Alexz Johnson Reloads Her Voodoo — The Voice Review
This review comes from here. What’s great about it is that is from a University website. I think the college crowd would really love her music.
Alexz Johnson Reloads Her Voodoo
by Douglas Boultinghouse
Editor-in-ChiefWhen it comes to honesty and communicating with listeners, Canadian actress and Indie singer-songwriter Alexz Johnson goes above and beyond. She sends frequent emails to subscribers on her website.
She released her long-awaited debut album “Voodoo” in March 2010 with the lead single “Trip Around the World.” Months later she emailed explaining her discovery of the highs and lows.
“It’s been really tough getting ‘Trip’ played on the radio, and I’m not going to pretend I know exactly what makes a song radio-friendly,” she wrote. “The thing is, if I wrote music thinking that radio play was the most important thing, I wouldn’t be writing it from a place of truth.”
Johnson said she can be “a little stubborn” as far as staying true to her vision and sound, but knows the industry changes rapidly and radio is an “important stepping stone” when trying to get music out to the public.
“To me, it’s always been solely about the music. And, it can still be solely about the music,” she continued. “It’s just finding a way that works to share it with as many people as possible.”
According to emails from Johnson, plans began to remix “Trip” and other songs on the album to make them more radio-friendly. The plans evolved into remixing, in this case reloading, the entire album.
Demo Castellon of the Demolition Crew signed on to remix the tracks, which became “Reloaded: the Demolition Crew Voodoo Remix Collection,” released April 26 to digital retailers or in physical form through Johnson’s website.
‘It’s Only Gonna Get Better’
With a fresh sound on all 11 tracks, “Reloaded” breathes a new life into “Voodoo” for the most part. Most of the remixes or changes in sound enhance the songs perfectly, but for a couple of tracks, Johnson had already mastered perfection with her original creation.
For example, the song “Voodoo” features a new beat, but the music overpowers the vocals, which with Johnson’s impeccable vocal abilities, this comes as a surprise. The melody in the original “Gonna Get It” sounded much stronger, also including a shriek to shake you into the intro, which has been stripped from the remix version. The shriek was genius on Johnson’s part, so for it to be missing throws the listener off track, that is, if the listener knows the original version.
Though the original album mastered uniqueness and defined independence, some of the remixes match that greatness, such as “Look at Those Eyes,” “Hurricane Girl” and “Taker.”
The new “Look at Those Eyes” features a haunting, echoing clap that still allows Johnson’s voice to shine.
“No, tell me it’s not so / That people will come and they’ll go / We push away all the love that we know / No, tell me it’s not so / Look in the eye of the storm / You’re changing form / You feel the pull of the time ticking by / Oh my, look at these times,” she sings as she builds into the chorus, which explodes.
The surprise of the collection swirled up in the remix of “Hurricane Girl.” I have to hand it Castellon, adding the guitar-tinged sound to the track resulted in a genius masterpiece. The guitar solos in between Johnson’s series of vocals stun you instantly. In a sense, the gem brings back to life the soft rock sounds of the’80s and ‘90s.
“Show me love / Show your love / It’s like a trick we have to rise above / Let me face you in the eyes / Let you know that when I did I died,” Johnson sings softly against the guitars.
“Taker” includes the sound of soldiers marching with the faint noise of a helicopter approaching as drums pound. The remix takes the song in a completely different direction and intrigues your ears with every second.
Other stand-outs on the collection include “A Little Bit” and “Mr. Jones,” each which have been amped up to include more of a rock edge. At the same time, a more techo/dance approach was taken to “L.A. Made Me” and “Superstition,” adding to the interesting magic, or should I say voodoo.
It could be me, but I can’t determine too much of a difference between the original and remix versions of “Trip,” which is the complete opposite of the additional single “Boogie Love.” While the original album featured the song in a swing-like jam with jazz influences, the remix has been flipped into a disco-themed throwback. Surprisingly, the song works in both styles, and both impress with the witty lyrics.
“So who’s smoother (you are) / Don’t need no fancy car / Doritos, my cheetos / We’ll make a party mix for certain,” she sings playfully. The “give me the boogie love” lines kick in shortly after pulling you in as the beat goes on… much like the style of the infamous “And the Beat Goes On.”
‘Who Taught the Voodoo That You Do?’
Johnson’s voodoo is her voice, one so powerful, I would rank her voice higher than Celine Dion, Whitney Houston or Carrie Underwood… perhaps even combined (if that were possible).
When it comes to pop music, her voice soars, even in the remixes. There’s a soothing factor to her voice that cannot be explained, and hopefully the mission of remixing the songs to make them radio-friendly works. These songs need to be heard on the radio. A new voice (and a real voice for that matter) needs to be played to drown out the overplayed sounds of Katy Perry or Ke$ha.
“For whatever reason, wherever you are right now… we’re on a path. We’re exactly where we’re meant to be,” Johnson emailed on the release day of the remix collection.
