This week, it is time to spend a little QT with Love Voodoo. This is the third track off of The Wedding Album, and was produced by John Jones. The song has been described as a hip-hop/ambient fusion track.
Lyrics
When I first met you on the roof
You caught me in your web of youth
But now I know the wicked truth
It’s much too late so what’s the use in fighting?
You peel me like an onion skin
And wonder at the state I’m in
One day you’ll turn up to begin
And find there’s nothing left but innuendo
Beside you others fade away
Like amateurs in love’s charade
Much more than just a game you play
These certain rules become a way of living
Night after night I try to prove
That I can resist you
Tied up inside your Love Voodoo
Designed to manipulate
The queen of sensuality
You shelter me from liberty
It’s nothing short of piracy
That’s not to say it doesn’t please me sometimes.
Now this may come as no surprise
But I’m content to compromise
Until the day you realize
That I have been manipulating you
Night after night I try to prove
That I can resist you
Tied up inside your Love Voodoo
Designed to Manipulate
Yes, I’m tied up inside your loving
But it’s voodoo to me
Every night how I try
How I try to resist you
But it’s no good to me
Night after night I try to prove
That I can resist you
Tied up inside your Love Voodoo
Designed to Manipulate
Night after night I try to prove
That I can resist you
Tied up inside your Love Voodoo
Designed to Manipulate
Audio
Rhonda
Love Voodoo, for me, is an easy song to forget. Now, before the masses come for me, torches in hand, I’d better explain. I forget about it until I hear it, and then I wonder why on earth it isn’t one of my favorite songs. I like the slow tempo. Paired with the lyrics, the song is almost slightly uncomfortable, and I like the tension. The song is sexy, silky smooth, and fun to hear.
This is one song where the lyrics outshine the music. More often than not, lyrics and music are evenly paired, and other times, the music kicks ass, while the lyrics are an afterthought. On this song though, the music plays a serious backseat, and perhaps it was done by design. The vocals are sit at the top of the track, and drive the song and the melody. Sure, there’s some serious groove going on in the background, and even some fun sound effects courtesy of Nick Rhodes, but aside from one quick sojourn towards the end of the song where the repeated chorus is overlapped by a more forward synth track – the vocals are the highlight.
Simon does not disappoint, and the lyrics themselves, with lines like “you peel me like an onion skin” or “much more than just a game you play, these certain rules become a way of living”, are scintillating. The song is a solid, although not stand-out, effort.
Amanda
The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of this song is the combination of lyrics and vocals. This is one song that truly gets in my head with lines like “You peel me like an onion skin.” It just digs into my brain and gets stuck. Then, I hear it over and over and over again in my mind. It is a classic ear worm, in that sense. In my experience, the only songs that create that are ones that have the perfect combination of lyrics and vocals. The lyrics have to be such that they are clever. In this case, they also feel relatable. How many of us feel like they have experienced a situation in which a person you were involved with seemed to be playing games? Then, if that was not enough, Simon’s vocals add to it. Both his vocals and the lyrics give me the full picture. You don’t want to be attracted to this person, this game player but you cannot help but to be attracted to them.
So what about the instrumentation? Does it also convey the same message? Does it fit? It definitely does. Every time I hear the song, I have the urge to move, to dance slightly even though I don’t want to. It is not the standard type of dance song that would usually do that. Yet, each and every time I pay attention to the song, it makes me want to move, to sway. That said, the key phrase there is when I pay attention. Sometimes, this song can just blend into the background for me. It does not force me to stop and listen like so many other Duran songs do. I remember hearing that this song was added to the set list when they played the UK during the Paper Gods Tour. From what I saw, it was not as well-received as I thought it might. I wonder if it just didn’t get the attention of the audience or if it was unknown to too many.
Overall, there is a lot of greatness to this song but it is such that you have to pay attention to appreciate it. The listener has to work for it.
