''Crow Jane Alley'' 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 ori ...

. It was recorded in 2004 in Los Angeles. For this album, DeVille was joined by members of the

Chicano rock Chicano rock is rock music performed by Mexican American (Chicano) groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. Chicano Rock, to a great extent, does not refer to any single style or approach. Some of these groups do not sing in Span ...

band Quetzal,

David Hidalgo David Kent Hidalgo (born October 6, 1954, in Los Angeles.) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Los Lobos. Hidalgo frequently plays musical instruments such as accordion, violin, 6-string banjo, cello, requ ...

of Los Lobos, and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian

Afro-Cuban jazz Afro-Cuban jazz is the earliest form of Latin jazz. It mixes Afro-Cuban clave-based rhythms with jazz harmonies and techniques of improvisation. Afro-Cuban music has deep roots in African ritual and rhythm.{{cite web, Cuba: Son and Afro-Cuban ...

drummer

Alex Acuña Alejandro Neciosup Acuña (born December 12, 1944), known professionally as Alex Acuña, is a Peruvian-American drummer and percussionist. Background Born in Pativilca, Peru, Acuña played in local bands such as La Orquesta de los Hermanos Nec ...

, among other prominent musicians. ''Crow Jane Alley'' was produced by

John Philip Shenale John Philip Shenale (often mentioned as Phil Shenale) is a Canadian composer, arranger, musician and producer based in Los Angeles. Background Shenale was born in Canada in 1951. His family relocated to the United States in the late-1950s ...

, the third album Shenale produced for DeVille.

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 ...

said of the album: :(DeVille) begins ''Crow Jane Alley'' on a dubious note with "Chieva," an ambivalent song about recovering from heroin addiction, but then turns his attention to romance and gets it all right. His renditions of

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...

's "

Slave to Love "Slave to Love" is the first single released from Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry's 1985 release, '' Boys and Girls''. The song is one of Ferry's most popular solo hits. The single was released on 28 April 1985 and spent nine weeks in the UK cha ...

" and

Jay and the Americans Jay and the Americans are an American rock group who formed in the late 1950s. Their initial line-up consisted of John "Jay" Traynor, Howard Kane (born Howard Kirschenbaum), Kenny Vance (born Kenneth Rosenberg) and Sandy Deanne (born Sandy Ya ...

' "

Come a Little Bit Closer "Come a Little Bit Closer" is a song by the 1960s rock and roll band Jay and the Americans. It reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on November 21, 1964, making it the band's highest-charting single. It also peaked at ...

" bring their own drama and gravity to the material, while such homemade numbers as the convincingly authentic mojo-wielding "

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...

Rose Out of the Mississippi Mud," the surging "Right There, Right Then" and the rustic waltztime "(Don't Have a) Change of Heart" are small strokes of heartfelt majesty. Richard Marcus said of the album, “''Crow Jane Alley'' is the work of an artist who after thirty plus years in the business still has the ability to surprise and delight his listeners. Listening to this disc only confirms that Willy DeVille is one of the greats who have been ignored for too long.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

said, "''Crow Jane Alley'' is a very respectable collection from this journeyman, starting off with the single 'Chieva' and continuing with DeVille's novel exploration of sound and clever merging of styles."

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

said, "DeVille continues to excel at conjuring new tricks from old genres — Drifters-scented barrio pop, booming melodrama and accordion-laced trysts are rendered with verve and sensitivity. An ill-conceived

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

/ Captain Beefheart-style

tribute and the dreary "Slave To Love" apart, a welcome slice of swamp-pop heaven."

Other information

DeVille said about the song "

": "What I usually do is try to shoot for the heart. And that song said that to me. It shot straight to my heart. I fell in love with the song so I could do no wrong with it."Interview (June 26, 2008
Willy DeVille, American rock and roll singer.France 24/International News.
(Retrieved 7-25-08.)

Track listing

''Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.'' # "Chieva" - 4:40 #*

on vocals,

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 us ...

;

Chamberlin The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by the American inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. There are several ...

, loops, ARP string ensemble Wurlitzer Sideman; Josh Sklair on guitar;

bajo sexto Bajo sexto (Spanish: "sixth bass") is a Mexican string instrument from the guitar family with 12 strings in six double courses. A closely related instrument is the bajo quinto (Spanish: "fifth bass") which has 10 strings in five double courses ...

; David J. Keyes on electric bass and background vocals; Hook Herrera on harmonica;

Joey Waronker Jon Joseph Waronker (born May 20, 1969) is an American drummer and music producer. He is best known as a regular drummer of both Beck and R.E.M., and as member of the experimental rock bands Atoms for Peace and Ultraísta. Background Waronke ...

on drums;

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...

, shaker; Billy Valentine, John Valentine, and Nina DeVille on background vocals # "Right There, Right Then" - 4:24 #* Willy DeVille on vocals; John Philip Shenale on Hammond A11 organ; Josh Sklair on

twelve string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 strings in six courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lower four courses are tuned in o ...

; David J. Keyes on bass, background vocals; Joey Waronker on drums # "Downside of Town" - 3:10 #* Willy DeVille on vocals, background vocals; Quetzal Flores on bajo muta, jarana, jawbone; David Hidalgo on accordion; Josh Sklair on guitar; César Augusto Castro González on Leona; Martha González on

cajón A cajón (; "box", "crate" or "drawer") is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes implements such as brushes, mallets, o ...

, tarima; Alex Acuña on castanets, tambourine stick # "My Forever Came Today" - 4:15 #* Willy DeVille on vocals; John Philip Shenale on Chamberlin piano, loops, strings; Josh Sklair on guitars; David J. Keyes on bass; Joey Waronker on drums, Billy Valentine, John Valentine on background vocals # "Crow Jane Alley" - 3:16 #* Willy DeVille on vocals; John Philip Shenale on Chamberlin piano; Josh Sklair on Gibson 125 pedal steel guitar; David J. Keyes on

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

, background vocals; Joey Waronker on drums # "

Rose Out of the Mississippi Mud" - 4:58 #* Willy DeVille on vocals, background vocals, guitar, slide guitar; John Philip Shenale on Hammond A11 organ, Wurlitzer E piano, loops; Hook Herrera on harmonica; Steve Stevens on drums # "

" (

Wes Farrell Wes Farrell (December 21, 1939 – February 29, 1996) was an American musician, songwriter and record producer, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Farrell was born in New York, United States. Farrell's catalogue includes close ...

, Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart) - 3:25 #* Willy DeVille on vocals, background vocals; Lenin García on acoustic guitar (intro), arrangements; Martin “El Animas” Lara 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 ...

s; Martin "Baby Face" Arellano on guitar,

vihuela The vihuela () is a 15th-century fretted plucked Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar (figure-of-eight form offering strength and portability) but tuned like a lute. It was used in 15th- and 16th-century Spain as the equivalent of t ...

; Diego "La Empanada" Arellano on

guitarrón Guitarrón or guitarron is a common name for a number of stringed instruments found in Latin America and may refer to: * Guitarrón argentino, a six-stringed musical instrument from Argentina * Guitarrón chileno, a 25-stringed, plucked instrument ...

; J. Mario “El Mono” Rodriguez on

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 regu ...

s; Alex Acuña on

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

, güiro; Billy Valentine, John Valentine on background vocals # "

" (

) - 4:31 #* Willy DeVille on vocals, background vocals; John Philip Shenale on piano, synthesizer, loops, samplers; Josh Sklair on guitar, energy bow; David J. Keyes on bass; Joey Waronker on drums; Billy Valentine, John Valentine on background vocals # "(Don't Have A) Change of Heart" - 2:28 #* Willy DeVille on vocals, background vocals; John Philip Shenale on Hammond chord organ,

Marxophone The Marxophone is a fretless zither played via a system of metal hammers. It features two octaves of double melody strings in the key of C major (middle C to C''), and four sets of chord strings (C major, G major, F major, and D7). Sounding s ...

, percussion; Michael Starr on mandolin, strumstick, violin # "Trouble Comin' Everyday in a World Gone Wrong" - 6:07 #* Willy DeVille on vocals; Josh Sklair on

Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bo ...

, Trussart “gator”; John Philip Shenale on Wurlitzer e. piano and Sideman, loops; David J. Keyes on bass; Joey Waronker on drums, coin drum; Hook Herrera on harmonica, Alex Acuña on

maraca A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...

Personnel

- castanets,

clapstick Clapsticks, also spelt clap sticks and also known as bilma, bimli, clappers, musicstick or just stick, are a traditional Australian Aboriginal instrument. They serve to maintain rhythm in voice chants, often as part of an Aboriginal ceremony ...

, shaker, cowbell, güiro, tambourine stick * Diego "La Empanada" Arellano -

(“Come a Little Bit Closer”) * Martin "Baby Face" Arellano - guitar,

(“Come a Little Bit Closer”) * Nina DeVille -

- vocals, guitar, slide guitar, background vocals * Quetzal Flores - bass, bajo muta, jarana, jawbone * Lenin García – guitar, arrangements (“Come a Little Bit Closer”) * César Augusto Castro González - Leona * Martha González – cajón, tarima * Hook Herrera - harmonica *

- accordion,

* David J. Keyes - electric bass,

, background vocals * Martin “El Animas” Lara –

(“Come a Little Bit Closer”) * J. Mario “El Mono” Rodriguez –

(“Come a Little Bit Closer”) *

- synthesizer, percussion, piano, strings, Hammond A11 organ,

, ARP String Ensemble, Wurlitzer Sideman, Wurlitzer E piano,

, loops, samplers * Josh Sklair - guitar,

, Gibson 125 pedal steel guitar, energy bow,

, Trussart “gator” * Michael Starr - mandolin, strumstick, violin * Steve Stevens - drums ("Muddy Waters Rose Out of the Mississippi Mud") * The Valentine Brothers - background vocals ** Billy Valentine ** John Valentine *

– drums, coin drum

Production

* John Carter -

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, mixing *

- producer * Alfons Kiefer – cover art and illustration * Ron McMaster - mastering ( Capitol Records, Hollywood) * John Philip Shenale – producer, mixing * James Trussart – custom guitars

References

External links

MySpace Music: John Philip Shenale
A recording of "Chieva" is available at producer John Philip Shenale's MySpace page. {{Authority control 2004 albums Willy DeVille albums