MUSIC NEWS - Almost 30 years after his heralded debut and two years after his re-emergence on his Streets of New York (buy the cd here) release, Willie Nile is back and ready to put his career into high gear with a new album called, House of a Thousand Guitars (on River House Records, April 14). The album was produced by several-- Andy York (Ian Hunter), Brad Albetta (Teddy Thompson, Martha Wainwright), Rich Pagano (Ian Hunter) and Hirsh Gardner, and by the team of Nile, his longtime friend and collaborator Frankie Lee and Stewart Lerman (Loudon Wainwright III, The Roches, Jules Shear).
House was recorded with two distinctly different groups of musicians. Half of the record, six songs, was recorded with Nile’s all-star, A-list band, the Worry Dolls: guitarist Andy York (John Mellencamp), bassist Albetta and drummer Pagano (Fab Faux, Rosanne Cash, Patti Smith). The Dolls are, like another New York band with Dolls in the title, a powerhouse unit, with guts and ambition and the need to rock. Their sleek, muscular playing on tunes like the upbeat “Run,” the anthemic “Little Light” and the driving, hard-edged, Stonesy, “Doomsday Dance” is the record’s grit and backbone. “Doomsday,” in particular, is a classic, witty Nile socio-politico commentary, one that casts a wry eye on humanity’s sad penchant for self-destruction.
At the center of every Willie Nile record are the songs of the heart, with sweet melodies and lyrics about hope and love. The tune here closest to Nile’s heart is “Touch Me,” a song of remembrance and also a celebration of the life of his brother John, who passed away exactly a year before Nile laid down the basic tracks for the song with the album’s other band, one consisting of Lee on drums, Lerman and guitarist Steuart Smith (The Eagles, Rodney Crowell).
Blending tragedy and comedy of the human condition with Nile’s usual crystalline lyrics and flush melodies, House of a Thousand Guitars has even managed to please its self-critical creator. Nile says;
“Beauty can bring tears and wonder and music can do that as well. It can reach deep into places where words can’t go. We were able to do that with this record. Recording it was a great experience, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.”
The album is perhaps best seen through the prism of the title song, a hook-driven tune about an imaginary place where great musicians libe and can make their music in peace. “You can spread your fingers ‘cross the universe . . . in the House of a Thousand Guitars,” sings Nile, while naming House denizens Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, who, as the lyric says, is “gonna kick your ass.” Like the album itself, it’s a magical place to visit.
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