Prisonshake's 1991 four-song EP, Della Street, is one of the few recordings from the original Prisonshake lineup that is still currently in print. The original group released a profusion of singles, but no full-length until 1993's The Roaring Third, when the only original members remaining were vocalist Doug Enkler and guitarist Robert Griffin. The EP is not quite as intense as The Roaring Third, but the songs are just as strong, and the nonstop intensity is surprisingly displaced by strong melodies and tunefulness. "Carnival Game" boasts a strong vocal line courtesy of singer Doug Enkler, with its accompanying music being near-R.E.M. pop. "From Down Here" combines desolate, roaming guitar and bass phrases with yearning vocals, while "Molly" has a slight reggae feel at times. "London/Stuck In St. Louis, 1985" is an adventurous, lengthy number, and although it's not as daring as, say, Jane's Addiction or Shudder To Think, it still moves the listener with its mood shifts. It's a shame that the original lineup of Prisonshake didn't stick around for a few more albums. Fans of finely crafted, unpredictable alterna-pop should definitely check out Prisonshake's Della Street. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
Della Street was the fictional secretary of Perry Mason in the long-running series of novels, films, and radio and television programs featuring the fictional defense attorney created by Erle Stanley Gardner.
In the very first Perry Mason novel, The Case of the Velvet Claws, written in the early days of the Great Depression it is revealed that Della Street came from a wealthy, or at least well-to-do, family that was wiped out by the stock market crash of 1929, forcing Della to get a job as a secretary. Of course, by the time of the TV series in the 1950s and 1960s, this would have not fit well with the age of the characters as then portrayed. According to The Case Of The Caretaker's Cat, she is approximately fifteen years younger than Perry Mason.
Erle Stanley Gardner, the creator of Perry Mason in a series of novels, was a very prolific author, who employed three secretaries simultaneously, all sisters, to keep up with his output. One of them he eventually married, after his first wife, from whom he was separated for 30 years, died. This was Jean Gardner, born Agnes Helene Walter. People who knew her believed she was the inspiration for Della Street, though neither she nor Erle Stanley Gardner himself admitted it. Mrs. Gardner said she thought he put several girls together to create the character.
References
^ Cox, Jim. "Perry Mason". The Great Radio Soap Operas: The 31 Classic Daytime Dramas, 1930-60. McFarland. p. 176. ISBN 0786405899.
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