DVD review: WILLY DEVILLE – Live in The Lowlands

Eagle Vision [Out now]

Filmed live at The Paradiso, Amsterdam in 2005, this show finds Willy DeVille on tour in support of his recent “Crow Jane Alley” album. The set list is a diverse collection of songs that reaches across every part of DeVille’s career and is a mixture of sounds that manages to blend Latin with bluesy, soulful and rock n roll.

Amongst the gems in the show are a cover of Bryan Ferry’s “Slave to Love” and a great reinterpretation of Hendrix’s “Hey Joe”. With vocals that sit somewhere between Tyla and Bruce Springsteen other highlights include “Low rider”, “Crow Jane Alley”, “Even While I Sleep”, “Running Through The Jungle” and undoubtedly the song he is best remembered for “Spanish Stroll”.

One time collaborator Mark Knopfler once said of DeVille “The songs he wrote were original, romantic and straight from the heart”, and he’s not wrong as “Live in The Lowlands” is testament to this. DeVille died of cancer in 2009 and shortly before he died was quoted as saying “I have a theory. I know that I’ll sell much more records when I’m dead. It isn’t very pleasant, but I have to get used to this idea”, of this he may be right.

Bonus interview speaks to the band and “Live in The Lowlands” is a great way to remember the career of Willy DeVille.

Also released as a double CD set, via the Eagle Classics imprint, are DeVille’s last two studio albums- 2004’s “Crow Jane Alley” and 2008’s “Pistola”. The first of these contains a handful of tracks from the above live show and my personal favourite tracks on the album are “Right There, Right Then”, “My Forever Came Today”, the studio version of “Slave To Love” and “Trouble Comin’ Everyday In A World Gone Wrong”.

“Pistola” is another heartfelt album that includes the Dylan like “So So Real” and “You Got The World In Your Hands”, the Native American feel of “The Band Played On” alongside highlights “When I Get Home”, “I’m Gonna Do Something The Devil Never Did” and the country leaning “I Remember The First Time”.

Review by Nikk Gunns

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