''Big Easy Fantasy'' is an album by
Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille (born William Paul Borsey Jr.; August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) 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 orig ...
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
. 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.
Background
In the mid-1990s, Willy DeVille did not have a
recording contract
A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...
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
''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'' ...
, a
tribute album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records coll ...
of
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of
R&B and
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
songs. The Revue comprised Willy DeVille, The Mink DeVille Band, and guest musicians
Dr John
Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B.
Active as a session musician from ...
, Johnny Adams,
Zachary Richard
Ralph Zachary Richard (born September 8, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and poet. His music is a combination of Cajun and Zydeco musical styles.
Biography
Zachary Richard began his musical career at the age of 8, as soprano in the Bish ...
, and
The Wild Magnolias
The Wild Magnolias are a Mardi Gras Indian tribe who also record and play as a funk musical act from New Orleans, Louisiana.
History Origins
A group calling itself the Wild Magnolias, participating in the local " Indian masking" traditions an ...
. 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
Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...
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.”
''Big Easy Fantasy'' presents live recordings of The Mink DeVille Band playing with New Orleans legends
Eddie Bo
Edwin Joseph Bocage (September 20, 1930 – March 18, 2009), 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 arrang ...
and The Wild Magnolias; some remixes from the ''Victory Mixture'' sessions; and "Voodoo Charm," a cut previously heard on 1992's ''
Backstreets of Desire
''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 Ri ...
'' 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''.
Reviews
Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
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." 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."
[Krbechek, Randy (April 24, 1996]
"Big Easy Fantasy."
(Retrieved 4-6-08.)
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
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in August, 1995. DeVille began working on his next album, ''
Loup Garou
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely o ...
,'' later that year in Los Angeles.
Track listing
''Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.''
# "Jump City" - 5:41
#*
''Mink DeVille band; recorded live at the Olympia Theatre''
# "Every Dog Has Its Day" (
Eddie Bo
Edwin Joseph Bocage (September 20, 1930 – March 18, 2009), 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 arrang ...
cage) - 2:10
#*
''Mink DeVille band with Eddie Bo
Edwin Joseph Bocage (September 20, 1930 – March 18, 2009), 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 arrang ...
on vocals, piano; recorded live at The Bottom Line''
# "Hello My Lover" (
Clarence Toussaint
Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...
) - 3:44
#*
''Mink DeVille band; recorded live at the Olympia Theatre''
# "Key to My Heart" (Eddie Bocage) - 4:31
#*
''Mink DeVille band with Eddie Bo
Edwin Joseph Bocage (September 20, 1930 – March 18, 2009), 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 arrang ...
on piano; recorded live at The Bottom Line''
# "Bamboo Road" - 4:56
#*
''Mink DeVille band (Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille (born William Paul Borsey Jr.; August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) 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 orig ...
on dobro
Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar.
The Dobro was originally ...
); recorded live at The Bottom Line''
# "
Iko Iko
"Iko Iko" () is a much-covered New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two tribes of Mardi Gras Indians and the traditional confrontation. The song, under the original title "Jock-A-Mo", was written and released in 1953 as a sin ...
" (James "Sugar Boy" Crawford; ''traditional'') - 5:13
#*
''Mink DeVille band with the Wild Magnolias
The Wild Magnolias are a Mardi Gras Indian tribe who also record and play as a funk musical act from New Orleans, Louisiana.
History Origins
A group calling itself the Wild Magnolias, participating in the local " Indian masking" traditions an ...
on vocals, tambourines, bass drum; recorded live at The Bottom Line''
# "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''
# "Just Off
Decatur Street" - 4:22
#*
''Willy DeVille on vocals, Dr. John
Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B.
Active as a session musician from ...
on piano, Leo Nocentelli
Leo Nocentelli (born June 15, 1946) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member and lead guitarist of the funk band The Meters. He wrote the original versions of several funk classics such as " Cissy Strut" and "Hey P ...
on guitar, George Porter
George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967.
Education and early life
Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...
on bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
, Chris Spedding on dobro, Kerry Brown on drums, Lon Price on tenor saxophone, Steve Madaio on trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
, Kate Markowitz
Catherine Judith "Kate" Markowitz (Born 28 April 1956) is an American singer-songwriter known as a backup singer who has recorded and performed with a number of singers, most notably James Taylor but also Willy DeVille, Shawn Colvin, Mylène Farm ...
and Valerie Mayo on background vocals; recorded at Sea Saint Studio, and Westlake Studio, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
''
# "Teasing You" (
Earl King
Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),
) - 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''
# "Beating Like A Tom-Tom" (
Ernest Kador) - 4:17
#*
''Willy DeVille on vocals, Allen Toussaint
Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...
on piano, Wayne Bennett on guitar, René Coman on bass guitar, Johnny Vidacovich
John Joseph Vidacovich Jr. (born June 27, 1949) is an American jazz drummer and a member of the band Astral Project with James Singleton, Tony Dagradi, and Steve Masakowski.
He has also worked with Bobby McFerrin, Stanton Moore, Charlie H ...
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''
#
”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
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
, 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''
# "Voodoo Charm" - 4:11
#*
''Willy DeVille on vocals, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter
Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense consu ...
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
The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...
, John "Streamline" Ewing on trombone, Freebo
Daniel Friedberg, better known by the stage name Freebo, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer noted primarily for his work with Bonnie Raitt. He is also a session musician who has recorded and performed with Ringo Starr, John ...
on tuba
The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
, Bonnie Sheridan on background vocals; recorded at Track Studio, Los Angeles''
Personnel
The Mink DeVille Band
* The Brass Attack Horns
** Louis Cortelezzi -
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
** Steve Madaio -
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
**
Tom "Bones" Malone
Thomas "Bones" Malone (born June 16, 1947) is an American jazz musician, arranger, and producer. As his nickname implies, he specializes on the trombone but he also plays saxophone, trumpet, tuba, flute, and bass guitar. He has been a member of ...
-
trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...
,
baritone saxophone
The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...
*
Mario Cruz - saxophone, percussion
*
Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille (born William Paul Borsey Jr.; August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) 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 orig ...
- vocals,
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
,
dobro
Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar.
The Dobro was originally ...
* Seth Farber -
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
,
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
* David Keyes -
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
,
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...
* Boris Kinberg - percussion
* Freddy Koëlla - guitar,
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
,
mandolin
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
* Shawn Murray - drums
* The Valentines (Valentine Brothers) -
background vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...
** Billy Valentine
** Johnny "Briz" Valentine
Other musicians
*
Jeff "Skunk" Baxter
Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense consu ...
- guitar ("Voodoo Charm")
*
Wayne Bennett - guitar ("Beating Like A Tom-Tom")
*
Eddie Bo
Edwin Joseph Bocage (September 20, 1930 – March 18, 2009), 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 arrang ...
- vocals, piano
* Isaac Bolden - piano ("Teasing You")
* Kerry Brown - drums ("Just Off Decatur Street," "Teasing You")
* René Coman - bass guitar
*
Luis Conte
Luis Conte (born 16 November 1954) is a Cuban percussionist best-known for his performances in the bands of artists including James Taylor, Madonna, Pat Metheny Group, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Shakira. He began ...
- percussion ("Voodoo Charm")
* Steve Croes - sudra drum ("Beating Like A Tom-Tom")
*
Dr. John
Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B.
Active as a session musician from ...
- piano ("Just Off Decatur Street")
*
John "Streamline" Ewing - trombone ("Voodoo Charm")
*
Freebo
Daniel Friedberg, better known by the stage name Freebo, is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer noted primarily for his work with Bonnie Raitt. He is also a session musician who has recorded and performed with Ringo Starr, John ...
-
tuba
The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...
("Voodoo Charm")
*
James Gilstrap -
background vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...
("Beating Like A Tom-Tom," "Who Shot the La-La")
* Bill Gregory - guitar ("Who Shot the La-La")
* Porgy Jones -
tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...
("Who Shot the La-La")
*
Kate Markowitz
Catherine Judith "Kate" Markowitz (Born 28 April 1956) is an American singer-songwriter known as a backup singer who has recorded and performed with a number of singers, most notably James Taylor but also Willy DeVille, Shawn Colvin, Mylène Farm ...
- background vocals ("Just Off Decatur Street," "Beating Like A Tom-Tom")
* Valerie Mayo - background vocals ("Just Off Decatur Street")
* Reggie McBride - bass ("Voodoo Charm")
*
Leo Nocentelli
Leo Nocentelli (born June 15, 1946) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member and lead guitarist of the funk band The Meters. He wrote the original versions of several funk classics such as " Cissy Strut" and "Hey P ...
- guitar ("Just Off Decatur Street")
* Joel Peksin - baritone saxophone ("Voodoo Charm")
*
George Porter
George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham (6 December 1920 – 31 August 2002) was a British chemist. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1967.
Education and early life
Porter was born in Stainforth, near Thorne, in the then West ...
-
bass ("Just Off Decatur Street")
* Lon Price -
tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...
* Bonnie Sheridan - background vocals ("Voodoo Charm")
*
Chris Spedding
Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...
- dobro ("Just Off Decatur Street")
* Fred Staehle - drums, wingertree ("Voodoo Charm")
*
Allen Toussaint
Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, descri ...
- piano ("Beating Like A Tom-Tom")
*
Johnny Vidacovich
John Joseph Vidacovich Jr. (born June 27, 1949) is an American jazz drummer and a member of the band Astral Project with James Singleton, Tony Dagradi, and Steve Masakowski.
He has also worked with Bobby McFerrin, Stanton Moore, Charlie H ...
- drums ("Beating Like A Tom-Tom," "Who Shot the La-La")
*
The Wild Magnolias
The Wild Magnolias are a Mardi Gras Indian tribe who also record and play as a funk musical act from New Orleans, Louisiana.
History Origins
A group calling itself the Wild Magnolias, participating in the local " Indian masking" traditions an ...
("Iko Iko," "Meet the Boys
n the Battlefront
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
"
**
Chief Joseph "Monk" Boudreaux - vocals, tambourine
** Chief Theodore "Bo" Dollis - vocals, tambourine
** Norwood "Gitchie" Johnson - vocals,
bass drum
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...
* Dorene Wise – background vocals ("Beating Like A Tom-Tom," "Who Shot the La-La")
* YaDonna Wise - background vocals ("Beating Like A Tom-Tom," "Who Shot the La-La")
References
{{Authority control
Willy DeVille albums
1995 live albums
Albums recorded at the Bottom Line