ROCKPALAST is a legendary live music TV show hosted in Germany by the WDR channel. It was first broadcast in 1974 and has become a pan-European television institution. It has its own fan club and online forum, and in almost four decades, it has become a trademark of quality viewing and listening.

The roots of American music, including the blues, R&B, and Cajun music, gave Willy DeVille's (born William Borsey) late-'70s punk band, Mink DeVille, its unique flavor. A quarter of a century later, DeVille continued to blend musical traditions and postmodern intensity. A self-taught guitarist, DeVille found his early inspiration in the blues of John Hammond Jr., Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker. Determined to become a musician, he moved to London in 1971, hoping to latch on with a British band. Frustrated by his lack of success, he returned to the United States.

At the time of this live recording, February, 2008, Willy DeVille was clean and sober, and had been for a few years, yet he still seems delightfully deranged, screaming and squawking between songs, still emitting a strange voodoo attraction that seems to channel James Brown (minus the overblown theatrics), Dr John and Tom Waits, despite DeVille unkindly describing Waits thus in 2007: "He's a friend of mine but I've never really listened to him - He always sounds like he's goofing, You remember Emmett Kelly, the tramp clown who wore the top hat? He kind of reminds me of him in a funny way - He's the funny drunk at the end of the bar. But when Willy sings 'Try stealing a guitar that's strung with barbed wire, Ripping them strings like your fingers' on fire', on his own 'Muddy Waters Rose Out Of The Mississippi Mud' you instinctively feel his connection to the blues, the South, to the old, weird Antebellum America, and even earlier before Manifest Destiny masquerading as Lady Liberty stole the Mexican land and incorporated it into the growing United States. Despite being raised in New York this is his America. It's all there to hear, too, in 'Spanish Stroll', 'Chieva', and 'Demasiado Corazon'. At his heart he's still the entertainer, the showman, the raconteur, the musician and with exhilarating, thrilling and powerfully individualistic covers of 'Trouble In Mind', 'Heartbreak Hotel' and 'Hey Joe!', it feels like he's speaking from personal experience each and every time.

A true legend! Hardly any other musician has experienced as many musical styles in their career as singer-songwriter Willy DeVille. From his early days with Mink DeVille at New York’s famous CBGB’s club through to his later career, he has always created a unique blend of blues, pop, Cajun and soul seasoned with pure DeVille magic and that wonderful smokey voice. Willy DeVille was a regular visitor to Montreux and this album captures him at his absolute best in 1994 with a stunning band and a superb set list.