My world just got a little bit smaller, and a little bit more lonely with the passing of Willy DeVille on the 6th of August 2009. This was a man I’d talked with, laughed with, and unfortunately had to leave behind because of his self destructive nature. To his credit, he did clean up, and put out some great music before his untimely death ... but not before I made that call. Today I unfolded a very yellowed brittle piece of legal pad paper, and rang the number written written in pencil ... part of me knew the number wouldn’t be working, but when the phone rang my heart skipped a beat, and when the line was answered, I went breathless. ”Is this Willy DeVille’s residence?” I asked. ”No, I think you have the wrong number,” responded the disembodied voice on the other end. “Actually this is the correct number,” I replied, I just haven’t used it in more than thirty years. Did you know that this used to be the number for Willy DeVille?” ”I did not,” said the voice, Who’s Willy DeVille?” “Just a friend of mine ... I miss him,” I said, and hung up the phone. In my head I imagined that the person would somehow find out who Willy was, and a love of his music would be started through this phone call, but the reality of the situation is that I no doubt just disturbed someone’s dinner, and it would all soon be forgotten ... but not by me.Return To Magenta is one of those albums from which the title is conspicuously missing, but let me assure you that there’s nothing missing from the album, an album who’s cover shows Willy surveying the landscape of his world ... the rooftops of New York City. Many people are going to try and tell you that this release covers the same steamy streets and shadowy back alleys as their first release; but that’s just not so. Mink DeVille, known for their rise during the era of punk, and their shows at CBGB, and who were not punk, explore very new and fertile ground here. “Steady Drivin’ Man,” is a brilliant Bo Diddley driven number, and Moon Martin’s “Roleane” will stop you like a cold fist. Of course “Confidence To Kill” bestows some punk attitudes, but the song is filled with chord changes that those two chord punks would never have thought of. But in all honesty, its the infused urban slow dance diamonds, the steamy soaring ballads, and retro doo-woop that give Return To Magenta it’s timeless and attention holding original quality.It would be all too easy to say that Willy DeVille is a man caught out of his time, and out of step with the 70’s, a man who would have been more comfortable in the 1950’s ... but that just ain’t so. It took a man who walked out of the 1950’s, who grooved with the tunes from those years to create this stunning thirty two minute release that contains not one tossed off or wasted note. Return To Magenta is full of inner city lament and charm, cascading melodies, open street level windows, and doorstep conversations, over-which are poured all sorts of music; from R&B, to soul, Spanish, jazz, and rock ... and from this air Willy DeVille has reached out and drawn the essence of each to create an image of his own world in the late 1970’s ... a world I’m so pleased to have had a chance to walk in.So rather than sitting here lamenting over the death of a friend, I’ll just refold this piece of paper, tuck the number back between the pages of my phone book, and pretend that someday I’m gonna’ make a call ... and when I do, Willy’s gonna’ answer, but right now, I’m gonna’ cry for a bit as I work my way through the catalog that is Willy DeVille.Review by Jenell Kesler [Written on the night of Willy's death]