Willie Nile has been releasing albums since 1980 and his latest release is New York At Night. He's also being celebrated with the covers album Willie Nile Uncovered.
New York At Night
Willie Nile’s new album, New York At Night (River House Records) is a knockout and a love letter to the city he obviously adores.
The current pandemic has shut down most of the city but New York has been down before -- a President telling it to “Drop Dead’ in the ‘70s, the September 11th terrorist attacks, the 2008 financial crisis, and Hurricane Sandy to name just a few -- but it has weathered the storms and will come roaring back if Nile has anything to say about it.
Willie Nile has been making records since 1980 and New York At Night shows that he’s lost none of his songwriting chops. Working with his long-time live band -- guitarists Matt Hogan and Jimi K. Bones, bassist Johnny Pisano, and drummer as well as co-producer Stewart Lerman at Weehawken, N.J.’s Hobo Sound studio, Nile has created a set of rock and roll gems as well as some melancholy beauties.
The kick-ass opening track, “New York Is Rockin’” describes Sinatra singing those “little town blues,” Baryshnikov putting on his blue suede shoes, and The Ramones at CBGB. The song is very much a look back at the city in the 1970s when Nile arrived at a place that could either lift your spirits or break your heart.
The bluesy toe-tapper that is “The Backstreet Slide” features dazzling lead guitar work. “Doors Of Paradise” is sad and beautiful and has some funky guitar fills. “The doors of Paradise swing both ways,” Nile sings in a song that is just aching to be a hit. The title track, “New York At Night,” provides a road map to the city after the sun goes down. A pounding drumbeat, crunching guitars, and handclaps give a sense of the excitement New York provides.
A solo piano provides the foundation for the beautiful “The Last Time We Made Love.” It also contains some wonderful imagery in its lyrics: “The last time we made love / The rain did somersaults on windowsills made of / ancient blocks of stone.” The wonderful, acoustic “Under This Roof” may be a love song but it’s also an invitation for a friend to escape the world we currently live in: “Under this roof will be a shelter where you can lay your head.”
And the closer, “Run Free,” is classic Nile territory. His fabulous band rocks your socks off with a combination of drums, guitar, bass, and keyboards. Add some amazing backing vocals from Tawatha Agee and Vaneese Thomas and the whole thing lifts off to another fantastic level.
Willie Nile Uncovered
Like all of the best tribute albums, Willie Nile Uncovered (Paradidle Records) will bring newcomers to Nile's work to get a crash course on some of the best songs in his catalog and old hands will hear some new voices.
With over 40 years of tunes to choose from, these artists interpret Willie’s songs in a range of styles -— rock, Americana, country, roots, and folk -- and contribute a combination of solid covers as well as excellent re-imaginings.
Here are some of the highlights from the two-CD set (your results may vary):
* Emily Duff’s “Hell Yeah” turns Nile’s bullet train original into a hoedown that almost demands that you sing along.
* “When Levon Sings,” about The Band’s singer and drummer, gets a full-band version from Quarter Horse that ends with a bit of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”
* Graham Parker’s “One Guitar” takes Nile’s version and turns it up a notch with the help of Willie himself.
* Nils Lofgren sings the psalm-like “All God’s Children” like a Gospel sermon on Sunday.
* With an extra added note of resignation, John Gorka does “I Can’t Do Crazy (Anymore)” because his days of wild living are over.
* In one of the most creative takes on one of Willie’s songs, Henroy Vassell & Friends bring a reggae beat to “When One Stands.”
* If you like early Wilco, you’ll really like Pete Mancini’s “Asking Annie Out” with its blend of alt-country and pop.
* “One Guitar” is covered again with a ska vibe on Johnny Pisano’s “One Guitar Mon’.”
