Streets of New York

Willie Nile | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 21, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lunaticworks Inc
• ASIN: B000E6EJAM
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,455 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Those mean streets sound awfully clean on the latest from veteran bard Willie Nile, who here exchanges his raucous rock from the early 1980s for a more tempered approach that prizes poetry over punch. Though the songwriting remains as heartfelt as ever, with plenty of literary flourish, antiseptic arrangements all but drain the propulsion from "Welcome to My Head" and "Best Friends Money Can Buy," while the slow build of "Faded Flower of Broadway" flirts with power-ballad mawkishness. The epic narrative of the autobiographical "Back Home" and the harmonic-laced "Lonesome Dark-Eyed Beauty" find Nile giving his best Bob Dylan impression (Dylan's son Jakob, of the Wallflowers, guests elsewhere on the album), though the title track edges closer to Billy Joel territory. Only the heart-pumping urgency of "Whole World with You" and the feverish cover of Eddy Grant's "Police on My Back" (in homage to the Clash) show Nile really letting it rip as he as in the past. --Don McLeese

BONO

"Great album!"

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unknown Classic, August 30, 2006

By 

Robert L. Flenner "muzik luvr" (Greenwich, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Streets of New York (Audio CD)

Once again, I have to thank LeAnn Hansen of NPR for turning me onto this album. Willie was one of the proto-punk artists that New York seemed to churn out in the late 70's thru the early 80's. He disappeared and I forgot all about him. Then i heard his interview and acoustic performanace of "The Day I Saw Bo Diddley in Washington Square" and I immediately ordered this disc. For that one song alone, this disc is worth the money. I ahve spent years walking and sometimes working in the Village and he captures the messy artistry of that part of New york perfectly.

His voice can be an unearthly wail similar to young Bob Dylan or growly like Van Morrison. Not always pretty, but at all times it is honest. the songwriting is excellent. There are lines and passages that will ring in your head for days after.

Punk rockers can grow up without selling out, and this disc is proof of that. With this disc, he has joined my personal pantheon of great modern song writers like John Hiatt and Steve Earle. Like them, he is an honest writer. He does not descend to easy cliches.

This album rocks. By the time he ends with a snarling version of "Police on my Back", I dare you not to listen to this disc again.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't miss this gem, March 6, 2006

By 

Ldtjd (NYC area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Streets of New York (Audio CD)

A beautiful collection of songs. It's hard to pick a favorite, but "When One Stands" is a hauntingly melodic anthem to justice and courage. On the other hand, "Whole World With You" is an unabashedly joyous rock'n'roll tribute to love - and lust. Finally, the slightly ominous back beat in "On Some Rainy Day" will follow you for days. As with any terrific work, you'll hear something new each time you listen. Highly recommended.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Album Is Really Brilliant, Perhaps the Best of 2006!!!!, May 17, 2006

By 

Richard P "The One and Only" (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Streets of New York (Audio CD)

Willie Nile has released what may very well be the best (albeit unknown) record of the year. Right from the opening intro this record, for lack of a better expression, kicks ass! "Welcome to my Head" may very well be the best openiing song I have ever heard on an album (it will prbably be his signature opening much as "Start Me Up" is for the Stones). Right from there your attention is held as each track filters through your head with brilliant melodies, intelligent lyrics, and great musicianship. This all culminates with the haunting title track, "Streets of New York". I grew up there and I can close my eyes and he takes me there as though I have never left. It actually makes me homesick. "Streets of New York" is nothing short of brilliant. Buy this record, you will not regret it!