CD Review: Willie Nile "Live From the Streets of New York" (00:02:59)
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Rock 'n' roll albums have become a sadly scarce commodity. Sure,
there's indie rock, punk rock, modern rock and all manner of
hyphenated descendants, but few artists still make rock music with
roots that reach through all of the layers of decades past. The "'n'
roll" has been lost in the translation. Luckily, New York-bred Willie
Nile is one such artist, born just in time for early exposure to
Presley, Holly and Domino, steeped in the Greenwich Village folk
revival and reignited by the '70s punk explosion. His recording career
came of age in the early '80s with a pair of albums for Arista, was
derailed by legal setbacks with Geffen for the second-half of the
decade, and restarted in 1991 with "Places I Have Never Been" on
Columbia. Nile attracted A-list fans during his hiatus, and the
comeback featured guest appearances from both Roger McGuinn and
Richard Thompson.
The pattern of long gaps between releases repeated itself several more
times. His deal with Columbia ended, he released an indie EP ("Hard
Times in America") in 1992, and dropped out again until decade's end,
when he released "Beautiful Wreck of the World." Another seven years
passed until he released his tour de force, "Streets of New York."
This was the culmination of everything that had gone before, both
musically and personally, meshing life experiences ("The Day I Saw Bo
Diddley in Washington Square") with philosophical wanderings ("Back
Home") into a superbly vivid portrait of a musician and the city that
served as his art's crucible. Praise for "Streets of New York" came
even before the album's official release, and it was with that
positivity ringing in his ears that Nile took the stage for the
album's release party at New York's Mercury Lounge, resulting in the
live recording captured here.
Working through ten of the album's thirteen tracks, and adding a
handful of titles from earlier releases, Nile knew he had the goods.
He's not selling a new album, he "was simply there to serve the songs,
to tell the stories and hopefully do justice to the music." Nile's
regular road band and guests (Andy York, Brad Albetta, Rich Pagano,
Jimmy Vivino and Frankie Lee) burned through the album titles in the
sort of heartfelt, fiery and well-oiled performance one expects at the
end of the tour, rather than the start. These songs clearly hit just
as much of an emotional resonance with the players as they did with
the writer and the audience, and the freedom of their performance,
hitting all the notes yet still rocking it live, is truly impressive.
As on the studio album, the opening "Welcome to My Head" provides a
Felliniesque vision of New York, laying out a surreal map of the
album's visions. The artistic beehive of Greenwich Village is captured
in the Pogues-like rock-waltz, "The Day I Saw Bo Diddley in Washington
Square," brought even further to life on stage by its sing-a-long
chorus. The weary, wordy talking-blues shuffle "Back Home" derives
from Dylan and Forbert, but Nile's poetic images are more anchored
(and less fantastic) than Dylan's, and his sung passages are more
melodic than Forbert's. The song's insistent piano riff is beautifully
echoed in the title refrain, and the lyrical nod to "Bells of
Rhymney" ("We sailed across a sea of time / We smoked the weed, drank
the wine / Heard the bells of Rhymney chime") provides a link to
Nile's past fascination with the folk revival.
Even those songs not directly about New York, such as "Asking Annie
Out" and "Best Friends Money Can Buy," or earlier titles like 1980's
"Vagabond Moon" and 1981's "Heaven Help the Lonely" retain the city's
passionate emotional air. "Cell Phones Ringing in the Pockets of the
Dead," written about the 2004 Madrid train bombing, can't help
resonate deeply on an album dedicated to New York City, and the 1992
title track from "Hard Times in America" proves startling portentous
as the gap between rich and poor widens and the U.S. economy threatens
to nosedive. The set closes with a breathless Clash-styled cover of
"Police on My Back" and Nile's love song to his city, "Streets of New
York," the latter sung solo at the piano.
A similar live set was released in 2007 as "Live at the Turning
Point," but while the song list included a generous helping of titles
from "Streets of New York," the poor quality of the recording was a
disappointment to fans. No such problems here, as the set was
professionally recorded for release on both CD and DVD. Between-song
chatter is kept to a minimum, filling out the CD with 68 minutes
that's nearly all music. The multi-camera video on the DVD is sharp
and shows off an informal club setting seemingly at odds with the
grand nature of the music being played. Bonus material on the DVD
includes interviews with Nile and band members, and a few glimpses of
show rehearsals. The stars truly aligned for this show: great new
material, a band of seasoned players, and an artist infused with the
knowledge that he'd finally written the songs of his lifetime. [(c)2008
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