The New Orleans-based singer Willy DeVille can still count on a fanatical fan base, especially in Europe, who revered him as the personification of honest and passionate American roots music. Blues, soul and rhythm & blues are among them and DeVille has lived enough to bring this music to life, almost like a last icon, in all its rawness and purity. Pistola features nine new songs written by
… DeVille alongside a cover of country classic Louise. He no longer provides any surprises. The record starts firmly with So So Real, but after the seventies funk of Been There Done That, the acoustic guitars start to dominate in a more modest repertoire, which fits in effortlessly with the 'unplugged' concerts that he often gives in Europe. The strong side of DeVille remains that he never becomes an epigone in the process, but lives on with heart and soul, and in a recognizable way, a legacy of powerful and timeless music. (MR)more
