''Loup Garou'' (
French for ''
werewolf
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 or ...
'') is an album released in 1995 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 ...
. First released in Europe in 1995 on the
EastWest label, it was released the following year in the United States on the
Discovery label. It was recorded 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' ...
and 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 ...
, who also produced DeVille’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 ...
'' album.
Duet with Brenda Lee
''Loup Garou'' includes a duet with
Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...
(“You’ll Never Know”). DeVille said about recording with Lee:
She’s amazing, and so professional. She's just this tiny little woman who has this great big voice. I had to cool out her accent a little bit. She had a real cracker-type of accent. I guess it's gotten thicker over the years, because she didn't sound like that when she was a teenager doing "Sweet Nothing."
She didn't know who the hell I was. I just called her up, played the song for her, and she loved it. She had her business people check me out, and they reported that I was big in Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
and had been recording for twenty years. So I flew to Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, which is a very weird place. Everybody is in the music business—every cab driver, waiter and busboy.
She was very shy. I thought she didn't like me at first, but once she got into the studio and saw me with all my dogs, she realized I was a very normal person. I told her I'd seen every show she ever did in . I was the guy in front, and I had a picture of her sitting on my lap. I had my proof. That's got to go down in my book as one of the most memorable experiences in my career.
Reviews
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 databas ...
's 2008 capsule review says, “With ''Loup Garou,'' Willie DeVille explored new rhythmic and melodic territory, experimenting with
cajun
The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the U.S. state of Louisiana.
While Cajuns are usually described as ...
and
mariachi
Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...
music. Not all of the songs work—frequently, Deville sounds too nervous and studied to really break free and have fun with the material—but it nevertheless is enjoyable, with enough strong songs (especially ‘You’ll Never Know,’ a duet with Brenda Lee) to make it worthwhile for longtime DeVille followers.”
The album received at least two favorable reviews at the time of its release. ''
Musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
'' said, “''Loup Garou'' is subtle in nuance but staggering in scope; it connects the dots between all of the artist’s sacrosanct influences, often within the framework of a single song … All of it is on the money, performed from the heart.”
''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' said, “(Deville’s) voice has, if anything, improved with the husky patina of age. ''Loup Garou'' builds on his trademark sub-
Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...
style, adding a few Louisiana voodoo touches where appropriate, particularly on the title track, and blending in other, more unusual textures, like the fairground sound of the
Optigan
The Optigan (a portmanteau of Optical Organ) is an electronic keyboard instrument designed for the consumer market. The name stems from the instrument's reliance on pre-recorded optical soundtracks to reproduce sound. Later versions (built under ...
keyboard on ‘Still (I Love You Still).’ He comes close to poignancy-overload on ‘Angels Don't Lie,’ where wistful
uilleann pipes
The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...
and
penny-whistle are combined with the haunting
string-pad sound from ‘
Streets of Philadelphia
"Streets of Philadelphia" is a song written and performed by American rock musician Bruce Springsteen for the 1993 film ''Philadelphia'', starring Tom Hanks, an early mainstream film dealing with HIV/AIDS. Released as a single in 1994, the son ...
,’ but there's enough skill and sensitivity elsewhere to render this a more than capable comeback.”
[Gill, Andy (January 12, 1996]
"Albums."
''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''. (Retrieved June 2, 2009.)
Other information
While DeVille wrote most of ''Loup Garou'' in his native English, some songs have lyrics in
Cajun French
Louisiana French ( frc, français de la Louisiane; lou, françé la lwizyàn) is an umbrella term for the dialects and varieties of the French language spoken traditionally by French Louisianians in colonial Lower Louisiana. As of today Louis ...
, and “Asi Te Amo” is a
Spanish language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
reprise of the track “Still (I Love You Still).” "No Such Pain as Love" presents a rare
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
offering by DeVille. Freddy Koella, a longtime DeVille sideman, cowrote "When You're Away from Me."
The cover photograph shows DeVille standing in front of
Jean Lafitte
Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". Th ...
's Blacksmith Shop, said to be the oldest bar in the United States, at the corner of
Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street (french: Rue Bourbon, es, Calle de Borbón) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending thirteen blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars an ...
and St. Philip Street in New Orleans.
DeVille, his then-wife Lisa, and Mink DeVille Band members Koella, David J. Keyes, Seth Farber, Boris Kinberg, and Shawn Murray appeared in a music video for "Still (I Love You Still)," filmed in spring 1995 at the New Orleans
Preservation Hall
Preservation Hall is a jazz venue in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building is associated with a house band, a record label, and a non-profit foundation.
History of the jazz hall
In the 1950s, art dealer Larry Borenstein f ...
.
Track listing
''Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.''
# “No Such Pain as Love“ - 3:43
#*
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 vocals, Freddy Koella on violin, Brian Ray
Brian Thomas Ray (born January 4, 1955) is an American session musician, guitarist, bassist, singer–songwriter, and musical director. He is best known for his work as a bass, rhythm, and lead guitarist with Paul McCartney's touring band, ...
on guitar, 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 ...
on keyboards, David Faragher on bass, Michael Urbano
Michael Urbano (born March 19, 1966 in Sacramento, California, USA) is a musician, programmer, and record producer.
Career
One of Urbano's first gigs was as a member of Bourgeois Tagg, a 1980s band that was fronted by Brent Bourgeois and Larr ...
on drums
# “Runnin' Through the Jungle (Shootin' the Blues)“ - 3:44
#*
Willy DeVille on vocals; 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 ...
, Freddy Koella, and Brian Ray on guitars; David Faraghar on bass; Michael Urbano on drums and percussion; 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 ...
on optigan; Efrain Toro on shaker
# “When You're Away from Me“ – (
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 ...
, Freddy Koella) - 5:29
#*
Willy DeVille on vocals; Freddy Koella and Brian Ray on guitar; John Phillip Shenale on keyboards; David Faragher on bass; Michael Urbano on drums; Efrian Toro on slit drum, Billy Valentine and James Gilstrap on background vocals
# “Angels Don't Lie“ - 5:07
#*
Willy DeVille on vocals; Brian Ray on guitar, Freddy Koella on violin, John Philip Shenale on keyboards, David Faragher on bass, Michael Urbano on drums, Hunter Lee on penny whistle and uilleann pipes, Siobhan Maher
Siobhan Maher Kennedy (born 11 January 1964) is an English singer and songwriter. She was the lead vocalist of the Liverpool-based band River City People during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band released two albums, '' Say Something Good'' ...
on background vocals
# “Still (I Love You Still)“ - 4:07
#*
Willy DeVille on vocals, Freddy Koella and Brian Ray on guitar; John Philip Shenale on keyboards; David Faragher on bass; Michael Urbano on drums; Efrian Toro on castanets, woodclaps, and guiro; Jesús Guzmán and Salvador Hernandez on trumpet
# “White Trash Girl“ - 3:34
#*
Willy DeVille on vocals; Freddy Koella and Brian Ray on guitar; John Philip Shenale on keyboards; David Faragher on bass; Michael Urbano on drums
# “You'll Never Know“ - 3:43
#*
Willy DeVille and Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...
on vocals; Freddy Koella and Brian Ray on guitar; John Philip Shenale on keyboards; David Faragher on bass; Michael Urbano on drums
# “Ballad of the Hoodlum Priest“ - 4:16
#*
Willy DeVille on vocals;, Freddy Koella, Brian Ray, and David J. Keyes on guitar; John Philip Shenale on keyboards; David Faragher on bass; Michael Urbano on drums, Efrian Toro on percussion; David J. Keyes, Billy Valentine, John Denham, and Will Wheaton
Will Wheaton, born Willie Mack Wheaton Jr. (born October 26, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He grew up in Los Angeles and is the son of Gospel singer Juanita Wheaton. He studied music in his teens and was eventually tuto ...
on background vocals
# “Heart of a Fool“ - 4:07
#*
Willy DeVille on vocals; Chris Spedding and Brian Ray on guitars; Freddy Koella on mandolin; David Faragher on bass; Michael Urbano on drums and percussion; John Philip Shenale on keyboards; Ismael Gallegos on accordion; Billy Valentine, John Denham, and Will Wheaton on background vocals
# “Asi Te Amo“ - 4:06
#*
Willy DeVille on vocals, Freddy Koella and Brian Ray on guitar; John Philip Shenale on keyboards; David Faragher on bass; David J. Keyes on backing vocals; Michael Urbano on drums; Efrian Toro on castanets, wood claps, and guiro; Jesús Guzmán and Salvador Hernandez on trumpet
# “Loup Garou ‘Bal Goula’” - 4:50
#*
Willy DeVille on vocals; Freddy Koella and Brian Ray on guitar; John Philip Shenale on keyboards; David Faragher on bass; Michael Urbano on drums; Billy Valentine, John Denham, Will Wheaton, and Dixie Belle on background vocals; John Phillip Shenale and Pete Magdelano on vocal effects
# “
Time Has Come Today
"Time Has Come Today" is a hit single by the American psychedelic soul group the Chambers Brothers, written by Willie & Joe Chambers. The song was recorded and released as a single in 1966 by Columbia Records. It was then featured on the album ' ...
“ – (
Joe Chambers, Willie Chambers) - 4:07
#*
Willy DeVille on vocals, Freddy Koella and Brian Ray on guitar; John Philip Shenale on keyboards; David Faragher on bass; Michael Urbano on drums; Efrian Toro on percussion; John Phillip Shenale on background vocals
# “My One Desire (Vampire's Lullaby)“ - 4:04
#*
Willy DeVille on vocals; Freddy Koella and Brian Ray on guitar; John Philip Shenale on keyboards; David Faragher on bass; Michael Urbano on drums; Nancy Stein-Ross and Ernie Erhardt on cello; James Ross on viola; Scott Smalley as conductor
Personnel
* Dixie Belle -
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 ...
(“Loup Garou ‘Bal Goula’”)
* John Denham - background vocals (“Ballad of the Hoodlum Priest“)("Heart of a Fool")(“Loup Garou ‘Bal Goula’”)
*
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
* Ernie Erhardt -
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
(“My One Desire
ampire's Lullaby)
*
David Faragher -
bass
* Ismael Gallegos -
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 ...
("Heart of a Fool")
*
Jim Gilstrap
James Earl Gilstrap (born November 10, 1946)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American singer, considered one of the most prolific session musicians in the industry. He is best known for ...
- background vocals (“Runnin' Through the Jungle
hootin' the Blues
''Hootin' the Blues'' is a live album by the blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins, recorded in Philadelphia in 1962 and released on the Prestige Folklore label in 1964.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 ...
(“Still
Love You Still“ "Asi Te Amo")
* Salvador Hernandez - trumpet (“Still
Love You Still“ "Asi Te Amo")
* David J. Keyes - guitar (on “Ballad of the Hoodlum Priest“), background vocals, ("Asi Te Amo", "Still
Love You Still)
* Freddy Koella - guitar,
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 ...
,
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 ...
*
Brenda Lee
Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...
- vocals (“You’ll Never Know”)
* Hunter Lee -
penny whistle,
uilleann pipes
The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...
("Angels Don't Lie")
* Pete Magdelano - vocal effects (“Loup Garou ‘Bal Goula’”)
*
Siobhan Maher
Siobhan Maher Kennedy (born 11 January 1964) is an English singer and songwriter. She was the lead vocalist of the Liverpool-based band River City People during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band released two albums, '' Say Something Good'' ...
- background vocals ("Angels Don't Lie")
*
Brian Ray
Brian Thomas Ray (born January 4, 1955) is an American session musician, guitarist, bassist, singer–songwriter, and musical director. He is best known for his work as a bass, rhythm, and lead guitarist with Paul McCartney's touring band, ...
- guitar
* James Ross -
viola
The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...
(“My One Desire
ampire's Lullaby)
* John Philip Shenale - percussion,
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 ...
, background vocals,
optigan
The Optigan (a portmanteau of Optical Organ) is an electronic keyboard instrument designed for the consumer market. The name stems from the instrument's reliance on pre-recorded optical soundtracks to reproduce sound. Later versions (built under ...
*
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 ...
- guitar ("Heart of a Fool," "Runnin' Through the Jungle")
* Nancy Stein-Ross -
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...
(“My One Desire
ampire's Lullaby)
*
Efrain Toro - percussion,
shakuhachi
A is a Japanese and ancient Chinese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo.
The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the . ,
castanet
Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a similar ...
s, drums, clapping,
shaker,
güiro
The güiro () is a Puerto Rican percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a ratchet sound.
The güiro ...
,
wood clapper
*
Michael Urbano
Michael Urbano (born March 19, 1966 in Sacramento, California, USA) is a musician, programmer, and record producer.
Career
One of Urbano's first gigs was as a member of Bourgeois Tagg, a 1980s band that was fronted by Brent Bourgeois and Larr ...
- percussion, drums,
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 ...
,
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 ...
* Billy Valentine - background vocals
*
Wil Wheaton
Richard William Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film ''Stand by Me (film), Stand by Me'', Joey Trotta in '' ...
- background vocals
Production
*
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 ...
-
producer
* John Carter -
mixing ("Loop Garou 'Bal Goula,'" "Ballad of the Hoodlum Priest")
* John Hendrickson - assistant engineer (Schnee Studio)
* John Beverly Jones -
recording engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...
* Ray Kennedy - recording engineer
* Kirschstein and partner: cover design
* Pete Magdaleno - assistant engineer (Nut Ranch, Track Record)
* McDermott and McGough -
photography
Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...
* Raquella Rios -
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
coach
* Doug Saks –
mastering
*
Al Schmitt
Albert Harry Schmitt (April 17, 1930 – April 26, 2021) was an American recording engineer and record producer. He won twenty Grammy Awards for his work with Henry Mancini, Steely Dan, George Benson, Toto, Natalie Cole, Quincy Jones, and other ...
- mixing
* John Philip Shenale - producer
References
{{Authority control
1996 albums
Willy DeVille albums
East West Records albums