Willy Deville
away from Bourbon Street; at night, when I go to bed, I hear the boogie that comes from the streets, and in the morning, when I wake up, I hear the blues.”
In 1990, DeVille made Victory Mixture, a tribute album of classic New Orleans soul and R&B which he recorded with some of the songs’ original composers. The album was recorded without the use of overdubbing or sound editing with the goal of capturing the spirit of the original recordings.
I got all the original guys to come back in, like Earl King, Dr. John and Eddie Bo. Allen Toussaint played side piano. I brought in the rhythm section of The Meters on a couple of cuts. We call it the ‘little’ record. It’s funny, because I was just trying to get them money, the writers of the songs, ’cause they all got ripped off in the 1950s and 1960s. They were all fascinated, and Dr. John (who had played on DeVille’s 1978 album Return to Magenta and who DeVille knew from his association with Doc Pomus) convinced them that they wouldn’t get ripped off by this northern white boy. That’s when I crossed over to being a local here in New Orleans. We were all pleased with it. It’s recorded the way it was originally done back then. It’s live with no overdubs anywhere, no digital, no editing. We played the song several times and just picked the best take, the one that was the most natural. It’s on Fnac/Orleans Records. I’m really proud of that one.
Victory Mixture was recorded for a small independent label, Orleans Records, which licensed it to Sky Ranch (Fnac Music) in France. “It sold over 100,000 units in Europe very quicklyur first gold disc,” said Carlo Ditta, founder of Orleans Records and the producer of Victory Mixture.
In the summer of 1992, DeVille toured Europe with Dr John, Johnny Adams, Zachary Richard, and The Wild Magnolias as part of his “New Orleans Revue” tour. “The travel, buses, and planes and the accommodations had to be some of the worst I’ve ever experienced… but the shows themselves were great. At the end of each show we’d throw Mardi Gras rows out to the audience, you know strands of purple and gold beads, and they’d never seen anything like it and they loved it.”
Recording in L.A.
In 1992, DeVille recorded Backstreets of Desire, the first of four albums he would record in Los Angeles with producer John Philip Shenale. “I say it every time I record in L.A. that I’ll never do it again, and I keep doing it… It’s crazy. I just record and go to the hotel, and never go out, then back to the studio. I hate L.A. It’s the worst. I think they eat their children there. I never saw any kids. It’s a pity there aren’t more studios in New Orleans.” Although DeVille complained about having to record in Los Angeles, recording in that city put him in touch with many talented Latino musicians who helped shape his distinctive Spanish-Americana sound. For Backstreets of Desire, he was joined by David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, Efrain Toro, Mariachi los Camperos, and Jimmy Zavala, as well as New Orleans musicians Dr. John and Zachary Richard and L.A. session musicians Jeff Baxter, Freebo, Jim Gilstrap, and Brian Ray. Allmusic said about the album:
Willy DeVille’s Backstreets of Desire stands tall as his masterpiece as both a singer and a songwriter. DeVille’s considerable reputation in Paris buoyed him up to make this disc… With guest spots by Dr. John, Zachary Richard, and David Hidalgo, DeVille creates a tapestry of roots rock and Crescent City second line, traces of ’50s doo-wop, and elegant sweeping vistas of Spanish soul balladry, combined with lyrics full of busted-down heroes, hungry lovers, and wise men trying to get off the street. The sound of the album balances Creole soul and pure rock pyrotechnics. DeVille sounds like a man resurrected, digging as deep as the cavernous recesses of the human heart.
“Hey Joe”
Sample of DeVille’s mariachi arrangement of “Hey Joe.” The song was an international hit in Europe in 1992.
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Backstreets of Desire included a novel mariachi version of the Jimi Hendrix standard ey Joe that was a hit in Europe, rising to number one in Spain and France. DeVille said about “Hey Joe”: “The song originally comes from the Texas-Mexico border area … [T]hey call it Texico. I tried, instead of doing something that sounded like Jimi Hendrix that would have been a clich, I tried to take the song back to the way that it must originally have sounded, which would be with mariachis. It’s classic, but it’s classic with a little twist. A little different. I put a bit of pachuco Canal Street slang talking. I added a couple of verses of my own.” Backstreets of Desire was released in the United States in 1994