‘Voodoo’: The soul album that made Phoenix stay in the studio for a year
Album number two, it’s never as easy as it should be. How many sequels are great? How can we follow the style that brought us to the dance without sounding the same? Should we reinvent the wheel, or maybe we could just play it safe? For Phoenix, these were no doubt some of the questions that entered the minds of the band as they started recording their 2004 sophomore album Alphabetical.
The follow-up to their strongly received debut album United, the challenges with the recording of Alphabetical were clear to Phoenix. Yet, it was the release of one 2000s album that extended the recording time by a whole year. Stuck in the studio trying to make progress on Alphabetical, Phoenix would hear D’Angelo’s Voodoo for the first time. The album would blow the band away, forcing them to look inwards at what they had written so far, before deciding to press on in a different direction.
“We were recording our second album and when we heard this [Voodoo], we stayed in the studio for an extra year — it traumatised us,” Confessed Phoenix lead singer Thomas Mars in an interview with Uncut. “It’s very avant-garde. Voodoo is very intriguing and iconic because there are a lot of stories about it. A lot of people thought it was played wrong and didn’t make sense, but it’s probably the most sampled record ever. It appears on so many records of the Noughties.”
So, all that reworking. All those extra months, was it worth it? Upon its release, Phoenix’s Alphabetical, would at large be greeted by positive reviews, but the best of the band was yet to come. The group were still only finding their unique sound, and it would take a good few years before arguably hitting their peak. 2009’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, the group’s fourth album would put beyond any doubt that the band are so much more than just an indie landfill filler artist.
Voodoo‘s legacy, meanwhile, has only continued to grow, as has its ability to influence projects in the decades since its release. Its effect on Phoenix, but more so on a host of musicians from across the globe, is monumental.
In the 2000s, D’Angelo’s Voodoo was seen by many a publication as amongst the finest albums of the year, before going on to be named the winner of the Grammy Award for ‘Best R&B Album’ in 2001. But, after the success of the album and his ever-growing social status, D’Angelo would go on hiatus. His next solo album 2014’s Black Messiah, would not be finished for over a decade, with the singer battling personal and musical issues throughout that period. However, throughout that time, many clamoured for the return of D’Angelo, and many more reminisced about the genius of Voodoo.
So, with a fourth album reportedly on the way, what is there to say about Voodoo other than this? Be it Jay-Z, Phoenix, or someone else completely, your favourite artist likely loves this album, and there’s a good chance you will, too.
