Voodoo Highway is the second studio album by the American hard rock band Badlands. After their first album, drummer Eric Singer left the band to join KISS, and was replaced by drummer Jeff Martin, who had previously sung lead vocals in the bands Surgical Steel and Racer X. Bassist Greg Chaisson was instrumental in getting his friend Jeff Martin the gig with Badlands. They had earlier played in the Phoenix, AZ bands Surgical Steel and St. Michael together and teamed up again in the Blindside Blues Band and RedSea following the demise of Badlands.

Voodoo Highway
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 7, 1991
Studio
  • Rumbo (Los Angeles)
  • Indigo Ranch (Malibu)
  • Studio II (Culver City)
GenreHard rock, blues rock
Length45:15
LabelTitanium/Atlantic
ProducerJake E. Lee, James A. Ball
Badlands chronology
Badlands
(1989)
Voodoo Highway
(1991)
Dusk
(1998)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal10/10[2]

The song "Joe's Blues" is named after then Terriff and future Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Joe Holmes who worked as a guitar tech for Jake E Lee during the recording of Voodoo Highway. Ray Gillen briefly joined Holmes in Terriff after leaving Badlands in 1992.

In 2005, American Idol star Bo Bice made the second to last round with his a cappella rendition of the album's closing track, "In a Dream". He lost the season to Carrie Underwood, but judge Simon Cowell believed that Bice would have won, had he saved "In a Dream" for his final performance.[3]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Jake E. Lee and Ray Gillen, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Last Time" 3:41
2."Show Me the Way" 4:12
3."Shine On"Greg Chaisson, Lee, Gillen4:22
4."Whiskey Dust" 4:18
5."Joe's Blues"Lee0:57
6."Soul Stealer" 2:58
7."3 Day Funk" 3:52
8."Silver Horses"Jeff Martin, Lee, Gillen4:40
9."Love Don't Mean a Thing" 4:01
10."Voodoo Highway" 2:22
11."Fire and Rain"James Taylor3:40
12."Heaven's Train"Chaisson, Lee, Gillen3:58
13."In a Dream"Gillen2:14

Personnel

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Badlands
  • Ray Gillen – lead vocals, second harmonica on track 7
  • Jake E. Lee – guitars, Moog bass, organ, piano, güiro, tambourine and percussion
  • Greg Chaisson – electric and acoustic basses
  • Jeff Martin – drums, assorted percussion, first harmonica on track 7, backing vocals
Production
  • James A. Ball – co-producer, engineer, mixing at Westlake Audio, Los Angeles
  • Brad Aldridge, Michael Malina – mixing engineers
  • Gina Immel, Mike Gunderson, Steve Harrison – assistant engineers at Rumbo Recorders
  • Chris Kupper – assistant engineer at Indigo Ranch and Studio II
  • Greg Calbi – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York

Charts

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Chart (1991) Peak
position
UK Albums (OCC)[4] 74
US Billboard 200[5] 140

References

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  1. ^ McDonald, Steven. "Badlands - Voodoo Highway review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2018-06-23.
  2. ^ Popoff, Martin (August 1, 2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  3. ^ Corey Moss (May 25, 2005). "Carrie Underwood Wins 'American Idol'". MTV. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. The outspoken judge, however, thought Bo would have won had he saved his goose-bump-inducing a cappella rendition of Badlands' "In a Dream" from last week for Tuesday's final performance night.
  4. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "Badlands Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
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