Cabretta


Cabretta, known as Mink DeVille in the United States, was the 1977 debut album by Mink DeVille. It peaked at number 186 on the Billboard 200 chart and was voted the 29th best album of 1977 in the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll. A single from the album, "Spanish Stroll", was a top-20 hit in the UK.
Cabretta was produced by Jack Nitzsche, who would help shape Mink DeVille's sound and collaborate with lead singer and composer Willy DeVille for many years to come. Joining the band on saxophone was Steve Douglas, who, like Nitzsche, is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and who would also play on many Mink DeVille albums.
The album gets its name from a type of leather jacket. Willy DeVille said the Cabretta leather was like his band's music, tough but tender.

Reception

American Hit Network said of the album, "Under-promoted, under-appreciated and ultimately under-sold, Cabretta is a sleeper masterpiece that sounds as good today as it did in 1977." They added:
Trouser Press described the Mink DeVille of this era as follows:

Other information

"Little Girl" was recorded originally by The Crystals in 1964 under the title "Little Boy."
Willy DeVille said about the song "Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl": "I know Mick Jagger likes it. It's about a woman I know who was drug addict. She was mixed up and she was shook up. That's what it's about."
In liner notes to the 2001 compilation album Cadillac Walk: The Mink DeVille Collection, Ben Edmonds relates how Mick Jagger dropped by the Hollywood recording studio where Jack Nitzsche was producing Cabretta:
"Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl" is not a cover of the song of the same name by Patty & the Emblems.
Boz Scaggs covered "Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl" and "Cadillac Walk" on his 2013 album Memphis.

Track listing

Unless otherwise noted, all songs by Willy DeVille.
  1. "Venus of Avenue D" – 4:57
  2. "Little Girl" – 4:19
  3. "One Way Street" – 2:50
  4. "Mixed up, Shook up Girl" – 3:44
  5. "Gunslinger" – 2:09
  6. "Can't Do Without It" – 3:15
  7. "Cadillac Walk" – 3:14
  8. "Spanish Stroll" – 3:38
  9. "She's So Tough" – 2:30
  10. "Party Girls" – 4:30

    Personnel