Said DeVille about his choice of titles for the album: "I wanted (the album) to sound like those
old cowboy movies ... Pis–to–la: the sound has that feel of the western, and something hot too. An exciting sound, just like what I hope the music will be for people."[1]
NME said about Pistola, "DeVille's louche fusion of rock 'n' roll,
Tex-Mex and
country styles has matured with age, and his most recent work is among the finest of his recording career."[3]
Spin said that the album "sees (Willy DeVille) continue his successful partnership with producer
John Philip Shenale. The new album finds him once again creating his unique mixture of
rock,
soul,
R&B,
blues and
Cajun with articulate lyrics and Willy's distinctive vocal style."[4]
Independent Music said about the album:
(Willy DeVille) ... has never been more artistically potent than on Pistola, confronting the demons of his past with an impressive lyrical honesty and unexpectedly diverse musical imagination. DeVille’s beloved
New Orleans provides the touchstone for most of the album: the ex-addiction anthem "Been There Done That," for instance, is couched in infectious clavinet
funk, while "You Got The World In Your Hands" sounds like
Tom Waits covering
Dr John's "Gris-Gris." Elsewhere, there are echoes of the
Stones,
Springsteen and "
Spanish Harlem"—all this, and a great version of
Paul Siebel's classic "Louise" too. Who would have thought it?[2]
Leap in the Dark praised the album's bold originality: "Pistola is not the type of album you'd expect from as established a performer as Willy DeVille. Most people at his stage in their careers wouldn't be taking the risk of including pieces as unconventional as 'Mountains of Manhattan' and 'Stars that Speak,' but Willy has always marched to the beat of his own drummer. It's that willingness to take risks that keeps his music fresh and alive, and the ten songs on Pistola are no exception."[5]
Andrew Carver said, "DeVille ... is one of those rare artists who seem to have dragged their prime years across the decades, and Pistola is another triumph of experience."[6]
Other information
Critic Thom Jurek said about the song "The Stars that Speak,"This track succeeds in summing up DeVille’s entire mythology and professional persona in lyric form; it is read in his trademark smooth-whiskey-meets-cigarette-smoke voice. It reveals, just under the surface, not only the promise of dim lights, perfume, mystery, and sweat-stained sheets, but a figure whose most prominent feature is the outline of a human heart, cracked and broken over and again, who remains resolute in the notion that love prevails."[7]
Track listing
Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.
Willy DeVille on lead vocals and background vocals; Josh Sklair on electric guitars; Pete Thomas on drums and percussion; Davey Faragher on bass; John Philip Shenale on
clavinet, synths, and percussion; Lee Thornburg on
trumpet; Andrew Lippman on
trombone
Willy DeVille on lead vocals, Brian Ray on acoustic and electric guitars, Pete Thomas on drums, Davey Faragher on bass and background vocals, John Philip Shenale on piano, Chris Lawrence on
pedal steel guitar
"The Band Played On" – 4:42
Willy DeVille on lead vocal, Brian Ray on acoustic and electric guitars, Pete Thomas on drums, Davey Faragher on bass, John Philip Shenale on piano and percussion, Lon Price on
clarinet, Lee Thornburg on trumpet, Andrew Lippman on trombone, Billy Valentine on background vocals, John Valentine on background vocals, Charles Valentino on background vocals
"You Got the World in Your Hands" – 4:04
Willy DeVille on lead vocals and background vocals; Josh Sklair on electric guitars; Pete Thomas on drums and percussion; Davey Faragher on bass; John Philip Shenale on
Wurly, synths, and percussion; Amanda Dumas on background vocals; Marta Woodhull on background vocals
"I Remember the First Time" – 4:08
Willy DeVille on lead vocal; Josh Sklair on acoustic and electric guitars; Pete Thomas on drums and percussion; Davey Faragher on bass; John Philip Shenale on piano, synths, and percussion; Billy Valentine on background vocals; John Valentine on background vocals; Charles Valentino on background vocals
"Stars that Speak" – 5:19
Willy DeVille on lead vocal and slide guitar; John Philip Shenale on piano, Chamberlin, synths, and percussion
"I'm Gonna Do Something the Devil Never Did" – 5:45
Willy DeVille on lead vocal; Brian Ray on electric guitars; Pete Thomas on drums and percussion; Davey Faragher on bass; John Philip Shenale on
fortepiano, synths, and percussion; Billy Valentine on background vocals; John Valentine on background vocals; Charles Valentino on background vocals
"The Mountains of Manhattan" – 3:42
Willy DeVille on lead vocal and wooden flute, Pete Thomas on percussion, John Philip Shenale on percussion