Coup de Grace (Mink DeVille album)
Encyclopedia
Coup de Grâce, issued in 1981, is the fourth album
by the rock
band Mink DeVille
. The album represented a departure for the band, as frontman Willy DeVille
dismissed the only other remaining original member of the band, guitarist Louis X. Erlanger
, and hired Helen Schneider
's backup band ("The Kick") to record the album. Moreover, the album was recorded for Atlantic
(Mink DeVille had previously recorded with Capitol
).
DeVille told the New York Times:
Jack Nitzsche
produced the album, his third for Mink DeVille, along with Willy DeVille (the song "Love Me Like You Did Before" was produced by Willy DeVille and Thom Panunzio
).
named Coup de Grâce the fifth best album of 1981. Allmusic said about Coup de Grâce:
The Record
said about the album, "Coup de Grâce recapitulates and resolves the themes of Le Chat Bleu
in an intriguing blend of soul-pop and razor-edged rock. Its influences are as distant as The Drifters
and as contemporary as Bruce Springsteen."
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by the rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Mink DeVille
Mink DeVille
Mink DeVille was a rock band known for its association with early punk rock bands at New York’s CBGB nightclub and for being a showcase for the music of Willy DeVille. The band recorded six albums in the years 1977 to 1985. Except for frontman Willy DeVille, the original members of the band played...
. The album represented a departure for the band, as frontman Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille
Willy DeVille was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five year career, first with his band Mink DeVille and later on his own, Deville created original songs rooted in traditional American musical styles. He worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary...
dismissed the only other remaining original member of the band, guitarist Louis X. Erlanger
Louis X. Erlanger
Louis X. Erlanger is an American is a rock and roll and blues guitarist best known for his work with the band Mink DeVille. Erlanger recorded three albums with the band: Cabretta , Return to Magenta , and Le Chat Bleu...
, and hired Helen Schneider
Helen Schneider
Helen Schneider is an American singer and actress working mainly in Germany.Born the daughter of Dvora and Abraham Schneider , she studied piano before starting to perform as a singer in venues in New England and New York.Between 1978 and 1984, she achieved success as a rock singer in Germany;...
's backup band ("The Kick") to record the album. Moreover, the album was recorded for Atlantic
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
(Mink DeVille had previously recorded with Capitol
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
).
DeVille told the New York Times:
- I had band problems, manager problems, record company problems. And yeah, I had drug problems. Finally I got a new recording contract, with Atlantic, and a new manager. I cleaned up my act. I figured that since playing music with people I was friends with didn't seem to work out, I would hire some mercenaries, some cats who just wanted to play and get paid. And those guys turned out to be more devoted to the music than any band I ever had. They're professional, precise, but they're full of fire, too."
Jack Nitzsche
Jack Nitzsche
Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche was an arranger, producer, songwriter, and film score composer. He first came to prominence in the late 1950s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, and went on to work with the Rolling Stones, Neil Young and others...
produced the album, his third for Mink DeVille, along with Willy DeVille (the song "Love Me Like You Did Before" was produced by Willy DeVille and Thom Panunzio
Thom Panunzio
Thom Panunzio grew up in River Edge, New Jersey not too far from Manhattan. He began his career as an audio engineer originally working at Record Plant Studios in New York. There he met, Jimmy Iovine, and started his career working with John Lennon...
).
Reviews
Dutch rock magazine OORMuziekkrant OOR
Muziekkrant OOR is the oldest currently published music magazine in the Netherlands. The name "OOR" is the Dutch word for ear.-History:The magazine was first published on 1 April 1971, being founded by Barend Toet . Of the first issue 20,000 copies were printed and paid for by Berry Visser, one of...
named Coup de Grâce the fifth best album of 1981. Allmusic said about Coup de Grâce:
- The band's sound combined with Nitzsche's timeless production style, which combined with that voice to create a purer rock & roll noise than even Bruce SpringsteenBruce SpringsteenBruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's in 1981. The evidence is on the anthems "Maybe Tomorrow," the slippery doo-wopDoo-wopThe name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
feel of "Love and Emotion," and the devastating read of Arthur AlexanderArthur AlexanderArthur Alexander was an American country soul singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for Allmusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work on par with the best of his...
's "You Better Move On" that includes in its soulful Spanish stroll mix a pair of marimbaMarimbaThe marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
s and the ever-lamenting accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, turning the track into something that is so deadly serious it should have perhaps been in West Side StoryWest Side StoryWest Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
. This was Mink DeVille near their zenith as a recording unit.
The Record
The Record (magazine)
The Record was a Canadian music industry magazine that featured record charts, trade news and opinions. David Farrell launched the publication in mid-1981, continuing its printed version until August 1999 when The Record continued as a website-based publication...
said about the album, "Coup de Grâce recapitulates and resolves the themes of Le Chat Bleu
Le Chat Bleu
Le Chat Bleu, released in 1980, is the third album by the rock band Mink DeVille. The album received critical acclaim and elevated lead singer and composer Willy DeVille to star status. The Rolling Stone Critic’s Poll ranked Le Chat Bleu the fifth best album of 1980, andmusic historian Glenn A...
in an intriguing blend of soul-pop and razor-edged rock. Its influences are as distant as The Drifters
The Drifters
The Drifters are a long-lived American doo-wop and R&B/soul vocal group with a peak in popularity from 1953 to 1963, though several splinter Drifters continue to perform today. They were originally formed to serve as Clyde McPhatter's backing group in 1953...
and as contemporary as Bruce Springsteen."
Track listing
Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.- "Just Give Me One Good Reason" – 3:17
- "Help Me Make It (Power of a Woman's Love)" (Eddie HintonEddie HintonEddie Hinton was an American songwriter and session musician best known for his work with soul music and R&B singers...
) – 4:09 - "Maybe Tomorrow" – 2:56
- "Teardrops Must Fall" – 4:12
- "You Better Move On" (Arthur AlexanderArthur AlexanderArthur Alexander was an American country soul singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for Allmusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work on par with the best of his...
) – 3:00 - "Love & Emotion" – 3:40
- "So in Love Are We" (Willy DeVille, Roger Rich) – 3:42
- "Love Me Like You Did Before" – 3:15
- "She Was Made in Heaven" – 2:59
- "End of the Line" – 2:49
Personnel
- Ricky Borgia – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Louis Cortelezzi – baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
- Willy DeVilleWilly DeVilleWilly DeVille was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five year career, first with his band Mink DeVille and later on his own, Deville created original songs rooted in traditional American musical styles. He worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary...
– guitar, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Brother Johnny Espinet - percussion
- The Exhilarations - background vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
- Ray Goodwin
- Alan Morgan
- Andy Deweese
- Joe Mendez
- Al "Butch" Floyd
- Jimmy MaelenJimmy MaelenJimmy Maelen was a percussionist in the 1960s-1980s, who worked with many artists including Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry, Peter Gabriel, James Taylor, Dire Straits, Barry Manilow, Alice Cooper and John Lennon...
- percussion - Kenny Margolis – pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family.... - Eve Moon - background vocals
- Thommy PriceThommy PriceThommy Price is a rock musician from Brooklyn, New York. He's played drums in numerous bands, including Billy Idol, Blue Öyster Cult, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and is an in-demand session drummer.-History:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Joey Vasta – bass
Production
- Jim Ball - engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Bob Defrin - art direction
- Willy DeVille - producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Jack NitzscheJack NitzscheBernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche was an arranger, producer, songwriter, and film score composer. He first came to prominence in the late 1950s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, and went on to work with the Rolling Stones, Neil Young and others...
- arrangerArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
, producer - Thom PanunzioThom PanunzioThom Panunzio grew up in River Edge, New Jersey not too far from Manhattan. He began his career as an audio engineer originally working at Record Plant Studios in New York. There he met, Jimmy Iovine, and started his career working with John Lennon...
- producer, engineer, associate producer - John Pilgreen - cover photo
- Joyce Ravid – photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
- Sandi Young - design