Director Joseph manages to find a balance of cutting between individual players to break up the monotony of flat shooting and never getting to spend enough time with each individual. He never allows his desire to create movement become a distraction, only an enhancement.
Prior to the concert starting, you hear a voiceover of Willy talking about why he does what he does. He says that he never got into it for money, or fame, or the chicks, but for the love of performing the music. In one of the special feature interviews, Boris Kinberg, his drummer of some twenty years, says that there is no difference between Willy on stage and Willy off stage. He doesn't leave the street or the day behind him when he comes on stage because everything affects him and, by extension, his music.
When you listen to him sing anything from his bluesy tribute to Muddy Waters, "Muddy Waters rose Out Of The Mississippi Mud", to the very Spanish "Come A Little Bit Closer", or the classics "Cadillac Walk" and "Savoir Faire," you have no doubt in your mind that he's right where he should be and doing what he is supposed to be doing.
He can lift your spirits high with his lust for life, exuberance, and sense of humour. His cover of the Hendrix classic "Hey Joe" is truly inspired. But he can break your heart with the emotional truths on songs like "Crow Jane Alley" and "Cry To Me". That's part of DeVille's brilliance, emotional truth. There's nothing artificial about that voice, those eyes, or that laugh. You know he's been to the places and felt the feelings he sings about, if not physically, at least emotionally.
As this was part of his tour to promote his 2005 release of the disc Crow Jane Alley, don't come looking to this for a collection of only older material. Sure there are some from the days of Mink DeVille, but this is no old-artist “look at what I've done in the past” tour. This is a man who is not willing to stay still and stagnate in his past but wants to keep moving forward, constantly doing different material and exploring their emotional depths.
Article comments
1 - Paul J. Marasa
Thanks for the heads-up on the DeVille DVD. I haven't bought any of his music since vinyl ruled the world, but a month doesn't go by that I don't think of that voice, that deep sound. I think of him in the same world as Southside Johnny and Springsteen, mournful/joyful NJ/NY stalwarts who showed up as I was leaving high school and trying to figure out the kind of adult I wanted to be. Their music gave me a little piece of what I needed back then--and still do, and always. Thanks again; you made me want to do the Spanish stroll back into this under-appreciated soul-filled singer's work. Keep the faith.
2 - tink
I totally agree with Paul. This is now at the top of my 'must have' list.