Big Easy Fantasy

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Big Easy Fantasy
BigEasyFantasy.jpg
Live album by Willy DeVille
ReleasedOctober 31, 1995
Recorded The Bottom Line, New York City
Olympia Theatre, Paris
Sea Saint Studio, New Orleans
Westlake Studio, Los Angeles
Track Studio, Los Angeles
Genre R&B, Soul, Blues, Creole
Length48:34
Label New Rose (France)
Producer Philippe Rault
Carlo Ditta
Dr. John
Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille chronology
Willy DeVille Live
(1993)		Big Easy Fantasy
(1995)		 Loup Garou
(1996)

Big Easy Fantasy is an album by Willy DeVille and the Mink DeVille Band. It was released in Europe on the French New Rose label in 1995. The album is a mixture of studio tracks and concert recordings made in New York and Paris. The "big easy" of the album's title refers to New Orleans. As the album cover says, the inspiration for the album was "Jump City, the Crescent City, the city that care forgot, New Orleans...The Big Easy!" All songs on the album are standards by New Orleans musicians or are original compositions by Willy DeVille about some aspect of New Orleans.

Willy DeVille American musician, singer-songwriter

Willy DeVille was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five-year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, Deville created original songs rooted in traditional American musical styles. He worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary music, including Jack Nitzsche, Doc Pomus, Dr. John, Mark Knopfler, Allen Toussaint, and Eddie Bo. Latin rhythms, blues riffs, doo-wop, Cajun music, strains of French cabaret, and echoes of early-1960s uptown soul can be heard in DeVille's work.

New Orleans Largest city in Louisiana

New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana. With an estimated population of 393,292 in 2017, it is the most populous city in Louisiana. A major port, New Orleans is considered an economic and commercial hub for the broader Gulf Coast region of the United States.

Contents

Background

In the mid-1990s, Willy DeVille did not have a recording contract with an American label, but he was very popular in Europe in the wake of his successful 1992 "New Orleans Revue" tour of the continent and his 1993 European tour with the Mink DeVille Band (which resulted in 1993's Willy DeVille Live .) The "New Orleans Revue" came about after DeVille recorded Victory Mixture, a tribute album of cover versions of New Orleans R&B and soul songs. The Revue comprised Willy DeVille, The Mink DeVille Band, and guest musicians Dr John, Johnny Adams, Zachary Richard, and The Wild Magnolias. DeVille said about the 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.” [1]

A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist, where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote. Artists under contract are normally only allowed to record for that label exclusively; guest appearances on other artists' records will carry a notice "By courtesy of ", and that label may receive a percentage of sales.

<i>Willy DeVille Live</i> live album by Willy DeVille

Willy DeVille Live is a live recording of Willy DeVille and the Mink DeVille Band. It was recorded on June 16–17, 1993 at The Bottom Line in Greenwich Village, New York City, and in October 1993 at the Olympia Theatre in Paris. It was released in Europe on December 1, 1993 in Europe by the French label Fnac Music.

<i>Victory Mixture</i> album by Willy DeVille

Victory Mixture is a 1990 album by Willy DeVille. The album consists of cover versions of New Orleans R&B and soul classics by DeVille’s musical idols. Trouser Press said about the album, “A rootsy covers collection, Victory Mixture provides a welcome antidote to Miracle's misguided modernity, making the most of the singer's relocation to New Orleans with backup from such local legends as Allen Toussaint, Eddie Bo and Dr. John.”

Big Easy Fantasy presents live recordings of The Mink DeVille Band playing with New Orleans legends Eddie Bo and The Wild Magnolias; some remixes from the Victory Mixture sessions; and "Voodoo Charm," a cut previously heard on 1992's Backstreets of Desire album. "Teasing You," "Beating Like a Tom-Tom," and ”Who Shot the La-La” are also on the Victory Mixture album, but have slightly different horn arrangements and background vocals. "Just Off Decatur Street," recorded during the Victory Mixture sessions and remixed later on, appears only on Big Easy Fantasy.

Eddie Bo singer

Edwin Joseph Bocage, known as Eddie Bo, was an American singer and pianist from New Orleans. Schooled in jazz, he was known for his blues, soul and funk recordings, compositions, productions and arrangements. He debuted on Ace Records in 1955 and released more single records than anyone else in New Orleans other than Fats Domino.

<i>Backstreets of Desire</i> album by Willy DeVille

Backstreets of Desire is an album by Willy DeVille. It was recorded in various Los Angeles recording studios in 1992. To make the album, DeVille was joined by many prominent musicians, including Dr. John, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, Zachary Richard, Jim Gilstrap, Freebo, Efrain Toro, and Jimmy Zavala.

Prince La La American singer

Lawrence Nelson, who recorded as Prince La La, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. After a single R&B hit, "She Put the Hurt on Me", he died of a drugs overdose, aged 27.

Reviews

Trouser Press called the album "another successful exploration of New Orleans' musical heritage; the re-energized DeVille holds his own while sharing the stage and the spotlight with an even more impressive array of Crescent City luminaries." [2] Randy Krbechek said about Big Easy Fantasy, "For my money, I'd have released this album as either an all-live set, or an all-studio recording. However, I'm not complaining too loudly—DeVille's a great talent, and any serving from him is richly welcomed." [3]

<i>Trouser Press</i> American music magazine

Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press". Publication of the magazine ceased in 1984; the unexpired portion of mail subscriptions was completed by Rolling Stone sister publication Record, which itself folded in 1985. Trouser Press has continued to exist in various formats.

Other information

The album includes a booklet with information about when cover songs were initially recorded and who played on each song.

Remixing of songs from the Victory Mixture sessions was done at the Westlake Studio in Los Angeles in August, 1995. DeVille began working on his next album, Loup Garou, later that year in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles City in California

Los Angeles, officially the City of Los Angeles and often known by its initials L.A., is the most populous city in California and the second most populous city in the United States, after New York City. With an estimated population of four million, Los Angeles is the cultural, financial, and commercial center of Southern California. The city is known for its Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, Hollywood and the entertainment industry, and its sprawling metropolis.

Track listing

Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.

  1. "Jump City" - 5:41
  2. "Every Dog Has Its Day" (Eddie Bocage) - 2:10
  3. "Hello My Lover" (Clarence Toussaint) - 3:44
    • Mink DeVille band; recorded live at the Olympia Theatre
  4. "Key to My Heart" (Eddie Bocage) - 4:31
    • Mink DeVille band with Eddie Bo on piano; recorded live at The Bottom Line
  5. "Bamboo Road" - 4:56
  6. "Iko Iko" (James "Sugar Boy" Crawford; traditional) - 5:13
    • Mink DeVille band with the Wild Magnolias on vocals, tambourines, bass drum; recorded live at The Bottom Line
  7. "Meet the Boys (on the Battlefront)" (traditional) - 3:03
    • Mink DeVille band with the Wild Magnolias on vocals, tambourines, bass drum; recorded live at The Bottom Line
  8. "Just Off Decatur Street" - 4:22
  9. "Teasing You" (Earl King) - 3:30
    • Willy DeVille on vocals, Isaac Bolden on piano, Freddy Koëlla on guitar, René Coman on bass guitar, Kerry Brown on drums, Lon Price on tenor saxophone, Steve Madaio on trumpet, Willy DeVille on harmony vocal; recorded at Sea Saint Studio and Westlake Studio
  10. "Beating Like A Tom-Tom" (Ernest Kador) - 4:17
    • Willy DeVille on vocals, Allen Toussaint on piano, Wayne Bennett on guitar, René Coman on bass guitar, Johnny Vidacovich on drums, Steve Croes on sudra drum, Lon Price on tenor saxophone, Steve Madaio on trumpet, Dorene and YaDonna Wise on background vocals, Kate Markowitz on background vocals, James Gilstrap on background vocals; recorded at Sea Saint Studio and Westlake Studio
  11. ”Who Shot the La-La” (Eddie Bocage, D. Burmak, Theresa Terry) - 2:56
    • Willy DeVille on vocals, Eddie Bo on piano, Bill Gregory on guitar, Freddy Koëlla on guitar, René Coman on bass guitar, Porgy Jones on tambourine, Johnny Vidacovich on drums, Allison Miner on background vocals, Dereme and YaDonna Wise on background vocals, James Gilstrap on background vocals; recorded at Sea Saint Studio and Westlake Studio
  12. "Voodoo Charm" - 4:11
    • Willy DeVille on vocals, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on guitar, Reggie McBride on bass guitar, Luis Conte on percussion, Fred Staehle on drums and wingertree, Steve Madaio on trumpet, Lon Price on tenor saxophone, Joel Peksin on baritone saxophone, John "Streamline" Ewing on trombone, Freebo on tuba, Bonnie Sheridan on background vocals; recorded at Track Studio, Los Angeles

Personnel

The Mink DeVille Band

Other musicians

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References

  1. ↑ Marcus, Richard (2006) “Interview: Willy DeVille.” Archived 2010-09-10 at the Wayback Machine . Leap in the Dark (a blog). Archived March 3, 2008, at the Wayback Machine . (Retrieved 4-6-08.)
  2. ↑ Editors (2006) “Mink Deville/Willy Deville.” Trouser Press. (Retrieved 4-6-08.)
  3. ↑ Krbechek, Randy (April 24, 1996) "Big Easy Fantasy." Archived 2006-05-09 at the Wayback Machine . Randy Krbechek's Metronews Music Reviews. Archived 2008-01-07 at the Wayback Machine . (Retrieved 4-6-08.)
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