Mink De Ville: Cadillac Walk: The Mink De Ville Collection

 

Before Bruce Springsteen, for me, for a few months, was Mink De Ville. 

I first heard him with the Spanish Stroll single in 1977 which was his first (and only) hit. Springsteen was still something of an unknown quantity to teenagers such as myself back then so this sharp-suited American with a Lou Reed-style voice fitted the bill perfectly as many of us who, despite loving the energy and anger of punk, were still ripe for the picking for the more melodic, poppy but credible, street-wise strains of "new wave". Coming out of New York's CBGB's venue were Blondie, Mink De Ville and The Ramones (who, despite their obvious punkiness, had a real love for sixties bubblegum pop). 

I loved the whole "West Side Story" image of Willy De Ville, the tough but tender image and the saxophone-driven, soulful rock that his excellent band played. Springsteen would be along in a few months for me to take that much further, but, first of all, it was Willy De Ville that filled that rôle. I thought he was impossibly cool and I let everyone know, also taking to wearing pencil-thin ties and a pair of turquoise winkle-picker style shoes myself. That was my punk image, as opposed to spiky hair and safety pins. There were a fair few who went down that road of "street cool" too. It worked and got me the girl.

Journalist Neil McCormick said of him - 

"Willy was an entirely different creature, a macho dandy in a pompadour and pencil moustache, with the dangerous air of a New York gangfighter and an underbelly vulnerability that came out through the romanticism of his music. Springsteen sounded like he was your friend in desperate times. De Ville sounded like he couldn’t quite decide whether to serenade you or pull a knife on you".

For a short while in May-August of 1978, Mink De Ville were up there with The Clash, The Jam and The Ramones for me. Even as Springsteen came along and the new wave progressed to ska and roots reggae I never deserted Willy and stayed with him well into his solo career. 

Lyrically, good old Willy never changed - his songs are populated by lonely hunters, backstreet heroes and openly-expressed desires, hearts on sleeves, come-hither girls with angel eyes and the feel of a barrio street on a hot, sultry Saturday evening.

Willy De Ville passed away in 2009. I miss him and his music such a lot.

Before I get too maudlin, however, let's meet up with Mister Jim, Brother Johnny and Sister Sue....

This compilation only covers the first three Mink De Ville albums, unfortunately, but the material certainly exemplifies the essence of this great, underrated band. A better collection would sacrifice a few tracks for some from the last three albums, but if a listener is wanting to know what Mink De Ville were about, they will find out here. 

De Ville’s only chart hit, the still popular and truly wonderful Spanish Stroll, with its great guitar intro and Lou Reed-style vocals. "Hey Johnny, they lookin' for you man...", indeed. The song was all over the radio in the late summer/autumn of 1977 and rightly so. It remains a great new wave hit, but one that is also retro-sounding. It still sounds great today, from the first moment when Willy hits that guitar intro followed by the Reed-esque first lines of "hey Mr. Jim, I can see the shape your'e in, finger on your eyebrow and left hand on your hip". That voice, man. It does it every time, even now.

A true classic is up next, a track loved by Mick Jagger, apparently, who was seen by Willy through a window dancing to it alone in a recording studio after everyone had gone home - Mixed-Up Shook-Up Girl. It is a lovely piece of Latin syncopation and De Ville’s yearning vocal is sublime. It is one of his best-ever songs, for me. Love it.

The slow burning, Latin-tinged diamond-hard rock of She's So Tough is up next, followed by the cover of Moon Martin's Cadillac Walk, a groovy piece of swamp blues. Gunslinger is a short piece of lively, slightly swampy blues rock. For every bit of street romance De Ville put out, it was always matched by some no-nonsense bluesy rock. It is often forgotten that this Latino-inspired lover could play a mean blues guitar too. This track, along with One Way Street (not included here) are both very CBGB's songs in their upbeat, bluesy r'n'b sound. They also feature in the soundtrack to the movie about the legendary New York club. 

On Venus Of Avenue D, we are immediately transported to the mean streets of Manhattan’s Lower East Side’s “housing projects” and a raven-haired Latina beauty who has caught Willy’s eye - "she's the queen of my block", he declares, yearningly.  

A great cover of the Phil Spector-produced Ellie Greenwich-Jeff Barry song Little Girl follows, brim-full of that typically-De Ville street romance. 

The saxophone solo-enhanced 'A' Train Lady is also typical De Ville street romance fare, as is the slow-burning romantic Guardian Angel, another paean to a backstreet beauty. The short but solidly bluesy punch of Confidence To Kill is another of those aforementioned rockers, full of CBGB's grit and grime. 

Soul Twist is uptempo and brassy in its vitality. Desperate Days is a serving of infectious and Latin-influenced fun. However, as is now obviously apparent, I love the trademark De Ville street romance songs and my own personal favourite is I Broke That Promise, a worthy follow-up to the previous album’s Mixed-Up Shook-Up Girl. It was also De Ville's own favourite too. It is packed full of typical De Ville soul. There was something quite unique and essential about his delivery on songs like this. I so wish he were still with us. I played this song endlessly in the summer of 1978.

A slightly unusual song is the unique Just Your Friends, with its extended, speeding-up harmonica fade-out. You Just Keep Holding On brings back more of the Latin street romance while we get a Springsteen-meets-Phil Spector feel on the wonderful This Must Be The Night, one of my all-time De Ville favourites.

Saviour Faire is archetypal De Ville bluesy rock once more but Mazurka is a proper Cajun tune, complete with accordion. 

Turn You Every Which Way But Loose was not featured on any album and is a bit of a rockin' De Ville deep cut, sought after by nerdy completist fans such as myself. It's another blueser but a highly infectious catchy one that you can't keep still too. Well, I can't.

Bad Boy is a fifties style diner jukebox crooner. My personal highlight from 1980's Le Chât Bleu album, though, has always been the lovely Just To Walk That Little Girl Home - another Drifters style slab of urban romance. Willy did this sort of thing so well. Talking of The Drifters, the spirit of that great group is summoned up in the closer here, That World Outside. 

After listening to this you should be ready to face whatever the evening has in store for you, even if your heart gets broken - after all, she's just a mixed-up, shook-up girl....