Willie Nile
World War Willie
Release Date: Apr 1, 2016
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: River House Records
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Album Review: World War Willie by Willie Nile
Fairly Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 7/10
Coming just two years after If I Was a River, Willie Nile continues his late career renaissance with a series of no-nonsense cuts that are consistently better than they really have a right to be. Sure, Nile will borrow a move here or a whoop there but that’s what rock ‘n’ roll has always been about and when Nile steals he steals bigger and better than you can imagine. And what is true Willie, what is unmistakably his own, his ability to make believers out of us all, no matter the story he’s telling, no matter the song he’s singing.
Based on rating 3/5
Boss-beloved upstate New Yorker’s 10th. Willie Nile started as another wannabe Dylan troubadour heading for Greenwich Village, watched events unfold at CBGB, and by 1982 was supporting The Who on their US ‘farewell’. Townshend, Springsteen, Paul Simon and Ian Hunter are still supporters of a New York scene veteran finally picking up career steam aged 67.
Opinion: Excellent
The Upshot: Long having shaken the “next Dylan” and “next Springsteen” labels, Nile continues to drop albums that fit seamlessly within the same playlist. Like great wine, he gets better with age. Let’s attack the elephant in the room right away – if the first twelve bars of “Forever Wild” don’t immediately trigger your brain’s Springsteen reflex, your synapses are way off.
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