.

Wall is great on this album. No negative things to say about this one. Its a great Wall of Voodoo venue without Mexican Radio. Shh..man Ring of Fire is one of the best I've heard!

This is simply a must have for any WOV or Stan Ridgway fan. For years it was VERY unavailable, but now you too can have this wonderfuly eerie album. This is a very welcome sight for those who don't have these early works. I won't go into great detail regarding each track, since every song on this album is a gem.
in other words... BUY IT!

Wall of Voodoo / The Index Masters: Their EP is filled out with several Amazing Live tracks and the result is their greatest CD release. Their version of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" is Great and their combo of the movie themes "The Good the bad & the ugly/ Hang `em High" is not to be missed. A true gem. Five Stars

I am glad to see this is back in print. It was not available for many years, and this is an album that belongs in the all time great new wave music pantheon. Unfortunately many people only know of Wall of Voodoo as a "One Hit Wonder", that one hit being Mexican Radio. I respectfully disagree with the other reviewer who stated that if that's how you know Wall of Voodoo then you should stick with the Call of the West album. I actually think this album is closer in spirit to Mexican Radio than Call of the West. They share the same wry, sardonic, twisted Stan Ridgway humor, while the material on Call of the West other than Mexican Radio is a bit darker, but without the humor.

This album is actually an expanded version of Wall of Voodoo's first EP. That EP consisted of the first six songs on this album. The rest has been padded out with a bunch of live tracks. And I do mean padded. Many of these tracks are not too memorable, but there are a couple of gems, most notably the medley of Spaghetti Western themes. A tip: If you want to save some money, just get that along with the first six tracks. In fact, of the original six tracks, two, Struggle and Granma's House are instrumentals. I always kind of liked Struggle as an interlude between the two best songs on the original EP and Granma's House always brought the record (yes, I still have the vinyl) to a somehow appropriate close. But the two best songs are the criminally overlooked Can't Make Love, and the brilliant cover of Ring of Fire. I seem to recall reading somewhere once that June Carter Cash really liked this version, but I won't swear to it. Play the sample of Ring of Fire and you will know instantly if this is for you.

Here's another tip. If you like this, pick up Stan Ridgway's first solo album after leaving Wall of Voodoo, called The Big Heat. Not as good as this album, but a satisfying listen nonetheless, and it would be a better second album than the aforementioned Call of the West.

But above all else, buy this before it's out of print again.

Stan Ridgway at his best!!! Puts a entire new sound to the classic Johnny Cash Ring of fire (Or old sound being the CD from Wall Of Voodoo is 27 years old)!

I had Wall of Voodoo's first LP when it came out and a couple of year's ago thought I would see if I could find it on CD. No such luck! The " Index Masters ", which contains several of the songs from that album was out of print. I found it on ebay several times, usually going for around $70.00 or so by the time the auction was concluded! Finally it is available for a reasonable price. This album is a gem, I recommend it to anyone who loves 80's or Punk or New Wave Music. As a previous reviewer stated, Wall of Voodoo was really ahead of the times!

This is a great album, but not for the casual listener. If the only reason you like Wall of Voodoo is their hit "Mexican Radio", stick to the Call of the West album.

I want to say that the cover of Ring of Fire is a sterling example of what a cover song should be. It's not just re-played, it's re-invented; other examples would be Devo's cover of the Stone's "Satisfaction", Nirvana's cover of Devo's "Turnaround", Frente's cover of "Bizarre Love Triangle", the Damned/Motorhead's cover of "Ballroom Blitz" and Rasputina's cover of "Brand New Key". I could go on, but Wall of Voodoo's ring of fire is something special.

If you think you'll like the quirkyness of early Devo spiced with the flavor of spaghetti western music, you'll like this. Otherwise I can't recommend it.