End of an Era
Rykodisc Catalog - The Index Masters - Wall of Voodoo
Or perhaps the beginning of a new one, as Rykodisc sees fit to reprint one of my favorite records ever. Yeah, "Mexican Radio" got overexposed on the radio circa 1983, and the video (though interesting and engaging) was inescapable on the nascent MTV. But this stuff, this stuff is pretty much timeless so far as I'm concerned. This is Wall of Voodoo at their most raw and unrefined, and yet still able to hook you with the pure infectiousness of "Call Box" and the anxiousness of "Red Light" and "The Passenger" (still, dare I say it, relevant after the intervening 20+ years after its recording.)
And their cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" (with a little "Our Man Flint" action towards the end there) is absolutely sublime, with a synth sound that's yet to be equalled, even to this day.
And if you're curious to what Wall of Voodoo's former ringleader, Stan Ridgway, is up to, then just click on this here link and your thirst for knowledge will be quenched.