Backstreets of Desire

Infobox Album
Name = Backstreets of Desire
Type = studio
Artist = Willy DeVille


Released = October 10, 1992 (Europe)
1994 (United States)
Recorded = Hot Tin Roof, North Hollywood
The Nut Ranch, Studio City
Ocean Way, Hollywood
One on One, North Hollywood
Pacifique, North Hollywood
Track Record, North Hollywood
Genre = Rock, Soul, Blues, Mariachi, Doo-Wop
Length = 57:16
Label = FNAC (France)
Rhino (Forward Records) (United States)
Producer = John Philip Shenale
Willy DeVille
Dr. John
Philippe Rault
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://wm04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:difqxqrhldse link]
Last album = "Victory Mixture"
(1990)
This album = "Backstreets of Desire"
(1992)
Next album = "Willy DeVille Live"
(1993)

"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 Richard, Jim Gilstrap, Freebo, Efrain Toro, and Jimmy Zavala.

A novel mariachi version of the Jimi Hendrix standard “Hey Joe” was a hit in Europe. “I did a version of ‘Hey Joe’ in mariachi-style,” DeVille told Sheila Rene. “I talk through the lyrics. It was a big hit for me in Europe—number one in Spain and France.” [Rene, Sheila (1996) [http://freenet-homepage.de/willydeville/interview.htm “Interview with Willy DeVille.”] Willy DeVille fan page. (Retrieved 2-2-08.)] DeVille brought in Los Camperos de Nati Cano to play on "Hey Joe."

Reviews

Trouser Press said about the album, “"Backstreets of Desire" skillfully draws on DeVille's prior genre explorations to create music that's wholly contemporary while remaining true to the artist's original vision.” [ Editors (2006) [http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=mink_deville “Mink Deville/Willy Deville.”] [http://trouserpress.com/ Trouser Press.] (Retrieved 2-2-08.)]

Allmusic said, "Willy DeVille's "Backstreets of Desire" stands tall as his masterpiece as both a singer and a songwriter. DeVille's considerable reputation in Paris buoyed him up to make this disc... With guest spots by Dr. John, Zachary Richard, and David Hidalgo, DeVille creates a tapestry of roots rock and Crescent City second line, traces of '50s doo-wop, and elegant sweeping vistas of Spanish soul balladry, combined with lyrics full of busted-down heroes, hungry lovers, and wise men trying to get off the street. The sound of the album balances Creole soul and pure rock pyrotechnics. DeVille sounds like a man resurrected, digging as deep as the cavernous recesses of the human heart…" [Jurek, Thom (2007) [http://wm04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:difqxqrhldse “Review: Backstreets of Desire.”] [http://wm01.allmusic.com/ All Music Guide] . (Retrieved 2-2-08.)]

Randy Krbechek called "Backsteets of Desire" a "gem of an album just waiting to be found." He added, "When I first heard this album, I thought 'Wow, John Mellencamp remembered how to sing.' Gail thinks it sounds like The Boss. Cheryl thinks it sounds like vintage Bowie. There are also occasional echoes of Pere Ubu. It doesn't matter. The result is one great, driving rock and roll record — the kind of disk that ought to scale the charts." [Krbechek, Randy (September 8, 1993) [http://www.cdshakedown.com/090893.htm "Backstreets of Desire."] [http://www.cdshakedown.com/ CD Shakedown.] (Retrieved on 3-8-08.)]

Background and Production

The album was initially released in Europe in 1992 on the French FNAC label; it was released in the United States in 1994 on Rhino's Forward Records label. The album sold well in Europe, but DeVille complained that Rhino did not do enough to promote the album in the United States: "It's really a dumb-ass label. You have to be dead to sell records on that label—black, crippled and blind. Anyway, 'Hey Joe' was too violent for them. This is at the time when all those rap records were getting attention and they were really violent. They're just full of bullshit." [Rene, Sheila (1996) [http://freenet-homepage.de/willydeville/interview.htm “Interview with Willy DeVille.”] Willy DeVille fan page. (Retrieved 2-2-08.)]

Dr. John produced "Voodoo Charm" and "Jump City"; Philippe Rault produced "Hey Joe"; and John Philip Shenale and Willy DeVille produced the other songs. This was the first time DeVille worked with Shenale, who would later produce several of his albums. DeVille said about Shenale in 2008::What's great about Phil is he always hears the sound I want to create, and knows how to bring out the best in me in the studio. He's not some hard ass or anything like that, yelling at you, but he keeps it together and makes it work... (Shenale) knows what I want to create — he comes up with ideas that help make the sound right.

:There was this one song — it was on "Backstreets of Desire" I think — where he took a Baby Grand piano, a really good one right, and took the lid off and played on the wires with drum sticks because he knew that was the way to get the sound we needed for the song. He doesn't say, "This is what it has to sound like" or make it into his sound. It's all about finding the sound, or really knowing what I'm hearing inside my head almost, and helping me make it happen. [Marcus, Richard (March 5, 2008) [http://blogs.epicindia.com/leapinthedark/2008/03/interview_willy_deville_decemb.html "Interview Willy DeVille - December 2007."] [http://blogs.epicindia.com/leapinthedark/ Leap in the Dark (a blog).] (Retrieved 3-16-08.)]

Other Information

"Backstreets of Desire" is dedicated to Doc Pomus, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songwriter with whom DeVille wrote songs for his "Le Chat Bleu" and "Sportin' Life" albums. The dedication reads: "Dedicated to the memory and inspiration that Doc Pomus freely gave to me and all music from his heart. His influence will forever be engraved in my soul." Pomus died in 1991, the year before "Backstreets of Desire" was recorded.

The song "Chemical Warfare" is dedicated to Johnny Thunders, the New York Dolls guitarist whom DeVille knew from his days playing Max's Kansas City in the mid-1970s and who died of a heroin overdose in New Orleans in 1991 in a hotel near DeVille's apartment in the French Quarter. DeVille was one of the first to discover the body. ["See" McNeil, Legs and Gilliam McCain (2006) "Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk." New York: Grove Press; and "Born to Lose," the documentary about Thunders, which includes interviews with DeVille. DeVille said about Thurders' death in "Please Kill Me": "I don't know how the word got out that I lived next door, but all of a sudden the phone started ringing and ringing. "Rolling Stone" was calling, the "Village Voice" called, his family called, and then his guitar player called. I felt bad for all of them. It was a tragic end, and I mean, he went out in a blaze of glory, ha ha ha. So I thought I might as well make it look real good, you know, out of respect, so I just told everybody that when Johnny died he was laying down on the floor with his guitar in his hands. I made that up. When he came out of the St. Peter's Guest House, rigor mortis had set in to such an extent that his body was in a U shape. When you're laying on the floor in a fetal position, doubled over — well, when the body bag came out, it was in a U. It was pretty awful."]

DeVille originally made "I Call Your Name" during recording sessions for his 1987 album "Miracle" (the song appeared on a CD single with the song "Miracle"; Polyldor POCD 891). For "Backstreets of Desire", he recorded another, more lush, string-arranged version of the song.

The song "Voodoo Charm" is also on DeVille's 1995 album "Big Easy Fantasy."

Fourteen-year-old Tamera and Tia Mowry, future stars of the TV show Sister, Sister, sang background vocals on "Chemical Warfare."

Track listing

"Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille."
# “Empty Heart” - 4:36
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals; John Philip Shenale on keyboards, sythensizer, percussion; Brian Ray on guitars; Dennis Fongheiser on drums"
# “All in the Name of Love” - 3:35
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals, John Philip Shenale on keyboards; Brian Ray on guitars; Reggie McBride on bass; Dennis Fongheiser on drums; Billy Valentine, John Valentine, Willy DeVille on background vocals"
# “Lonely Hunter” - 4:06
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals; Freddy Koella on guitar, mandolin, violin; Reggie McBride on bass; Efrain Toro on shaker; Dennis Fongheiser on drums; Billy Valentine, Willy DeVille on background vocals"
# “Even While I Sleep” - 4:30
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals; David Hidalgo on accordion; John Philip Shenale on piano, sythensizer, percussion; Brian Ray on guitars; Reggie McBride on bass; Efrain Toro on percussion; Dennis Fongheiser on drums"
# “Voodoo Charm” - 4:11
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals; Dr. John on piano, synthesizer; Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on guitar; Reggie McBride on bass; Luis Conte on percussion; Fred Staehle on drums, wingertree; Steve Madaio on trumpet; Lon Price on tenor sax; Joel Peskin on baritone saxophone; John "Streamline" Ewing on trombone; Freebo on tuba; Bonnie Sheridan on voodoo queen background vocal"
# “Come to Poppa” – (Willie Mitchell, Earl Randall) - 4:33
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals; John Philip Shenale on piano, percussion; Brian Ray on guitars; Reggie McBride on bass; Dennis Fongheiser on drums; Efrian Toro on congos; Jimmy Z (Jimmy Zavala) on harmonica"
# “Chemical Warfare” - 4:18
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals; John Philip Shenale on synthesizers, percussion; Brian Ray on guitars, Dennis Fongheiser on drums; Efrian Toro on congos; Jimmy Z on harmonica; Quincy McCrary, Elizabeth Moss, Tamera Mowry, Tia Mowry on background vocals"
# “Hey Joe” – (Billy Roberts) - 4:14
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals, Los Camperos de Nati Cano, Efrian Toro on pecussion"
# “I Call Your Name” - 4:33
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals; John Philip Shenale on piano, strings, percussion; Freddy Koella on guitar; Reggie McBride on bass; Dennis Fongheiser on drums, percussion"
# “I Can Only Give You Everything” - 4:56
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals; John Philip Shenale on keyboards, percussion; Freddy Koella on guitar; Reggie McBride on bass; Dennis Fongheiser on drums; Billy Valentine on background vocals"
# “Jump City” - 5:00
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals; Dr. John on piano, synthesizer; Jeff "Skunk" Baxter on guitar; Reggie McBride on bass; Luis Conte on percussion; Fred Staehle on drums, wingertree; Steve Madaio on trumpet; Lon Price on tenor sax; Joel Peskin on baritone saxophone; John "Streamline" Ewing on trombone; Freebo on tuba; Lost Angels of the Vieux Carré on background vocals"
# “Bamboo Road” - 5:05
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals, slide guitar; Zachary Richard on accordion; Freddy Koella on mandolin; Reggie McBride on acoustic bass; John Philip Shenale on percussion; Dennis Fongheiser on percussion; Willy DeVille, Billy Valentine, John Valentine, Jim Gilstrap on background vocals"
# “All in the Name of Love (Salvation Army Version)” - 3:39
#* "Willy DeVille on vocals; John Philip Shenale on percussion and all other instruments; Willy DeVille, Billy Valentine, The Lost Angels Band of Salvation Choir on background vocals"

Personnel

* Jeff "Skunk" Baxter - guitar ("Jump City," "Voodoo Charm")
* Children's Choir ("Chemical Warfare")
** Quincy McCrary
** Elizabeth Moss
** Tamera Mowry
** Tia Mowry
** Marta Woodhull (dir)
* Luis Conte - percussion ("Jump City," "Voodoo Charm")
* Willy DeVille - vocals, slide guitar
* Dr. John - synthesizer, piano, horn arrangements ("Jump City," "Voodoo Charm")
* John "Streamline" Ewing - trombone ("Jump City," "Voodoo Charm")
* Dennis Fongheiser - percussion, drums
* Freebo - tuba ("Jump City," "Voodoo Charm")
* Jim Gilstrap - background vocals ("Bamboo Road")
* David Hidalgo - accordion ("Even While I Sleep")
* Freddy Koella - guitar, mandolin, violin
* Lost Angels Band of Salvation Choir - background vocals
* The Lost Angels of the Vieux Carre - background vocals
* Steve Madaio - trumpet ("Jump City")
* Los Camperos de Nati Cano ("Hey Joe")
** Victor Manuel Villa - violin, arranger
** Juan Jose Almaguer - violin, gritos
** Jesús Guzmán - violin, gritos
** Juan Morales - guitar
** Luis Damian - vihuela
** Jose Arellano - guitarrón
** Carlos "Gudino" Jimenez - trumpet
* Reggie McBride - bass, fretless bass
* Joel Peskin - baritone saxophone ("Jump City," "Voodoo Charm")
* Lon Price - saxophone ("Jump City," "Voodoo Charm")
* Brian Ray - guitar
* Zachary Richard - accordion ("Bamboo Road")
* John Philip Shenale - synthesizer, percussion, piano, strings, keyboards
* Bonnie Sheridan - background vocals ("Voodoo Charm")
* Fred Staehle - drums, wingertree
* Efrain Toro - percussion, conga, sound effects, shaker
* The Valentine Brothers - background vocals
** Billy Valentine
** John Valentine
* Jimmy Z (Jimmy Zavala) - harmonica ("Come to Poppa")

Production

* Ken Allardyce - assistant engineer (Ocean Way)
* John Carter - recording engineer
* Willy DeVille - producer
* Dr. John - producer ("Voodoo Charm," "Jump City")
* Dave Lopez - assistant engineer (One on One)
* John Lowson - assistant engineer (Hot Tin Roof)
* Pete Magdeleno - assistant engineer (Track Record)
* Mark McKenna – mixing ("Chemical Warfare")
* Elli Medeiros – cover design
* Philippe Rault - executive producer
* Doug Rider - recording engineer ("Hey Joe", "Jump City," "Voodoo Charm")
* Sean Rowbottom - assistant engineer (Pacifique)
* Doug Saks – mastering
* Rocky Schenk – photographer
* Al Schmitt – mixing
* John Philip Shenale - producer

References