''Return to Magenta'', issued in 1978, is the second
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by the
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 ...
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, after ...
. The album was the last to feature all the original members of the band. For this album the band was joined by
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
member
Steve Douglas on sax and
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 t ...
on piano, who would later collaborate with leadsinger
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 ...
after his move to
.
''Return to Magenta'' continued in the vein of the first album, with a mixture of rock,
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 ...
,
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
, and Latin rhythms. It was produced by
Jack Nitzsche
Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spec ...
, who also co-wrote a song with DeVille ("Just Your Friends"). Willy DeVille said about ''
Cabretta
''Cabretta'', known as ''Mink DeVille'' in the United States, was the 1977 debut album by Mink DeVille. It peaked at number 186 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and was voted the 29th best album of 1977 in the ''Village Voices Pazz & Jop critics' po ...
,'' Mink DeVille's album prior to ''Return to Magenta,'' "We went against
strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
on the first album — decided it should be outright, raw, and rude." On ''Return to Magenta,'' however, Willy DeVille and producers Jack Nitzsche and Steve Douglas employed lavish string arrangements on several songs.
Willy DeVille sings a quasi-duet with singer-songwriter David Forman on the Forman-composed “’A’ Train Lady.” "Steady Drivin' Man" became a favorite of Willy DeVille fans; DeVille performed the song on his ''
Acoustic Trio Live in Berlin
''Acoustic Trio Live in Berlin'' is a 2002 album by Willy DeVille. The album consists of concert recordings made in Berlin to celebrate DeVille’s 25 years of performing, and concert recordings made in Stockholm. '' Buscadero'', the Italian music ...
'' 25 years after the original recording.
Reviews
Critic
Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
gave the album a C+, writing, “The main thing wrong with Willie DeVille is that he hasn't had a new idea since he decided he didn't like
acid
In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a sequ ...
in 1970. Even as the songpoet of
greaser nostalgia, he's got nothing to say..." Many reviewers believed that Mink DeVille's second album sounded too much like its first, and the band had not broken new ground (although Kid Leo, musical director of
WMMS
WMMS (100.7 FM) – branded ''100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard'' – is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, serving Greater Cleveland and much of surrounding Northeast Ohio. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock st ...
in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, ranked it as the eighth best rock album of all time.) ''Return to Magenta'' peaked at 126 on
Billboard's
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
Pop Albums chart.
Soundtracks
During the ''Return to Magenta'' recording sessions, the band recorded two songs for the background of
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...
's ''
Hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
'': "Easy Slider" and "Guardian Angel", three songs for the soundtrack of the movie ''
Cruising'': "Heat of the Moment", "Pullin' My String", and "It's So Easy." These songs were written by Willy DeVille and produced by Jack Nitzsche, who wrote the musical score for ''Cruising.'' The three songs appeared on the CD reissue of Willy DeVille's 1987 album ''
Miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
.'' "It's So Easy" is also on the soundtrack of
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...
's movie ''
Grindhouse: Death Proof.''
Other information
The song "Rolene" was written by
Moon Martin
John David "Moon" Martin (October 31, 1945 – May 11, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
Career
Born in Altus, Oklahoma, United States, Martin gained recognition in the 1970s as a pop artist and composer. Originally a rocka ...
, who also wrote "Cadillac Walk," a song on Mink DeVille's previous album, ''
Cabretta
''Cabretta'', known as ''Mink DeVille'' in the United States, was the 1977 debut album by Mink DeVille. It peaked at number 186 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart and was voted the 29th best album of 1977 in the ''Village Voices Pazz & Jop critics' po ...
.''
The album cover includes a quote (dated March 13, 1978) about the band by
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
member
Doc Pomus
Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall ...
, who would later co-write songs with Willy DeVille:
:Mink DeVille knows the truth of a city street and the courage in a ghetto love song. And the harsh reality in his voice and phrasing is yesterday, today, and tomorrow — timeless in the same way that loneliness, no money, and troubles find each other and never quit for a minute. But the fighters always have a shot at turning a corner, and if you holler loud enough, sometimes somebody hears you. And truth and love always separate the greats from the neverwases and neverwillbes.
DeVille said about the song "I Broke that Promise": "It's one of my favorite songs in that album. I keep it in the bag to do it. It has a good feeling because it says, 'I broke that promise that was so important to ''me''.' You can say 'I broke that promise that was so important to ''you'',' but it's even worse to break a promise that's only important to whoever made the promise."
Mink DeVille toured North America with
Elvis Costello
Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...
and
Nick Lowe
Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,[Boulevard de Magenta
The boulevard de Magenta is located in the Ninth and Tenth arrondissements of Paris, France.
It begins at place de la République and 1, rue Beaurepaire, and ends at 1, boulevard de Rochechouart and 53, boulevard de la Chapelle.
Etymology
...]
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, which may account for the album's name, ''Return to Magenta''."
Pianist Bobby Leonards said about ''Return to Magenta,'' "Willy had wanted to do an album much like the first one. He wanted to team up with Nitzsche to write some tunes, but Nitzsche wasn’t interested in doing that. All he wanted to do was produce. He was there to help. He didn’t actually say no. He said, 'Hey we’re wasting valuable time and you don’t have a lot of material. The record companies want you to produce a product every year, ten to twelve songs, but nobody writes that way. You do a record when you’ve got something. Don’t record unless you’re ready to record.'" He added, "I went back and erased most of my tracks, but some of mine are still on there.”
[Dussault, Colin (2004]
New York City + Mink Deville.
(Retrieved 7-20-08.)
Track listing
''Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.''
# “Guardian Angel” - 3:29
# “Soul Twist” - 2:32
# “’A’ Train Lady” (David Forman, David M. Levine) - 3:20
# “Rolene” (
John Martin) - 3:51
# “Desperate Days” - 2:49
# “Just Your Friends” (Willy DeVille,
Jack Nitzsche
Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spec ...
) - 2:11
# “Steady Drivin' Man” - 3:40
# “Easy Slider” - 3:53
# “I Broke That Promise” - 3:05
# “Confidence to Kill” (Robert Aherns,
Louis X. Erlanger
Louis X. Erlanger (born June 3, 1952, New York City) is an American rock and roll and blues guitarist best known for his work with the band Mink DeVille. Erlanger recorded three albums with the band: ''Cabretta'' (1977), ''Return to Magenta'' (19 ...
) - 1:53
Charts
Personnel
*Thomas R. "Manfred" Allen, Jr. –
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
*Max & Bees -
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 ...
*
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 ...
–
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 ...
,
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
, vocals
*
Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) –
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, 88s and reminiscent tonalities
*Cleon Douglas – background vocals
*
Steve Douglas –
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 ...
*
Louis X. Erlanger
Louis X. Erlanger (born June 3, 1952, New York City) is an American rock and roll and blues guitarist best known for his work with the band Mink DeVille. Erlanger recorded three albums with the band: ''Cabretta'' (1977), ''Return to Magenta'' (19 ...
– guitar, vocals
*David Forman – vocals, background vocals
*
Jackie Kelso
John Joseph Kelson Jr. (February 27, 1922 – April 28, 2012), known professionally as Jackie Kelso, was an American jazz saxophonist, flautist, and clarinetist.
Biography
Born in Los Angeles, California, Kelson was the eldest child of John Josep ...
– saxophone
*Bobby Leonards – piano,
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 ...
*Rubén Sigüenza – bass
Production
*Ken Anderson - design
*
Steve Douglas –
producer
Producer or producers may refer to:
Occupations
*Producer (agriculture), a farm operator
*A stakeholder of economic production
*Film producer, supervises the making of films
**Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...
*Mark Howlett -
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, ...
,
mixing
*Roy Kohara -
art direction
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...
*Duana Lemay - cover photo
*Brian D. McLaughlin - liner photos
*
Jack Nitzsche
Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spec ...
-
arranger
In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...
, producer
*Ken Perry -
mastering
*Larry "Lord Logar" Rosen -
road
A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation.
There are many types of ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Return To Magenta
1978 albums
Mink DeVille albums
Albums produced by Jack Nitzsche
Capitol Records albums