| Dark Continent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 18, 1981 | |||
| Recorded | 1981 | |||
| Length | 35:50 | |||
| Label | I.R.S. | |||
| Producer | Jim Hill, Paul McKenna, Wall of Voodoo | |||
| Wall of Voodoo chronology | ||||
| ||||
Dark Continent is the debut studio album by the American rock band Wall of Voodoo, released in 1981 by I.R.S. Records. Early live versions of four songs ("Red Light", "Animal Day", "Back in Flesh" and "Call Box (1-2-3)") are featured on the compilation The Index Masters .
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Classic Rock |   [2] |
In a 1981 review from Trouser Press, Jon Young said, "[t]his deadpan opus is either a joke or just another pretentious search for meaning." He continued, "Wall of Voodoo will need a better sense of the absurd to attain true strangeness. Here they just don't go far enough." [3] In a later review from The Trouser Press Guide to New Wave Records (1983), Young stated that Dark Continent displayed "more polish" than the band's debut EP and benefited from "colorfully morose guitar and keyboards." [4]
In a retrospective review, Greg Adams of AllMusic declared Dark Continent to be Wall of Voodoo's greatest album, pointing to the uniformly strong songwriting and the intensely original voice and style. [1] Conversely, Geoff Barton of Classic Rock magazine opined that the first two Wall of Voodoo albums did not age well; he found Ridgway's singing style "intensely irritating" and the music "too clever-clever for comfort." [2]
Dark Continent reached number 177 on the Billboard 200 chart. [5]
A music video was produced for the song "Call Box (1-2-3)". The band performed "Back in Flesh" in the 1981 concert film Urgh! A Music War .
The album was first issued on CD by A&M Records in 1992. [6] In 2009, Australian label Raven Records reissued Dark Continent and the second Wall of Voodoo album, Call of the West , together on one CD, featuring a full color booklet with liner notes by Ian McFarlane. Both albums were digitally remastered. [7]
All tracks written by Wall of Voodoo.
Wall of Voodoo
Technical
Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence, the band came to prominence when its 1982 single "Mexican Radio" became a hit on MTV and alternative radio. The band was known for surrealist lyrics drawing on iconography of the American southwest.
Stanard "Stan" Ridgway is an American singer-songwriter, and film and television composer known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums. He was the original lead singer and a founding member of the band Wall of Voodoo.
Marc Moreland was an American rock musician. He was the former guitarist for rock band Wall of Voodoo, punk band The Skulls, and rock bands Pretty and Twisted and Department of Crooks. He also released a solo album under the name Marc Moreland Mess.
"Mexican Radio" is a song by American rock band Wall of Voodoo. The track was initially released on their 1982 album Call of the West.
The Best of Blondie is the first greatest hits album by American rock band Blondie. It was released on October 31, 1981, by Chrysalis Records. The album peaked at number four in the United Kingdom and number 30 in the United States, while becoming the band's only number-one album in Australia.
Call of the West is the second studio album by Los Angeles rock band Wall of Voodoo, released in September 1982. The album contains "Mexican Radio", the group's most well-known song, which was released as a single and whose video received moderate airplay on MTV.
Growing Up in Public is the tenth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in April 1980 by Arista Records.
Seven Days in Sammystown is the third studio album by American rock band Wall of Voodoo, released in 1985. This was the first Wall of Voodoo album to include Andy Prieboy on vocals and Ned Leukhardt on drums—following the departure of frontman Stan Ridgway and percussionist Joe Nanini—and also features the return of original bassist Bruce Moreland. It includes their cover version of Merle Travis' "Dark as a Dungeon". The track "Far Side of Crazy" is featured in the 1985 movie Head Office. The album reached No. 50 on the Australian charts.
Whistle Rymes is the second solo studio album by English rock musician John Entwistle, released on 3 November 1972 by Track Records in the UK and on 4 November 1972 by Decca Records in the US. Entwistle co-produced the album with John Alcock, his first work with a producer after self-producing his debut studio album, Smash Your Head Against the Wall (1971), and it was recorded at Island Studios in West London's Notting Hill district. The album features guitar contributions from both Peter Frampton and Jimmy McCulloch.
Happy Planet is the fourth and final studio album by American rock band Wall of Voodoo, released in 1987. It marked the return of producer Richard Mazda, who had produced their 1982 album Call of the West.
The Index Masters is a compilation album by American rock band Wall of Voodoo, featuring their original 1980 EP and live recordings from 1979. Originally released in 1991 by Restless Records, it was reissued in 2005 by Rykodisc.
Holy Money is the fourth studio album by American experimental rock band Swans. It was released in March 1986, through record label K.422. The album was recorded in the same sessions as "Time Is Money (Bastard)", "A Screw", and Greed.
Fourth Drawer Down is a compilation album by Scottish post-punk and new wave band the Associates, released in October 1981 by independent record label Situation Two. It compiles the A- and B-sides from the six singles the band released that year on the label. The album was re-issued in 2000 by V2 Records, containing five bonus tracks.
The Ugly Americans in Australia is a live album by American rock band Wall of Voodoo, mostly recorded at the Palace Theatre in Melbourne in August 1987, during the group's Australian tour.
Mosquitos is the second solo album by Stan Ridgway. It was released in 1989 on Geffen Records.
Partyball is the third album by Stan Ridgway, released in 1991.
Bruce "Ravens" Moreland is an American rock musician and songwriter. He has worked with such bands as Wall of Voodoo, The Weirdos, Nervous Gender, and Concrete Blonde among others. As of 2011, his current project is known as Ravens Moreland.
Black Diamond is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Stan Ridgway, released in 1996.
"Gi' Me Wings" is a song by British singer Rod Stewart, which was released in 1981 as the fifth and final single from his tenth studio album Foolish Behaviour (1980). The song was written by Stewart and Steve Harley (lyrics), and Phil Chen, Kevin Savigar, Jim Cregan and Gary Grainger (music). It was produced by Stewart, with co-production by the Rod Stewart Group and Jeremy Andrew Johns. "Gi' Me Wings" was released as a single in Japan only, but also reached number 45 on the US Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart.
Pretty & Twisted is the debut album by the American alternative rock band Pretty & Twisted, released in 1995. It was the band's only album.
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