World War Willie Willie Nile

1.Forever Wild
2.Let's All Come Together
3.Grandpa Rocks
4.Runaway Girl
5.World War Willie
6.Bad Boy
7.Hell Yeah
8.Beautiful You
9.When Levon Sings
10.Trouble Down In Diamond Town
11.Citibank Nile
12.Sweet Jane

There's a lot going on in this world between the good, the bad and the in-between, and this album attempts to ride some of those horses," Willie Nile says of his memorably-titled new album World War Willie. The dozen-song set lives up to Nile's reputation as a world-class songwriter, a singularly energetic performer and a true rock 'n' roll believer. Currently in the fourth decade of a recording career that's yielded a panoply of musical riches, the New York-bred artist is currently experiencing an exciting renaissance at a time when many of his contemporaries are winding down or giving up. World War Willie lives up to that standard with some of the most resonant songwriting and performances of Nile's career. He recorded the album with longtime producer Stewart Lerman (Antony and the Johnsons, Loudon Wainwright III, Boardwalk Empire) and Nile's longstanding band - Matt Hogan on lead guitar, Johnny Pisano on bass and Alex Alexander on drums - with additional sterling guest guitar from Steuart Smith (Eagles, Rosanne Cash) on three tracks. World War Willie's title and cover motif reflect the turbulent state of the world as seen through Nile's eyes, with a characteristic blend of sincerity and humor. "It's a tough old world out there," he says, adding, "The cover shot of me standing in front of an image of Dresden after it was bombed in World War II was taken at a club in Italy, outside of Verona. That riveting image of a world at war just spoke volumes to me about the human race. It left me speechless. What can you say about it that isn't right there in front of you? Surely we can do better than this. For me rock 'n' roll, at its best, helps to make some sense of the world. There can be a redemptive quality in it. I guess it's me trying to make some sense of the world with rock n roll. It also reminds me of the good old days at CBGB's in NYC.