Album Review: American Ride by Willie Nile

Rock ‘n’ roll promised its listeners from the very beginning that America was an Eden in waiting, that in spite of its unspeakable failures, its monstrous racial, sexual, and class inequities, it could be the utopia we’ve all been trying so hard to get back to. Now, not one of the genre’s early practitioners made the promise in words, but the sound of rock ‘n’ roll - bringing together the vibrancy of pop, the soul of blues, the hard-scrabble authenticity of country, and the transcendence of gospel - said more about the utopian impulse than words ever could. Liberty, love, and justice were inherent in the music.

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A hell of a lot has been written about rock & roll singer/songwriter Willie Nile since he made his Arista debut in 1981. Musicians and press alike have sung his praises across the globe, yet mainstream success has always proved elusive. It hasn't deterred him, however; he's continued to issue new recordings -- albeit sporadically -- that have been lyrically consistent, and contain enough deft, melodic hooks, to justify his unrepentant swagger.

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The unexpected mid-life career resurgence of New York City based singer/songwriter Willie Nile continues. He started back in 1980 and ’81 with two impressive, critically lauded gritty folk-rock albums that never found anything other than a cult audience even with constant touring and positive press. Record label woes kept him from recording until a decade later, but after one more solid catalog entry, he was dormant until 2004.

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With American Ride, Willie Nile ascends to the uppermost tier of the most revered American musicians and esteemed populist pundits, an elite and exclusive circle of venerable troubadours whose numbers include Springsteen, Dylan, Fogerty, Petty and Mellencamp. Truth be told, Nile earned that status decades ago — some 33 years previous in fact — when he was wooed by major record companies in response to an exceptional early promise. But now, long after the luster of a music label association vanished, he still proves his worthiness, not by falling back on earlier glories, but rather by plowing forward with songs that enhance and expand those seminal efforts while remaining true to his muse.

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