''Pistola'' is the last 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 ...

, released on Mardis Gras day 2008 as a nod to DeVille's musical roots in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. The album was recorded in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

with

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, ...

, Lon Price,

The Valentine Brothers The Valentine Brothers were an American recording act in the late 1970s and 1980s, comprising brothers John and William "Billy" Valentine. One of their biggest hits, as singers and songwriters, was "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)", which reache ...

, and other musicians who had played with DeVille for years. For this album, DeVille borrowed bassist

Davey Faragher David Allen "Davey" Faragher (born August 18, 1957) is an American bass guitarist from Redlands, California. Faragher's career took off and received critical notice as a founding member of the nineties band Cracker, and his subsequent work with ...

and drummer Pete Thomas from Elvis Costello's

backup band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such a ...

, the Imposters (DeVille's band

Mink DeVille Mink DeVille was a rock band founded in 1974, known for its association with early punk rock bands at New York's CBGB nightclub and for being a showcase for the music of Willy DeVille. The band recorded six albums in the years 1977 to 1985, afte ...

toured with Elvis Costello in 1978).

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 ...

produced the album, his fourth production effort for Willy DeVille. Said DeVille about his choice of titles for the album: "I wanted (the album) to sound like those old cowboy movies ... ''Pis''–''to''–''la'': the sound has that feel of the western, and something hot too. An exciting sound, just like what I hope the music will be for people."

Reviews

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

said about ''Pistola,'' "DeVille's louche fusion of rock 'n' roll,

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United ...

and country styles has matured with age, and his most recent work is among the finest of his recording career." '' Spin'' said that the album "sees (Willy DeVille) continue his successful partnership with producer

. The new album finds him once again creating his unique mixture of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

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 atte ...

, R&B, blues and

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 ...

with articulate lyrics and Willy's distinctive vocal style." ''Independent Music'' said about the album:

(Willy DeVille) ... has never been more artistically potent than on ''Pistola'', confronting the demons of his past with an impressive lyrical honesty and unexpectedly diverse musical imagination. DeVille’s beloved
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

provides the touchstone for most of the album: the ex-addiction anthem "Been There Done That," for instance, is couched in infectious clavinet funk, while "You Got The World In Your Hands" sounds like
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 ...
covering
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 ...
's "Gris-Gris." Elsewhere, there are echoes of the Stones, Springsteen and "
Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...
"—all this, and a great version of Paul Siebel's classic "Louise" too. Who would have thought it?Gill, Andy (January 24, 2008
"Willy DeVille: Pistola."
''
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 publish ...
''. (Retrieved 2-4-08.)

''Leap in the Dark'' praised the album's bold originality: "''Pistola'' is not the type of album you'd expect from as established a performer as Willy DeVille. Most people at his stage in their careers wouldn't be taking the risk of including pieces as unconventional as 'Mountains of Manhattan' and 'Stars that Speak,' but Willy has always marched to the beat of his own drummer. It's that willingness to take risks that keeps his music fresh and alive, and the ten songs on ''Pistola'' are no exception." Andrew Carver said, "DeVille ... is one of those rare artists who seem to have dragged their prime years across the decades, and ''Pistola'' is another triumph of experience."

Other information

Critic Thom Jurek said about the song "The Stars that Speak,"This track succeeds in summing up DeVille’s entire mythology and professional persona in lyric form; it is read in his trademark smooth-whiskey-meets-cigarette-smoke voice. It reveals, just under the surface, not only the promise of dim lights, perfume, mystery, and sweat-stained sheets, but a figure whose most prominent feature is the outline of a human heart, cracked and broken over and again, who remains resolute in the notion that love prevails."Jurek, Thom (August 10, 2009
"Willy DeVille, RIP: Remembering an American Original."The Allmusic Blog
(Retrieved 8-14-09.)

Track listing

''Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.'' # "So So Real" – 4:16 #*

on lead vocals, Josh Sklair on acoustic and electric guitars, Pete Thomas on drums and percussion,

on bass and

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 ...

on piano and

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

# "Been There Done That" – 4:09 #* Willy DeVille on lead vocals and background vocals; Josh Sklair on electric guitars; Pete Thomas on drums and percussion; Davey Faragher on bass; John Philip Shenale on clavinet, synths, and percussion; Lee Thornburg 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 ...

; Andrew Lippman on

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

# "When I Get Home" – 3:21 #* Willy DeVille on lead vocal;

on acoustic guitar,

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 ...

, and strumstick; John Philip Shenale on

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 ...

and orchestra bell; Davey Faragher on background vocals # "Louise" ( Paul Siebel) – 3:54 #*

on lead vocals, Brian Ray on acoustic and electric guitars, Pete Thomas on drums, Davey Faragher on bass and background vocals, John Philip Shenale on piano, Chris Lawrence on pedal steel guitar # "The Band Played On" – 4:42 #* Willy DeVille on lead vocal, Brian Ray on acoustic and electric guitars, Pete Thomas on drums, Davey Faragher on bass, John Philip Shenale on piano and percussion, Lon Price on clarinet, Lee Thornburg on trumpet, Andrew Lippman on trombone, Billy Valentine on background vocals, John Valentine on background vocals, Charles Valentino on background vocals # "You Got the World in Your Hands" – 4:04 #* Willy DeVille on lead vocals and background vocals; Josh Sklair on electric guitars; Pete Thomas on drums and percussion; Davey Faragher on bass; John Philip Shenale on Wurly, synths, and percussion; Amanda Dumas on background vocals; Marta Woodhull on background vocals # "I Remember the First Time" – 4:08 #* Willy DeVille on lead vocal; Josh Sklair on acoustic and electric guitars; Pete Thomas on drums and percussion; Davey Faragher on bass; John Philip Shenale on piano, synths, and percussion; Billy Valentine on background vocals; John Valentine on background vocals; Charles Valentino on background vocals # "Stars that Speak" – 5:19 #* Willy DeVille on lead vocal and slide guitar; John Philip Shenale on piano, Chamberlin, synths, and percussion # "I'm Gonna Do Something the Devil Never Did" – 5:45 #* Willy DeVille on lead vocal; Brian Ray on electric guitars; Pete Thomas on drums and percussion; Davey Faragher on bass; John Philip Shenale on

fortepiano A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...

, synths, and percussion; Billy Valentine on background vocals; John Valentine on background vocals; Charles Valentino on background vocals # "The Mountains of Manhattan" – 3:42 #* Willy DeVille on lead vocal and wooden flute, Pete Thomas on percussion, John Philip Shenale on percussion

Personnel

– wooden flute, slide guitar, vocals * Amanda Dumas –

– bass, background vocals * Chris Lawrence – pedal steel guitar * Andrew Lippman –

* Lon Price – clarinet,

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

– guitar, strumstick,

–

, clavinet,

, orchestra bell, percussion, piano, synthesizer,

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

* Josh Sklair – guitar * Pete Thomas – drums, percussion * Lee Thornburg –

* The Valentine Brothers – background vocals ** Billy Valentine ** Charles Valentine * Charles Valentino – background vocals * Marta Woodhull – background vocals

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 * William Coupon –

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 employe ...

– producer * Stuart Green – design * Ron McMaster – mastering ( Capitol Records, Hollywood) * John Philip Shenale – arrangements, producer, engineering, mixing

References

{{Authority control 2008 albums Willy DeVille albums