BADLANDS — Voodoo Highway (review)

BADLANDS — Voodoo Highway album cover Album · 1991 · Hard Rock Buy this album from MMA partners
4.5/5 ·
Stephen
After their underrated eponymous debut that's cheered by traditional hard rock fans, Badlands continued on the same path with "Voodoo Highway" but this time, they recruited Jeff Martin from Racer X to fill in the drummer spot after Eric Singer left the band to join Kiss. At that time, only a few knew that Ray Gillen had a dispute with Jake E. Lee regarding their musical style which Gillen wanted them to be more commercial while Lee insisted to stick to their bluesy root. Later we found out that "Voodoo" favored Lee's intention and Gillen was fired soon after.

If you like 70s driven bluesy rock with 80s wild-and-wacky jam, influenced by Led Zeppelin, early Whitesnake, Aerosmith, and Bad Company, you'll love this album for sure. Lee's guitar sound even sounded vintage like this record belongs in the 70s. The album was fired off with a straight forward burning hard rock, "The Last Time". This is my favorite song along with other fantastic numbers such as "Soul Stealer" with flaming intro, Zeppelin-esque riffings, and Gillen's signature scream, "Silver Horses" with awesome guitar charge, outstanding cover of James Taylor's "Fire And Rain", and "Heaven's Train" with the Lee's top-notch riffin' and Gillen's AeroTyler's rappin' style.

Probably you still remember Bo Bice from American Idol who surprisingly pick Badlands's song, "In A Dream", years ago. Now you can hear the original version with Gillen's magical voice here accessorized by Lee's lazy dobro pick. "Three Day Funk", "Whiskey Dust", and "Show Me The Way" are another well-composed songs that's worth checking out as well.

Since I'm not really a big fan of blues and it seems they don't have anything commercial offering that fits into a Billboard chart (which I think is still an important aspect), this record is something that I only enjoy occasionally, depends heavily on my mood. Sadly, Gillen passed away too fast too soon, "Voodoo Highway" altogether with their debut, is an early 90s essential record for fans of genuinely talented band whose rooted deeply to the classic rock ground.
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