Crow Jane Alley

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Crow Jane Alley
Crow Jane Alley cover
Studio album by Willy DeVille
Released September 21, 2004
Recorded Nut Ranch, Studio City
Cerrillos Hills, New Mexico
Mayflower Hotel, New York
Genre R&B, Soul, Blues, Latin
Length 35:07
Label Eagle
Producer Willy DeVille
John Philip Shenale
Professional reviews

All Music Guide 3.5/5 stars link
Willy DeVille chronology
Acoustic Trio Live in Berlin
(2002)		 Crow Jane Alley
(2004)		 Pistola
(2008)

Crow Jane Alley is an album by Willy DeVille. It was recorded in 2004 in Los Angeles. For this album, DeVille was joined by members of the Chicano rock band Quetzal, David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, and Peruvian Afro-Cuban jazz drummer Alex Acuña, among other prominent musicians. Crow Jane Alley was produced by John Philip Shenale, the third album Shenale produced for DeVille.

Contents

[edit] Reviews

Trouser Press 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's "Slave to Love" and Jay and the Americans' "Come a Little Bit Closer" bring their own drama and gravity to the material, while such homemade numbers as the convincingly authentic mojo-wielding "Muddy Waters 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.[1]

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.[2]

All Music Guide 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."[3]

Uncut 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/Captain Beefheart-style Muddy Waters tribute and the dreary "Slave To Love" apart, a welcome slice of swamp-pop heaven."[4]

[edit] Track listing

Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.

  1. "Chieva" - 4:40
  2. "Right There, Right Then" - 4:24
  3. "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, tarima; Alex Acuña on castanets, tambourine stick
  4. "My Forever Came Today" - 4:15
    • Willy DeVille on vocals; John Philip Shenale on Chamberlin piano, loops, strings; Josh Sklair on guitars; David Keyes on bass; Joey Waronker on drums, Billy Valentine, John Valentine on background vocals
  5. "Crow Jane Alley" - 3:16
  6. "Muddy Waters 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
  7. "Come a Little Bit Closer" (Wes Farrell, Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart) - 3:25
    • Willy DeVille on vocals, background vocals; Lenin García on acoustic guitar (intro), arrangements; Martin “El Animas” Lara on trumpets; Martin "Baby Face" Arellano on guitar, vihuela; Diego "La Empanada" Arellano on guitarrón; J. Mario “El Mono” Rodriguez on violins; Alex Acuña on cowbell, güiro; Billy Valentine, John Valentine on background vocals
  8. "Slave to Love" (Brian Ferry) - 4:31
    • Willy DeVille on vocals, background vocals; John Philip Shenale on piano, synthesizer, loops, samplers; Josh Sklair on guitar, energy bow; David Keyes on bass; Joey Waronker on drums; Billy Valentine, John Valentine on background vocals
  9. "(Don't Have A) Change of Heart" - 2:28
    • Willy DeVille on vocals, background vocals; John Philip Shenale on Hammond chord organ, Marxophone, percussion; Michael Starr on mandolin, strumstick, violin
  10. "Trouble Comin' Everyday in a World Gone Wrong" - 6:07
    • Willy DeVille on vocals; Josh Sklair on Fender Telecaster, Trussart “gator”; John Philip Shenale on Wurlitzer e. piano and Sideman, loops; David Keyes on bass; Joey Waronker on drums, coin drum; Hook Herrera on harmonica, Alex Acuña on maracas

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Production

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Editors (2006) “Mink Deville/Willy Deville.” Trouser Press.
  2. ^ Marcus, Richard (June 24, 2006) “CD Review: Crow Jane Alley Willy DeVille.” Leap in the Dark (Blog).
  3. ^ Viglione, Joe (2007) “Review: Crow Jane Alley.” All Music Guide.
  4. ^ Editors, "Willy DeVille: Crow Jane Alley." Uncut. (Retrieved 3-25-08.)