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Return to Magenta
Return to Magenta
Return to Magenta
Studio album by Willy DeVille\ Mink DeVille Released Recorded 1978 Columbia Recording Studios, New York Sound Factory West, Los Angeles R&B, Rock, Soul, Blues 30:43 Capitol Jack Nitzsche Steve Douglas
it should be outright, raw, and rude."[1] 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 25 years after the original recording.
Reviews
Critic Robert Christgau 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 1970. Even as the songpoet of greaser nostalgia, he’s got nothing to say..."[2] 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 in Cleveland, ranked it as the eighth best rock album of all time.)[3] Return to Magenta peaked at 126 on Billboard’s Pop Albums chart.[4]
Genre Length Label Producer
Professional reviews • Allmusic Link
Willy DeVille\ Mink DeVille chronology Cabretta/Mink Deville (1977) Return to Magenta (1978) Le Chat Bleu (1980)
Return to Magenta, issued in 1978, is the second album by the rock band Mink DeVille. 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 member Steve Douglas on sax and, on piano, Dr. John, who would later collaborate with leadsinger Willy DeVille after his move to New Orleans. Return to Magenta continued in the vein of the first album, with a mixture of rock, soul, blues, and Latin rhythms. It was produced by Jack Nitzsche, who also co-wrote a song with DeVille ("Just Your Friends"). Willy DeVille said about Cabretta, Mink DeVille’s album prior to Return to Magenta, "We went against strings on the first album — decided
Songs for the Cruising (and Grindhouse: Death Proof) Soundtrack
During the Return to Magenta recording sessions, the band recorded 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. "It’s So Easy" is also on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino’s movie Grindhouse: Death Proof.
Other Information
The song "Rolene" was written by Moon Martin, who also wrote "Cadillac Walk," a
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Return to Magenta
song on Mink DeVille’s previous album, 1. “Guardian Angel” - 3:29 Cabretta. 2. “Soul Twist” - 2:32 The album cover includes a quote (dated 3. “’A’ Train Lady” (David Forman, Duke March 13, 1978) about the band by Rock and Levine) - 3:20 Roll Hall of Fame member Doc Pomus, who 4. “Rolene” (John Martin) - 3:51 would later co-write songs with Willy DeVille: 5. “Desperate Days” - 2:49 Mink DeVille knows the truth of a city 6. “Just Your Friends” (Willy DeVille, Jack street and the courage in a ghetto love Nitzsche) - 2:11 song. And the harsh reality in his voice 7. “Steady Drivin’ Man” - 3:40 and phrasing is yesterday, today, and 8. “Easy Slider” - 3:53 tomorrow — timeless in the same way 9. “I Broke That Promise” - 3:05 that loneliness, no money, and troubles 10. “Confidence to Kill” (R. Aherns, Louis X. find each other and never quit for a Erlanger) - 1:53 minute. But the fighters always have a shot at turning a corner, and if you holler loud enough, sometimes somebody hears • Thomas R. "Manfred" Allen, Jr. – drums you. And truth and love always separate • Max & Bees - background vocals the greats from the neverwases and • Willy DeVille – guitar, harmonica, vocals neverwillbes. • Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) – piano, 88s DeVille said about the song "I Broke that and reminiscent tonalities Promise": "It’s one of my favorite songs in • Cleon Douglas – background vocals that album. I keep it in the bag to do it. It has • Steve Douglas – saxophone a good feeling because it says, ’I broke that • Louis X. Erlanger – guitar, vocals promise that was so important to me.’ You • David Forman – vocals, background vocals can say ’I broke that promise that was so im• Jackie Kelso – saxophone portant to you,’ but it’s even worse to break a • Bobby Leonards – piano, keyboards promise that’s only important to whoever • Rubén Sigüenza – bass made the promise."[5] Mink DeVille toured North America with Production Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe after this album • Ken Anderson - design came out. • Steve Douglas – producer Willy DeVille lived for a time on Magenta • Mark Howlett - recording engineer, Boulevard in Paris, which may account for mixing the album’s name, Return to Magenta."[6] • Roy Kohara - art direction Pianist Bobby Leonards said about Return • Duana Lemay - cover photo to Magenta, "Willy had wanted to do an al• Brian D. McLaughlin - liner photos bum much like the first one. He wanted to • Jack Nitzsche - arranger, producer team up with Nitzsche to write some tunes, • Ken Perry - mastering but Nitzsche wasn’t interested in doing that. • Larry "Lord Logar" Rosen - road 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 • Mink DeVille companies want you to produce a product • Willy DeVille every year, ten to twelve songs, but nobody • Willy DeVille discography 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 [1] Rhodes, Dusti (1978) “Issue 13: Mink mine are still on there.”[7] DeVille: Smooth Running Caddy: The
Personnel
See also
References
Track listing
Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.
Tale of the Mink.” Rock Around the World. (Retrieved 1-29-08.) [2] Christgau, Robert (1978) Mink DeVille Consumer Reviews. (Retrieved 3-16-08.)
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[3] Baker, Glenn A. (1987) "Individual Critics Top 10s." The World Critics Lists ~ 1987. (Retrieved 3-16-08.) [4] Editors (2006) Allmusic: Return to Magenta. (Retrieved 8-19-08.) [5] Editors (1994) “ Interview: Concierto Básico.” Canal magazine. (Retrieved 3-9-08.)
Return to Magenta
[6] See Laura Rangel (1993) Interviews: King Creole. Willy DeVille: Spanish Stroll. Said Willy DeVille, "I have une histoire d’amour with Paris... I’ve lived in Paris, on Magenta Boulevard." (Retrieved 1-29-08.) [7] Dussault, Colin (2004) New York City + Mink Deville. Tiffany Shade.com. (Retrieved 7-20-08.)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_to_Magenta" Categories: 1978 albums, Mink DeVille albums, Willy DeVille albums, Albums produced by Jack Nitzsche This page was last modified on 23 April 2009, at 22:36 (UTC). All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details.) Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) taxdeductible nonprofit charity. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers
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