Cadillac

Album Review

This 22-track import collection of Mink DeVille tunes contains over two-thirds of the tracks cut by the original band — before Louis X. Erlanger and crew left and Willy DeVille continued with different musicians — and culled from Cabretta, Return to Magenta, and Le Chat Bleu. Issued in the E.U. and distributed by Caroline Records in the United States, this collection was produced and annotated brilliantly by former Creem editor and writer Ben Edmonds. It was issued for the first time in 2001, but has been digitally remastered in 24-bit audio and includes virtually every track any serious fan of Mink DeVille would want, from "Venus of Avenue D" and "Cadillac Walk" to "Spanish Stroll," "Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl" "'A' Train Lady," "Guardian Angel," and "Just to Walk That Little Girl Home." The band was fortunate enough to work with the late great Jack Nitzsche, Steve Douglas, and Doc Pomus. During the punk era, this was saying something. Mink DeVille may have played the punk clubs, and they had the attitude, but musically they were rooted in American traditional rock & roll, soul, and blues. This collection, now in stellar sound, is a testament to one of the greatest all-but-unsung legacies in rock history.