Voice of America is the second solo studio album by Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul released on May 7, 1984, four weeks before Bruce Springsteen released Born in the U.S.A.
This album traded in the horns and the R&B influences of the previous Men Without Women for a raw, garage rock sound. Politics came to the lyrical forefront, with the general theme being opposition to the Reagan Era's American foreign policy.
"Out of the Darkness", a synthesizer-led anthem with sweeping arena rock and hair metal atmosphere, garnered some airplay, as well as music video play on MTV, and was effective in concert, while the somewhat softer and evocative "Checkpoint Charlie" also received considerable radio airplay. "Los Desaparecidos" gained praise as an effective protest song on behalf of the 1970s and 1980s victims of state-sponsored forced disappearance in South America. On other songs, the political viewpointing became more strident and was criticized as somewhat artless.
"I Am a Patriot", which held roughly that dissent was not disloyalty, became a favorite song of Jackson Browne, who covered it on his 1989 album World in Motion, and who frequently performed it in his concerts. In 2004, the two would duet on the song during the last of the Vote for Change shows. Pearl Jam has covered the song as well.
In 2019, the album was remastered for release as part of Van Zandt's career-spanning box set Rock N Roll Rebel: The Early Work. The digital deluxe edition of the album was released on October 25, 2019, containing 10 bonus tracks, including the studio outtake "Rock N Roll Rebel", which was written following Van Zandt and Bruce Springsteen's 1983 removal from Disneyland due to their clothing being deemed inappropriate. The digital deluxe edition also includes the reissued Vote! bonus EP.
Track listing
Personnel
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul Little Steven – lead vocals, guitar, arrangements Jean Beauvoir – bass, vocals Dino Danelli – drums Monti Louis Ellison – congas, African talking drum, shekere, wind chimes, tambourine, timbales, backing vocals Pee Wee Weber – keyboards, backing vocals Zoë Yanakis – oboe, backing vocals, additional keyboards Additional musicians Gary U.S. Bonds – backing vocals ("Among the Believers") Technical Little Steven – producer, package design John Rollo – engineer, production assistance Leif Mases – engineer Jean Trenchant – engineer Bob Clearmountain – mixing Zoë Yanakis – production assistance, assistant engineer Peter Hefter – assistant engineer Malcolm Pollack – additional engineer, assistant mixing engineer Peter Millius – additional assistant engineer John Davenport – additional assistant engineer Mikael Hogstrand – additional assistant engineer Dave Greenberg – additional assistant engineer Bruce Lampcov – additional assistant engineer Wally Traugott – mastering Henry Marquez – art direction Dino Danelli – package design, song titles design Jim Marchese – photography Mark Weiss – photography CLE Print – reprographics
Bonus tracks "Vote!" Little Steven – lead guitar, producer, arrangement Darlene Love – backing vocals Jean Beauvoir – co-producer Zoë Yanakis – engineer Steven Escallier – engineer Paul Ray – engineer Dominic Maita – engineer Steven Thompson – mixing Mike Barbiero – mixing Greg Calbi – mastering Recorded at Pantheon Studios (Arizona), Sunset Sound (Los Angeles), RPM Studios (New York City)
"Caravan", "I Don't Want to Go Home" Little Steven – vocals, guitar Jean Beauvoir - bas Benjamin King - keyboards Dino Danelli - drums Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg - trombone Crispin Cioe - baritone saxophone Arno Hecht - tenor saxophone, flute Paul Litteral - trumpet Nelson Bogart - trumpet Monti Louis Ellison - percussion Zoë Yanakis - oboe
"Inside of Me" Little Steven – vocals, piano
Charts Album Chart (1984) Peakposition US Billboard 20055 Norwegian Albums Chart"Norwegian Charts > Little Steven"6 Swedish Albums Chart"Swedish Charts > Little Steven"8
Singles Single Chart (1984) Position "Los Desaparecidos (The Disappeared Ones)"Mainstream Rock"Little Steven & the Disciples of Soul Songs (Top Songs/Chart Singles Discography)"27 "Out of the Darkness" Norwegian Singles Chart8 "Voice of America" Norwegian Singles Chart9 "Vote!" was also released as a single but did not chart.
References