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1995 live album by Willy DeVille From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Big Easy Fantasy is an album by Willy DeVille and the Mink DeVille Band. It was released in Europe on the French New Rose label in 1995. The album is a mixture of studio tracks and concert recordings made in New York and Paris. The "big easy" of the album's title refers to New Orleans. As the album cover says, the inspiration for the album was "Jump City, the Crescent City, the city that care forgot, New Orleans...The Big Easy!" All songs on the album are standards by New Orleans musicians or are original compositions by Willy DeVille about some aspect of New Orleans.
| Big Easy Fantasy | ||||
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | October 31, 1995 | |||
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| Genre | R&B, Soul, Blues, Creole | |||
| Length | 48:34 | |||
| Label | New Rose (France) | |||
| Producer | Philippe Rault Carlo Ditta Dr. John Willy DeVille | |||
| Willy DeVille chronology | ||||
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In the mid-1990s, Willy DeVille did not have a recording contract with an American label, but he was very popular in Europe in the wake of his successful 1992 "New Orleans Revue" tour of the continent and his 1993 European tour with the Mink DeVille Band (which resulted in 1993's Willy DeVille Live.) The "New Orleans Revue" came about after DeVille recorded Victory Mixture, a tribute album of cover versions of New Orleans R&B and soul songs. The Revue comprised Willy DeVille, The Mink DeVille Band, and guest musicians Dr John, Johnny Adams, Zachary Richard, and The Wild Magnolias. DeVille said about the tour, "The travel, buses, and planes and the accommodations had to be some of the worst I've ever experienced, but the shows themselves were great. At the end of each show we'd throw Mardi Gras rows out to the audience, you know strands of purple and gold beads, and they'd never seen anything like it and they loved it.”[1]
Big Easy Fantasy presents live recordings of The Mink DeVille Band playing with New Orleans legends Eddie Bo and The Wild Magnolias; some remixes from the Victory Mixture sessions; and "Voodoo Charm," a cut previously heard on 1992's Backstreets of Desire album. "Teasing You," "Beating Like a Tom-Tom," and ”Who Shot the La-La” are also on the Victory Mixture album, but have slightly different horn arrangements and background vocals. "Just Off Decatur Street," recorded during the Victory Mixture sessions and remixed later on, appears only on Big Easy Fantasy.
Trouser Press called the album "another successful exploration of New Orleans' musical heritage; the re-energized DeVille holds his own while sharing the stage and the spotlight with an even more impressive array of Crescent City luminaries."[2] Randy Krbechek said about Big Easy Fantasy, "For my money, I'd have released this album as either an all-live set, or an all-studio recording. However, I'm not complaining too loudly—DeVille's a great talent, and any serving from him is richly welcomed."[3]
The album includes a booklet with information about when cover songs were initially recorded and who played on each song.
Remixing of songs from the Victory Mixture sessions was done at the Westlake Studio in Los Angeles in August, 1995. DeVille began working on his next album, Loup Garou, later that year in Los Angeles.
Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.
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